German VAT declaration

Description

A dedicated VAT declaration function is available that calculates the monthly or quarterly amounts of taxable base amounts and/or VAT amounts, and associates these amounts to VAT report lines (VAT boxes).

The scope of the function is to provide users in Germany with the capability to print a preparatory VAT report, to generate a VAT file and to transmit the VAT declaration to the fiscal authorities electronically.

Electronic transmission of the VAT declaration is mandatory in Germany.

The German VAT declaration also covers the case that a joint VAT declaration has to be completed for a group of companies ("Organschaft"). For such cases, the VAT declaration can be run for a defined group of companies. The company master data (address, tax ID etc.) used for the VAT declaration is taken from the company which has been set in the parameter VATLECMP (VAT leading company).

Electronic transmission

Electronic transmission of VAT declarations is made using the ELSTER1 system. There are two options available for the transmission:

  • Usage of the ELSTER-online web portal with manual entry in the online form.
  • Direct online submission using the Sage X3 ELSTER client.
  • The Sage X3 ELSTER client is additional software delivered as part of the German legislation (no additional license required) and must be installed on a Microsoft Windows workstation. For details please refer to the specific documentation of the Sage X3 ELSTER client.
In addition, registration in the ELSTER-online web portal of the German tax authorities is required and a certificate for digital signatures must be obtained in ELSTER-Online.

 

Process overview of the electronic VAT transmission using the Sage X3 ELSTER client:

Preconditions and restrictions

  • The VAT declaration relies on the tax codes used in the documents and the journal entries. Therefore, only entries having a tax code will be considered in the VAT declaration.
    For transactions which are exempt from tax, but have to be shown in the VAT declaration (i.e. EU intra-community sales), dedicated tax codes with a tax rate of 0% must be used.
  • Only journal entries of the main legal ledger are considered in the German VAT functions. The currency of the main legal ledger must be EUR.
  • The VAT determination only supports tax by issue ("Sollversteuerung"), not tax on payment ("Istversteuerung").
  • Only journal entries of the category "actual" are considered.
  • In every document type relevant for German VAT declarations, the settings "tax on issue" and/or "tax on payment" must be activated.

Setup

For setup of the VAT declaration refer to the "VAT declarations for Germany and Austria" how to guide.

Process

Please refer to the "VAT declarations for Germany and Austria" how to guide for a description of the process.