Taxes for creators in Germany: self-billing (Gutschrift), the small business rule and DAC7 explained
Registering a trade, the small business rule and its limits since 2025, what a Gutschrift (self-billing invoice) is, what platforms report under DAC7 and how long to keep your records – explained in plain words.
As soon as your content earns money, the German tax office (Finanzamt) wants to know. It sounds like a lot of paperwork, but it's manageable once you know the basics. This guide covers what matters for creators who are tax-resident in Germany: registering a trade, income tax, the small business rule, the Gutschrift, DAC7 and record retention. We use the German terms alongside the English ones, because those are the words you'll see on your forms.
Not tax advice: this article explains the basics as of October 2026. It doesn't replace advice from a tax advisor (Steuerberater). Your situation may differ – if in doubt, talk to one.
1. You're self-employed – usually with a trade
As a creator you usually don't work as an employee but on your own account. Tax offices generally classify creator income as a trade (Gewerbe). For you, that means:
- Register a trade (Gewerbeanmeldung) with your city's trade office, often online. There's a small fee depending on the city.
- Fill in the tax registration questionnaire (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung) online via ELSTER. That's how you get your tax number – and where you choose whether to use the small business rule.
- Trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) only applies to sole traders once annual profit exceeds the allowance of €24,500.
You can register under your real name and still use a stage name online. Fans never see your tax details.
2. Income tax: profit via the EÜR
What you earn is profit from self-employment. You usually calculate it with a simple cash-basis statement, the Einnahmenüberschussrechnung (EÜR):
Income – business expenses = profit
Business expenses are anything you spend on your creator business, for example:
- camera, lighting, tripod and microphone
- props and decoration for your shoots
- software and apps for editing
- a share of your phone and internet costs
- photographers, studio rent or editing, if you hire someone
Tax offices are strict about clothing and outfits: anything you could also wear privately usually doesn't count. Better to ask.
You file the EÜR together with your income tax return. Income tax only applies once your taxable income is above the basic allowance (Grundfreibetrag). Tip: put a fixed share of every payout aside from day one. After your first return, the tax office often sets advance payments (Vorauszahlungen).
3. The small business rule: limits since 2025
The small business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung, § 19 UStG) spares you VAT: you don't charge VAT and don't pay it over. New limits apply since 1 January 2025:
| Period | Limit (turnover, net) |
|---|---|
| Previous year | at most €25,000 |
| Current year | at most €100,000 |
What matters:
- The €100,000 applies immediately. If you exceed it during the current year, regular VAT applies from the very sale that takes you over the limit – not from next year.
- If you were above €25,000 in the previous year, you're no longer a small business this year.
- In the year you start, the €25,000 limit already applies to that year.
You can opt out of the rule, for example if you invest a lot and want input VAT refunded. You're then bound for five years.
In the SHEDANX tax pack you state in your tax profile whether you use the small business rule. It then appears on your statements.
4. What is a Gutschrift?
Normally, whoever provides a service writes the invoice. A Gutschrift (self-billing invoice) works the other way round: the recipient of the service issues it. On a platform, that means the platform issues the document for what you've earned – you don't have to write it an invoice yourself.
For a Gutschrift to count as an invoice (§ 14 (2) UStG), it must:
- be agreed in advance, for example in the creator terms,
- explicitly carry the word “Gutschrift”,
- contain the usual invoice details: names and addresses, your tax number or VAT ID, date, a sequential number, the service period and the amounts,
- state how VAT is handled – for example a note that the small business rule applies.
If something is wrong, you can object to a Gutschrift. It then loses its effect as an invoice.
Watch out: in everyday German, people say “Gutschrift” when they mean a credit note or refund. For tax purposes, that's something else. Call corrections a “Rechnungskorrektur” instead.
Who is your customer, actually?
For VAT, there's a special rule for digital services sold through platforms (Art. 9a of the EU VAT Implementing Regulation). Under it, the platform is often treated as the supplier to the fans and pays the VAT on their payments. You then supply your service to the platform, and your turnover is closer to the amount that reaches you. How exactly this applies to you is something to clarify with your tax advisor.
5. DAC7: what the platform reports to the tax office
Since 2023, platforms in the EU must report every year what their sellers earned through the platform. The rule is called DAC7; in Germany it's the Platform Tax Transparency Act (PStTG). Reports go to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), which passes the data on to your local tax office.
Among other things, the report contains:
- name, address, date of birth and tax ID or tax number
- the amounts paid through the platform, per quarter
- the number of sales or services
- the fees and commissions the platform kept
- the bank account the money was paid out to
The exemption for 30 sales and €2,000 only applies to goods. Sellers who sold fewer than 30 goods in a year for no more than €2,000 in total aren't reported for those sales. There's no such exemption for personal services – so as a creator you can't rely on a minimum threshold.
The report is filed by 31 January of the following year, and you're told by then what was reported. Important: DAC7 doesn't change whether or how much tax you pay. The tax office can simply check whether your return matches the reported figures. If you declare your income properly, there's nothing to worry about.
The SHEDANX tax pack shows your DAC7 figures for the current year: sales and what fans paid.
6. Keeping records: 8 and 10 years
Shorter periods apply to receipts since 2025 (§ 147 AO, § 14b UStG):
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Invoices, Gutschriften and receipts | 8 years |
| Books, records, annual statements | 10 years |
The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the document was created. The easy way: at the end of each year, save everything in one folder per year and keep it for ten years. On SHEDANX you download your statements as PDF, the yearly summary and the CSV export for that.
7. How the SHEDANX tax pack helps
In the tax pack in the app you'll find:
- monthly Gutschriften with your earnings by type – to print or save as PDF
- a CSV export of every transaction, ready for Excel or your tax advisor
- a yearly summary with gross, SHEDANX share and net
- your DAC7 figures and short explanations of the key rules
Your tax profile with name, address and tax number is only visible to you and the SHEDANX team, never to fans. Next up is a partner tax firm you can hire right in the app. For everything else that's new, read What's new on SHEDANX.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to register a trade as a creator in Germany?
Usually, yes. Tax offices generally treat creator income as trade income. Register with your city's trade office, then fill in the tax registration questionnaire via ELSTER.
What are the limits of the small business rule?
Since 2025: at most €25,000 turnover in the previous year and at most €100,000 in the current year, both net. If you go over €100,000 in the current year, VAT applies immediately from that sale.
What is a Gutschrift?
An invoice that isn't written by you but by the recipient of your service – for example the platform. It must be agreed in advance and carry the word “Gutschrift”.
Does the platform report my income to the tax office?
Yes. Under DAC7 and the PStTG, platforms report once a year to the BZSt what their sellers earned. The exemption for fewer than 30 sales and no more than €2,000 only applies to the sale of goods.
How long do I have to keep my records?
Invoices, Gutschriften and receipts eight years since 2025, books and records ten years. The period starts at the end of the calendar year.
Is the SHEDANX tax pack tax advice?
No. The tax pack organises your earnings and explains the basics. For your tax return and questions about your own case, a tax advisor is the right person to ask.
