Income-Expense Accounting: How to Do It Right

For most self-employed people in Germany, the income-surplus statement (Einnahmen-Überschuss-Rechnung, EÜR) is how they work out their profit. The idea is simple: income minus expenses is profit. There are a few rules worth knowing, though, above all which year a payment belongs to.

Key points

• The EÜR is governed by § 4(3) EStG. Freiberufler can always use it; trades (Gewerbe) can as long as they aren’t required to keep double-entry books.
• The limits for trades are 800,000 euros turnover and 80,000 euros profit (§ 141 AO).
• The cash principle applies (Zufluss-Abfluss-Prinzip, § 11 EStG): the payment date decides.
• Exceptions are recurring payments around the turn of the year (the 10-day rule) and purchases over 800 euros, which you depreciate.
• Keep receipts for eight years, records for ten.
• You submit the Anlage EÜR electronically with your income tax return.

Who can use the EÜR

Freiberufler can use the EÜR whatever their turnover and profit. Commercial-law bookkeeping duties don’t apply to them.

Trades can use it as long as they aren’t required to keep double-entry books. The tax office (Finanzamt) requires bookkeeping once turnover exceeds 800,000 euros or profit exceeds 80,000 euros a year (§ 141(1) AO), starting from the financial year after it tells you. The same limits apply to sole traders registered as merchants under commercial law (§ 241a HGB).

For most freelancers, that means: the EÜR is the right choice and stays that way.

The cash principle

This is the most important EÜR rule (§ 11 EStG):

• Income counts in the year the money reaches you.
• Expenses count in the year you pay.

The invoice date doesn’t matter.

Example: You invoice 2,000 euros on 15 December 2025. Your client pays on 8 January 2026. The income belongs in your 2026 EÜR.

The 10-day rule

There’s an exception for regularly recurring payments: if they’re paid shortly before or after the turn of the year, they count in the year they economically belong to (§ 11(1) sentence 2 and (2) sentence 2 EStG). Case law treats “shortly” as up to 10 days.

Example: You pay your office rent for January 2026 on 29 December 2025. It’s a 2026 expense.

Typical cases are rent, insurance premiums and the VAT advance payment. For VAT, the due date also has to fall within the 10 days. If 10 January is on a weekend, that can’t be the case. If in doubt, have a tax adviser check this edge case.

What doesn’t follow the payment date

• Purchases over 800 euros net are depreciated over their useful life. Computers and software may be given a one-year useful life.
• Pass-through items that you collect and pay out in someone else’s name and for their account stay out of the EÜR (§ 4(3) sentence 2 EStG).

What about VAT?

If you’re not a Kleinunternehmer, VAT is part of the EÜR. The VAT your clients pay is income. The input VAT on your purchases and your payments to the Finanzamt are expenses. It evens out, but every item belongs in the Anlage EÜR.

What you need to record

All income, including small amounts and cash.

All business expenses, with a receipt. Not every business expense is fully deductible. Business meals count at 70%, gifts only up to 50 euros per recipient per year, and some costs are excluded altogether (§ 4(5) EStG). Our guide to tax deductions for freelancers covers which expenses count how.

Fixed assets over 800 euros net in a register, with date, price and depreciation.

Private costs stay out. For mixed use, such as your phone, only the business share counts.

Organising and keeping receipts

Digital receipts are fully accepted: PDF invoices, scans, photos of receipts, as long as they are legible and complete. The tax authorities’ GoBD set out the requirements for digital record-keeping.

Retention periods (§ 147(3) AO):

Documents	Period
Accounting vouchers, meaning invoices and receipts	8 years
Records and annual statements	10 years

The period starts at the end of the year the document was created.

A routine that works

1. Once a week, go through your bank transactions and give each one a category.
2. Attach receipts straight away, before they get lost.
3. Once a month, check: are all invoices paid? What’s the surplus so far?
4. Set tax aside. A fixed percentage of each payment into a separate account avoids surprises.

Common mistakes

Using the invoice date instead of the payment date. In the EÜR, the payment counts.

Putting it off. Sorting a year of receipts in February takes many times longer than a weekly routine.

Mixing private and business payments. A separate business account isn’t required, but it makes matching much easier.

Forgetting cash income. Small amounts are taxable too.

Throwing receipts away. If a receipt is missing in an audit, the Finanzamt can disallow the expense.

Deducting expensive purchases straight away. Over 800 euros net you depreciate, except for computers and software.

The Anlage EÜR and your tax return

At year end, you summarise all income and expenses in the Anlage EÜR (the EÜR form). It’s mandatory and must be submitted electronically, together with your income tax return. The deadline is the same: seven months after year end, so 31 July 2026 for 2025, or 1 March 2027 with a tax adviser.

How Solobooks helps

Solobooks imports your bank transactions, suggests a category for each one and matches incoming payments to your invoices. You attach receipts directly to the transaction. Because Solobooks works with the payment date, every transaction lands in the right year.

At year end, Solobooks builds your Anlage EÜR from these transactions. You check the figures and submit the form directly from Solobooks to ELSTER. If you work with a tax adviser, give them a DATEV export instead.

FAQ

Can I always use the EÜR as a Freiberufler? Yes. Freiberufler aren’t required to keep double-entry books, whatever their turnover and profit.

When do I have to switch to double-entry bookkeeping as a trade? When your turnover exceeds 800,000 euros or your profit exceeds 80,000 euros a year and the Finanzamt tells you to.

Which year does a December invoice paid in January belong to? The new year. In the EÜR, the payment date counts.

How long do I need to keep receipts? Accounting vouchers for eight years, records for ten.

Do I have to submit the Anlage EÜR electronically? Yes. The Anlage EÜR is submitted electronically, together with your income tax return.

Need help?

If you have questions about the EÜR, email us at support@solobooks.de or chat with us in the app. You can read more on our bookkeeping with Solobooks page.

Sources

• § 4 EStG – Gewinnbegriff, Betriebsausgaben
• § 11 EStG – Vereinnahmung und Verausgabung
• § 141 AO – Buchführungspflicht bestimmter Steuerpflichtiger
• § 241a HGB – Befreiung von der Buchführungspflicht
• § 147 AO – Aufbewahrungsfristen
• BMF – GoBD (Grundsätze ordnungsmäßiger Buchführung)

Last checked: 30 October 2026. This article is general information, not tax advice for your individual case. Legislation and official guidance change — the current version of each source prevails.

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Last updated: October 30, 2026