You’ve registered your Gewerbe at the KVR and picked up your certificate — and within a few days a letter from the Finanzamt lands in your mailbox. No greeting, no explanation: a lengthy form called the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung. This is exactly where it’s decided whether you can apply the Kleinunternehmerregelung — the scheme that lets you invoice clients without VAT. Without this step, you can’t legally accept payment for a manicure or brow treatment. In this article: four concrete actions, from the form to your first correct invoice.
On every course at MONLIS, someone brings in exactly this letter and asks what to do with it. And that’s completely normal — German bureaucracy is built so that the most important document looks the least understandable.
We’ve already covered how to register a Gewerbe in Munich. This article picks up where that one left off: what to do once registration is behind you.
What Kleinunternehmerregelung is, and why it applies to you
Kleinunternehmerregelung is a VAT-exemption scheme under § 19 UStG, not a separate business form; both Gewerbetreibende and Freiberufler with modest turnover can use it. This is where the first confusion starts: Kleinunternehmer is a tax status, while Kleingewerbe is a simplified way of running a business in the commercial register. One doesn’t replace the other. You can be a Kleingewerbetreibende and still lose your Kleinunternehmer status if your turnover has already crossed the threshold.
If you’re looking for a parallel with systems back home, it loosely resembles a simplified tax regime elsewhere — just without a single flat tax: you don’t pay VAT, but Einkommensteuer (income tax) doesn’t disappear. Don’t draw a direct comparison, though: the systems work differently, and decisions about your own status are best made together with a Steuerberater (tax advisor).
Income thresholds for 2026
Since 1 January 2025, two thresholds apply: up to €25,000 in gross turnover in the previous year, and up to €100,000 in gross turnover during the current year — both conditions must be met at the same time. One important detail: thresholds are calculated from gross revenue, not net profit — even if materials for lash extensions eat up half your revenue, that’s irrelevant for the Fragebogen.
A manicurist charging an average of €45 per session and seeing 8–10 clients a week comes close to the €25,000 annual threshold even at a starting workload. We break down beauty-professional earnings in Munich in more detail in a separate article — no need to repeat the numbers here.
If turnover exceeds €100,000 during the year — say, after wedding season or a large corporate booking — Kleinunternehmer status ends starting from the very invoice that crosses the threshold, not from the following calendar year as used to be the case. Everything invoiced up to that point remains VAT-free.
Step 1. Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung
The Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung arrives automatically after you register your Gewerbe at the KVR, and it’s exactly where you choose Kleinunternehmer status. It’s completed online via ELSTER — and here’s the first trap: an ELSTER account isn’t created instantly. Depending on the identity-verification method you choose, access (a certificate file with activation codes by post and email) can take up to two weeks. Register well in advance, before you open your Gewerbe — not once the form is already sitting on your desk with a deadline.
Since 2025, a significant simplification applies to newly founded businesses: if you start trading partway through the year, your turnover for the partial first year is compared directly against the full €25,000 threshold — with no pro-rata recalculation for the full year, as used to be required. Opened your Gewerbe in September? No need to divide €25,000 by a fraction of the year: it’s enough that your actual turnover from the start date to the end of December doesn’t exceed that amount — Kleinunternehmer status then applies automatically, with no separate forecast or justification needed.
Step 2. How to invoice correctly without VAT
A Kleinunternehmer must state a clear VAT-exemption note on every invoice — otherwise the invoice is considered incomplete. The most common and safest wording:
“Gemäß § 19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer berechnet.”
Without this line, a client might think you simply forgot to add VAT rather than that you’re applying a special scheme.
Beyond the wording, an invoice needs a standard set of details: name and address of both parties, your tax number, a sequential invoice number, the date, a description of the service, and the amount. These requirements used to be governed solely by the general § 14 UStG, but since 2025 a separate, simplified rule — § 34a UStDV — applies specifically to Kleinunternehmer, narrowing the list of mandatory details for VAT-free invoices. If you use a ready-made invoice template from an accounting service, it usually already accounts for this simplification.
One nuance worth stressing on its own: you must not show “0% VAT” as a separate line item. If you mistakenly state a tax rate, even a zero one, the Finanzamt can demand you pay that amount — despite your Kleinunternehmer status.
As for e-Rechnung — the mandatory electronic invoice format for B2B transactions: Kleinunternehmer are not required to issue invoices in this format and can continue using PDF or paper. But since 2025, all businesses, Kleinunternehmer included, are required to be able to receive e-Rechnung from other companies — worth keeping in mind if corporate clients start appearing among yours.
Step 3. Recording income: EÜR instead of full bookkeeping
A Kleinunternehmer keeps a simple income-and-expense record (Einnahmen-Überschuss-Rechnung, EÜR) rather than double-entry bookkeeping. There are no formal software requirements: a tidy Excel spreadsheet is fine. The main thing is to keep original documents (receipts, invoices) for the required retention period.
At this step, most mistakes happen not from not knowing the law, but from ordinary carelessness — a lost receipt for polish or a ventilation unit is hard to recover later.
Since 2025, Kleinunternehmer generally no longer file even a zero VAT return — a genuine simplification compared to previous years. Exceptions apply in specific cases: if you mistakenly stated VAT on an invoice, if the reverse-charge mechanism applies (§ 13b UStG, typically when buying ads or services from foreign providers like Google/Meta Ads), or if the Finanzamt specifically requests a filing. Einkommensteuer, however, doesn’t go away, and Gewerbesteuer (trade tax) may also apply — but only if profit (not turnover) exceeds €24,500 a year. For most beauty professionals starting out, with moderate material costs, that threshold usually stays out of reach.
When it makes sense to opt out of Kleinunternehmerregelung
Voluntarily opting out is possible, but it locks you in for 5 calendar years — a decision worth weighing carefully in advance. The main reason to opt out is a large equipment purchase: if you’re planning to invest several thousand euros in UV lamps, ventilation units, or a professional chair, registering for standard VAT taxation lets you reclaim Vorsteuer (input VAT) on those purchases.
For most beauty professionals with moderate material costs — polishes, pigments, consumables — Kleinunternehmerregelung usually remains the more favourable option: simpler bookkeeping, no quarterly VAT returns. You can return to Kleinunternehmer status, but only after the five-year period ends and after a written request to the Finanzamt.
Four steps — and you’re already able to issue clients a legal invoice: register with ELSTER in advance, complete the Fragebogen and choose Kleinunternehmer status, add the correct § 19 UStG wording to every invoice, and keep simple records via EÜR. From there, it’s a matter of practice and, if needed, consulting a Steuerberater about your specific situation.
Once the paperwork is sorted, you can focus on developing your craft — choose a course and get certified, including continuing education for nail stylists.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace advice from a Steuerberater.
