On November 18, 2022, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance released a new certificate of VAT taxable status for entrepreneurs based in Germany. We dive into the importance of this new certificate and how it influences local and international business and VAT operations.
The latest certificate, VAT 1 TN Proof, applies to entrepreneurs based in Germany that would like to claim input from a third country. In 2019 entrepreneurs were required to issue a Bundesministerium für Finanzen (BMF) letter. A BMF letter is issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance and is a decree of agreement between federal states. In 2022, entrepreneurs were required to issue a USt 1 TN form.
However, recent amendments had to be made to ensure minimal objection in the foreign registration and claim process. The changes in the certificate include the following:
The changes consider the inclusion of the date of the entrepreneur’s VAT registration. Some third countries require this date to be able to check whether the VAT registration was given during the refund period. The other changes are editorial or typographical.
In the event of submitting the new certificate for claiming VAT in a third country, the certificate will only be valid if it’s issued by entrepreneurs who are eligible to deduct input tax. If the entrepreneur only carries out tax-exempt sales that exclude the input tax deduction, the certificate will not be valid to issue (§ 19 paragraph 1 or § 24 paragraph 1 UStG).
If entrepreneurs are required to provide proof of registration by foreign authorities, the German tax authorities have no objections to confirming the registration as an entrepreneur as long as the content of the forms corresponds to the regulatory content of the model form USt 1 TN.
Staying up to date with the latest legislation and VAT treatment can be tricky – unless you have experts in your corner. Find the right solution for your business to successfully register and claim VAT in Germany.
Backdating VAT Registration: What Businesses Need to Know VAT registration has a deadline. Miss it, and the tax authority does not simply move the start date forward to when you applied. In most cases, it moves it back to when you should have registered in the first place. That gap between when you were liable […]
VAT IT and Helios: Every Invoice Verified, All Eligible VAT Recovered. When your business crosses borders, the tax rules, invoice formats, and compliance requirements change with every country you enter. Most expense platforms were not built to handle that. Managing it across multiple vendors is where things tend to go wrong. Helios and VAT […]
Oman’s e-Invoicing Rollout Just Changed. Here Is the Updated Timeline. On 9 August 2026, Oman’s Tax Authority issued Decision No. 189/2026, adjusting the phased rollout of its mandatory e-Invoicing programme and providing more clarity in respect of the affected taxpayers. The dates have moved. The direction has not. What Changed Phase Who It Covers Previous […]
VAT in the Events Industry: The Triggers That Catch Businesses Out Most event businesses think they have a VAT plan. What they actually have is a VAT filing plan. Those are not the same thing. Filing returns on time does not protect you if the underlying classification of your supplies is wrong. If admission […]
Branch vs Subsidiary: Why the Distinction Matters More Than You Think for VAT Reclaim Most multinationals know the difference between a branch and a subsidiary from a corporate law perspective. Fewer realise how dramatically that distinction affects their VAT position, and specifically, how much recoverable VAT they may be leaving on the table because of […]
California Is About to Tax SaaS. Here Is What Changes on 1 January 2027. If California was the state your US Sales Tax compliance team never had to think about, that changes in six months. Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 122 into law as part of California’s 2026-2027 budget. From 1 January […]
This webinar explains how US businesses can identify and recover foreign VAT, breaking down key concepts like reciprocity and showing where refund opportunities are often missed.
