UStVA: German advance VAT return deadlines

In short

The UStVA is the German advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung): by the 10th day after the end of the month or quarter you send the tax office the VAT prepayment you calculated yourself, electronically, and pay it on the same day (§ 18(1) UStG).

As of 3 October 2026 · General information, not tax advice.

In the return you calculate the VAT on the period's sales, deduct the deductible input VAT and report the result as a prepayment or a refund. It is sent as the officially prescribed data record through the official interface, in practice through ELSTER. Paper is only allowed if the tax office grants it on request to avoid undue hardship.

The return period is normally the calendar quarter. If your VAT for the previous year was more than EUR 9,000, you file monthly. At EUR 2,000 or less, the tax office can release you from advance returns, and the annual return is enough. If you had a refund of more than EUR 9,000 in the previous year, you can choose monthly filing by submitting the January return by 10 February (§ 18(2) and (2a) UStG).

For new businesses, § 18(2) sentence 4 UStG requires monthly returns in the year of founding and the following year. This does not apply to the years 2021 to 2026: in the founding year the expected tax for that year decides, in the following year the founding year's tax converted to a full year (§ 18(2) sentence 6 UStG). Under the statute as of 3 October 2026, this exception ends with 2026.

On request the tax office extends the deadlines for filing and payment by one month (Dauerfristverlängerung, § 46 UStDV). You apply electronically by the day the first affected return would be due. Monthly filers pay a special prepayment of one eleventh of the previous year's prepayments, which is credited against the last prepayment of the year (§§ 47, 48 UStDV).

Small businesses under § 19 UStG do not file advance returns (§ 19(1) sentence 3 UStG). Exceptions are the cases in § 18(4a) UStG, for example when you owe the VAT as the recipient of a service from abroad; you then file only for the periods concerned. If you exceed the small business limit during the year, the general filing duties apply from that point (section 19.1(7) UStAE).

In Austria the return is called UVA and is due on the 15th day of the second following month; businesses file monthly there if their previous year's turnover exceeded EUR 100,000 (§ 21 UStG 1994).

In Saldek

For German organisations, Saldek prepares the UStVA figures for each period from your approved entries. Filing and paying are up to you, for example through ELSTER, or your tax adviser.

Questions about this term

When is the UStVA due?

By the 10th day after the end of the return period, so by 10 April for March; the prepayment is due on the same day. If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it ends on the next working day (§ 108(3) AO). With a Dauerfristverlängerung both dates move by one month.

Do I file monthly or quarterly?

Quarterly if your VAT for the previous year was EUR 9,000 or less, monthly above that. At EUR 2,000 or less the tax office can release you from advance returns altogether.

What does the one-month extension cost?

Quarterly filers get it without a special prepayment. Monthly filers pay one eleventh of the previous year's prepayments as a special prepayment, credited against the last prepayment of the year.

Do small businesses (Kleinunternehmer) file a UStVA?

No, as long as the § 19 UStG exemption applies, except in special cases such as VAT you owe as a recipient. The tax office can still request a return separately (§ 149(1) sentence 2 AO).

UStVA (German advance VAT return)