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VAT & tax reserve calculator

Output VAT minus input VAT is what you transfer this period. The reserve on top is what stops the annual assessment from being a surprise. Both, from four numbers.

Net revenue this periodInvoiced revenue excluding VAT, for the month or quarter you are filing.€Net purchases with input VATSupplier invoices and costs that carry deductible VAT. Not payroll.€VAT rate19% standard in Germany, 7% reduced.%Profit before tax this periodRevenue minus costs for the same period, excluding VAT.€Income / corporation tax rateRoughly 30% for a German GmbH; a sole trader's rate depends on total income.%

Set aside this period

€7,150

The VAT you transfer, plus the tax you should not spend.

Output VAT: €7,600
Input VAT deductible: − €2,850
VAT prepayment due: €4,750
Income tax reserve: €2,400
As a share of net revenue: 17.9%

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The number

The money that was never yours

VAT you collect is money you are holding for the tax office, and the tax on your profit is money you owe it. Both sit in the same bank account as your own cash, which is exactly why a profitable business can be unable to pay them.

Prepayment = (net revenue × VAT rate) − (net purchases × VAT rate)

Getting it right

Payroll, insurance and most financial services carry no input VAT — leave them out of the purchases field.
If you file on an accrual basis you owe the VAT when you invoice, not when the customer pays.
A dedicated account for the reserve is the difference between knowing the number and having it.

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Templates that go further

Plan a tax payment

Every filing date with its amount, in the same forecast as everything else — instead of a reserve you hope is big enough.

12-month cash-flow planEvery euro in and out, month by month, with the running balance already wired up.13-week cash-flow planThe short-term view: thirteen weeks, week by week, granular enough to catch the week you run short.Profit & loss planRevenue down to net profit, month by month, in the order your accountant reads it.

Plan a tax payment All Excel templates

Questions

VAT & tax reserve calculator — What people ask about it

Monthly or quarterly filing?

In Germany it depends on last year's VAT liability: above €9,000 it is monthly, between €2,000 and €9,000 quarterly, and below that annually. New businesses often have to file monthly for the first two years.

How much should I set aside for income tax?

Thirty percent of profit is a workable default for a German GmbH once corporation tax, solidarity surcharge and trade tax are counted. A sole trader's rate rises with total income, so 35–40% is safer in a good year.

One number is an average. Your cash moves day by day.

Connect your accounting data and Foreqast keeps this calculation live — with every committed cost on the date it actually lands.

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