How to Reclaim VAT on German Business Trips: Hotels, Trade Fairs & 13th Directive

Vaytax Editorial Team

Licensed tax advisor · files with the Finanzamt

Vaytax is operated by FRADECO GmbH tax advisory firm, a Franco-German tax advisory firm specialising in cross-border German VAT compliance for international businesses. The firm holds both German tax advisor and French Expert-Comptable qualifications and files via the Finanzamt.

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The short answer: two paths

When a foreign company sends people to Germany for business, sales trips, customer visits, trade fair attendance, training sessions, they accumulate German VAT on hotels, taxis, restaurant meals, trade fair fees, sometimes equipment rentals. That VAT is recoverable. The question is how to recover it, and the answer depends on one factor: are you registered for German VAT?

If yes (you have a Steuernummer and USt-IdNr.): the German VAT on every business trip cost is reclaimable through your regular monthly UStVA, exactly like any other business input VAT.

If no (you have business in Germany but are not VAT-registered): you file a 13th Directive refund application (for non-EU companies) or the 8th Directive equivalent under Directive 2008/9/EC (for EU companies registered in another member state). Separate procedure, separate deadlines, separate document requirements.

Most Vaytax customers are in the first camp, they are VAT-registered because of inventory in a German 3PL or warehouse, so the trip VAT just flows through their normal monthly returns. But the second path matters for companies who attend a trade fair once or twice a year without otherwise needing to be VAT-registered in Germany.

Path 1: German VAT through your monthly UStVA

If your company is registered for German VAT, every German VAT charge on a business trip goes on your next monthly UStVA as Vorsteuer (input VAT). Here is what qualifies and how the mechanics work.

What costs qualify

Hotel stays. Standard German VAT is 19%, but overnight accommodation (Beherbergungsleistungen) carries a reduced 7% rate. Most hotel invoices itemise the two rates: the room is 7%, breakfast and parking are 19%, minibar items are 19%. All of it is reclaimable as long as the invoice is in your company's name.

Transport. Deutsche Bahn long-distance Fernverkehr tickets (7% since 2020), taxis (7% if the trip is under 50km, 19% otherwise), car rentals (19%), fuel for rental cars (19%), public transport (7%). Ride-sharing services like Uber and Bolt issue 19% invoices.

Trade fair stand and exhibition costs. This is often the largest single VAT line for many foreign attendees. The Düsseldorf, Hannover, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Berlin Messe locations all issue invoices with 19% German VAT on stand fees, electricity, equipment rental, marketing services, and exhibitor logistics. A €30,000 stand at drupa, Hannover Messe, EuroShop, IFA Berlin or similar contains roughly €4,790 of reclaimable VAT. Many companies do not realise they are leaving this money on the table.

Restaurant meals. See the Bewirtungskosten subsection below, special rules apply.

Conference and training fees. Conference attendance, training course fees from German providers, certification exams, professional association memberships, all 19% German VAT, all reclaimable.

Small equipment and supplies. A laptop bought from a Berlin Saturn store, a tablet from MediaMarkt, branded clothing made in Germany, reclaimable if business-purpose and properly invoiced.

The Bewirtungskosten exception

Restaurant meals where you host customers, partners, or prospects (Bewirtung) follow a specific German rule under §4 Abs. 5 Nr. 2 EStG. The deductible portion for income-tax purposes is limited to 70% of the net cost. But the VAT itself remains 100% reclaimable. So a €100 net + €19 VAT business lunch with a customer in Munich:

• Income-tax deduction: 70% of €100 = €70 as a business expense
• VAT reclaim: full €19, reclaimable as Vorsteuer

The invoice must include a properly completed Bewirtungsbeleg with:

• Date and venue
• Names of all attendees (you and your guests)
• Business purpose (e.g. "Vertragsverhandlung mit XYZ GmbH" / "Contract negotiation with XYZ GmbH")
• Itemised meal costs and tip

Restaurant receipts without this information will fail the audit test, so make sure waitstaff fill in the back of the receipt (most German restaurants understand this on request, ask for the "Bewirtungsbeleg ausfüllen").

Invoice requirements: Rechnung vs Quittung

For German VAT to be reclaimable, the document must be a proper Rechnung (invoice), not a Quittung (simple receipt). A valid Rechnung contains:

• The supplier's full name and address
• The supplier's German Tax ID or USt-IdNr.
• A sequential invoice number
• Date of invoice and date of supply
• Description of the goods or services
• Net amount, VAT rate, VAT amount, gross amount
• Your company's full legal name and address, this is the one most travellers forget at hotel check-in

A Quittung is just a payment receipt and is not VAT-reclaimable above €250. Under that threshold, simplified invoices are acceptable (the so-called Kleinbetragsrechnung rules), but for hotel stays and Messe invoices you should always be requesting a full Rechnung in your company's name.

How Vaytax handles this

You upload your German invoices in the Documents tab of your Vaytax dashboard each month. We extract the VAT lines, categorise them (Bewirtungskosten get the 70% income-tax flag), book them as Vorsteuer in your UStVA, and they offset your output VAT on your sales. If your trip month has more input VAT than output VAT (common for big trade fair months), you get a refund from the Finanzamt instead of a payment.

Path 2: 13th Directive refunds (or 8th Directive for EU companies)

If your company has German business costs but no German VAT registration, you can still recover the VAT, but through a different procedure.

Who uses 13th Directive

The 13th Directive (Council Directive 86/560/EEC) governs VAT refunds for businesses established outside the EU, UK companies post-Brexit, US LLCs, Swiss AGs, Asian companies, Australian companies. You apply for a refund of the German VAT directly to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt), not to the Finanzamt that handles registered companies.

Who uses 8th Directive (now Directive 2008/9/EC)

For companies established within the EU but not registered in Germany, say a Spanish SL that sends staff to a trade fair in Frankfurt but has no German VAT registration, the procedure is the EU VAT refund under Directive 2008/9/EC (still commonly called "8th Directive" by tax advisors). You file the claim through your home country's tax administration, which then forwards it to Germany.

Deadlines

This is the part that catches companies out the most:

Miss the deadline and the VAT is permanently lost, there is no extension, no late-application route.

Minimum refund amounts (Germany)

• Annual application (covering a full calendar year): minimum €500.
• Quarterly application: minimum €500 per quarter, covering Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, or Oct-Dec.
• The residual full-year top-up after quarterly filings: minimum €500.

For a once-a-year trade fair attendee, a single annual application usually makes sense, both procedurally and to clear the threshold in one go.

What you submit

The 13th Directive application requires:

• The official German refund form (Antrag auf Vergütung)
• Original Rechnungen for each VAT line claimed (or certified copies for high-value invoices)
• A certificate of taxable activity from your home country's tax authority, proving you are a legitimate business
• Reciprocity proof, Germany only grants 13th Directive refunds to countries that grant similar refunds to German businesses (most major economies qualify; the BZSt publishes the current list)
• Bank details for the refund

The application can be filed in German or English. Processing time is typically 4 to 8 months from a complete submission.

Vaytax and 13th Directive refunds

Standard Vaytax compliance does not include 13th Directive refund applications, they are a different filing channel and require different paperwork than the monthly UStVA workflow. If you have a meaningful annual total (€2,000 or more), we quote the work as a separate advisory engagement. Below the threshold, the application cost typically is not worth the recovery, and we will tell you so.

If you are weighing whether to get a German VAT registration because of accumulating trip VAT, the math usually favours registration once your annual German costs exceed roughly €10,000 to €15,000 of net spend. At that point you are leaving enough VAT on the table to make the €79/month compliance fee worth it on the input-VAT side alone, even before considering whatever German business activity initially triggered the question.

What you cannot reclaim, even with perfect paperwork

Three categories of German cost are not reclaimable, even with a proper Rechnung:

1. Private or non-business expenses. A personal weekend in Berlin after the work trip, a partner's hotel room without business justification, gifts that exceed the €35-per-recipient annual gift threshold.
2. VAT on costs from EU countries you are not registered in, claimed via the German UStVA. If your trip to Vienna for a conference involved Austrian VAT, it cannot go on your German UStVA, you would file an 8th Directive claim through Austria instead, separately. The German return only covers German VAT.
3. Bewirtungskosten that fail the documentation test. A restaurant receipt without guest names and business purpose is treated as a private cost, full VAT non-reclaimable, full income-tax non-deductible. The Bewirtungsbeleg requirement is strict.

Decision tree: which procedure applies to you

For most companies with any German business activity that requires a Steuernummer (Amazon FBA inventory, a German 3PL warehouse, German B2C customers above OSS thresholds, or B2B sales from a German base), the answer is always the first branch: UStVA, every month, every euro of input VAT, automatic.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign company reclaim VAT on German business trips?

Yes. Two paths: if your company is registered for German VAT, the German VAT on business trip costs (hotels, taxis, trade fair stands, meals) goes on your monthly USt-Voranmeldung as Vorsteuer, exactly like any other input VAT. If your company has trip costs in Germany but is NOT VAT-registered there, you file a separate 13th Directive refund application (or 8th Directive equivalent for EU companies registered elsewhere) directly with the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern.

What is the deadline for a 13th Directive VAT refund in Germany?

30 June of the year following the year the VAT was paid. So German VAT paid during 2026 must be claimed by 30 June 2027. There is no extension or late-application route, miss the deadline and the VAT is permanently lost. The EU 8th Directive equivalent (Directive 2008/9/EC) has a 30 September deadline.

What is the minimum VAT refund amount under the 13th Directive in Germany?

Annual applications must be at least €500. Quarterly applications (covering Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, or Oct-Dec) must also be at least €500 per quarter. Below the threshold, the refund cannot be claimed.

Can I reclaim VAT on a trade fair stand at a German Messe?

Yes, in full. Stand fees, electricity, equipment rental, on-site marketing services, exhibitor logistics, all carry 19% German VAT and all are reclaimable. For a €30,000 stand at drupa, Hannover Messe, EuroShop, IFA Berlin or similar, you are looking at roughly €4,790 of recoverable VAT. The invoice must be issued in your company's full legal name and address.

Are restaurant meals (Bewirtungskosten) reclaimable in Germany?

The VAT is 100% reclaimable. The income-tax deduction is limited to 70% of the net cost under §4 Abs. 5 Nr. 2 EStG. The Bewirtungsbeleg (entertainment receipt) must include the names of all attendees, the business purpose, the date and venue, and itemised meal costs and tip. Restaurant receipts without these elements fail the audit test and become non-reclaimable.

Do I need a Rechnung or is a Quittung enough?

You need a Rechnung (proper invoice) for any cost above €250. A Quittung (simple receipt) is not VAT-reclaimable above that threshold. A valid Rechnung must include the supplier's full details and tax ID, a sequential invoice number, dates, itemised description, net/VAT/gross amounts, and your company's full legal name and address. The company-name-and-address part is the one most travellers forget at hotel check-in.

Does Vaytax handle 13th Directive refunds?

Not as part of standard monthly compliance. The 13th Directive procedure is filed separately to the BZSt with its own forms and document requirements, distinct from the monthly UStVA workflow. If you have a meaningful annual total (€2,000 or more), we quote it as an advisory engagement. If your German trip VAT is large enough that the math favours getting a German VAT registration (typically around €10,000 to €15,000 of annual net German spend), we will tell you so, the €79/month then pays for itself on the input-VAT side alone.

Header photo: Gamescom 2019 attendees in the Koelnmesse entrance hall. Photo by Laura Heimann on Unsplash.