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For companies outside the EU · Not registered for VAT in Germany

German VAT refund for non-EU companies.
Paid German VAT, claimed back.

If your company is based outside the EU, paid German VAT on business costs and makes no taxable sales in Germany, you can claim that VAT back from the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, BZSt). The procedure is called the input VAT refund procedure (Vorsteuervergütung). A licensed German tax advisor prepares your claim and files it through the BZSt online portal, for a fixed fee per claim.

Ask about your claim Check if you qualify
✓  Fixed fee, never a percentage of your refund ✓  Filed by a licensed German tax advisor
REFUND CLAIM · 2026 COSTSEXAMPLE DATA
Example Ltd (United Kingdom)Invoices read, certificate attachedReady to file
Trade fair stand and services, Germany€1,520.00
Hotel stays during the fair€210.00
Consulting fees, German supplier€950.00
German VAT claimed2026€2,680.00
Deadline30 June 2027For German VAT paid in 2026. The BZSt does not extend it.
€490
Fixed per claim, net
30 June 2027
Deadline for 2026 costs
From €2,000
Of German VAT per claim

Who can claim German VAT back this way

Three things must all be true: your company is based outside the EU, it makes no taxable sales in Germany, and your home country refunds VAT to German businesses in return (or charges no VAT at all).

Trade fair exhibitors

Stand rental, stand construction, hotels: the German VAT you paid to exhibit at a German trade fair.

Companies buying services in Germany

Consultants, agencies, event and other service providers in Germany who charged you German VAT.

Businesses with German costs but no German sales

You pay German suppliers but sell nothing in Germany, so there is no German VAT return to deduct the VAT in.

When this procedure is the wrong one

Reciprocity confirmed, among others:

United Kingdom United States Switzerland Canada Australia United Arab Emirates Hong Kong

Source: German Federal Ministry of Finance, list of third countries with reciprocity, letter of 9 November 2022, as referenced by the BZSt.

How a claim runs

  1. Tell us what you paid

    A few lines are enough: which costs, roughly how much German VAT, which year. We tell you whether a claim makes sense and confirm the fee before anything starts.

  2. Send invoices and your certificate

    Scans of the invoices, plus a certificate from your home tax authority confirming your company is registered there (certificate of entrepreneur status, Unternehmerbescheinigung).

  3. We prepare and file

    A licensed German tax advisor checks the invoices, prepares the claim and files it through the BZSt online portal.

  4. The BZSt decides

    If the BZSt asks follow-up questions, we quote the work first and answer once it is paid.

What it costs

€490per claim, net

  • One fixed fee for preparing and filing one claim through the BZSt portal.
  • Never a percentage of your refund and never a success fee.
  • Follow-up questions from the BZSt: €200 per hour, net, quoted and paid before we answer.
  • Claims under €2,000 of German VAT: we decline them, because the fee would take too large a share.
  • Over €10,000 of German VAT: we quote your claim individually.

Our fee is paid upfront and covers the work. It is not refundable, and the BZSt decides the outcome of the claim.

Ask about your claim →

German VAT paid in 2026: claim by 30 June 2027

The claim covers a calendar year and must reach the BZSt within six months after that year ends. The BZSt does not extend this deadline, so a claim that misses it is lost.

German VAT refund for non-EU companies, answered

Can a company outside the EU get German VAT refunded?
Yes, if it makes no taxable sales in Germany and its home country refunds VAT to German businesses in return or charges no VAT. The claim goes to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) by 30 June of the year after the costs.
We sell on Amazon with stock in Germany. Is this for us?
No. A company registered for VAT in Germany deducts German VAT in its own German VAT return. That is part of our German VAT plans, not this procedure.
What does it cost?
€490 per claim, net, as a fixed fee. Follow-up questions from the BZSt are €200 per hour, quoted and paid before we answer. We never charge a percentage of the refund.
Our company is based in China. Can we claim?
Generally not. China is on Germany's list of countries without reciprocity, as are India, Turkey and Ukraine. Tell us about your case and we will say plainly whether anything applies.
What do we need to send?
Scans of the invoices with German VAT, and a certificate from your home tax authority confirming your company is registered there (Unternehmerbescheinigung). We tell you exactly what is missing before we file.

Advisory

One-off tax help, quoted first

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German VAT registration and returns

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Importing into Germany

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