{"id":13979,"date":"2025-05-04T17:29:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T15:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/?page_id=13979"},"modified":"2026-11-15T03:17:45","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T02:17:45","slug":"cash-basis-accounting-euer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/glossary\/cash-basis-accounting-euer\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash-basis accounting (E\u00dcR)"},"content":{"rendered":"<br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-lex-text-ff0fc9dd4fd4566b33a1d5206ed71dea '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>The cash-basis income statement (Einnahmen\u00fcberschussrechnung, E\u00dcR) is a simplified way of determining profit in Germany. Instead of double-entry bookkeeping with a balance sheet, the business income and business expenses of a year are compared. The surplus is the taxable profit. The basis is \u00a7 4 (3) EStG.<\/p>\n<h2>Who may use the E\u00dcR?<\/h2>\n<p>Anyone who is not obliged to keep accounts may use the E\u00dcR:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Freelancers<\/strong> such as doctors, architects, consultants or journalists, regardless of turnover and profit,<\/li>\n<li><strong>tradespeople and small businesses<\/strong>, as long as they are not obliged to keep accounts under commercial law and stay below the limits of \u00a7 141 AO: turnover up to \u20ac800,000 and profit up to \u20ac80,000 per year (since 2024),<\/li>\n<li><strong>small businesses under \u00a7 19 UStG<\/strong>, which also submit an E\u00dcR.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Corporations such as a GmbH, on the other hand, must always prepare a balance sheet.<\/p>\n<h2>Basic principle: receipt and payment<\/h2>\n<p>The E\u00dcR follows the cash principle (\u00a7 11 EStG): income counts in the year in which the money is received, expenses in the year in which they are paid. Exceptions apply, among others, to purchases of fixed assets that are depreciated and to regularly recurring payments around the turn of the year.<\/p>\n<h2>Travel expenses and business expenses in the E\u00dcR<\/h2>\n<p>Travel expenses and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/glossary\/business-expenses\/\">business expenses<\/a> reduce profit in the E\u00dcR; the date of payment is decisive. With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/\">Spesenfuchs<\/a>, you record receipts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/glossary\/travel-costs\/\">travel costs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/glossary\/entertainment-expenses\/\">entertainment expenses<\/a> and trips and pass them directly to your accounting, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/glossary\/accounting-integration\/\">accounting integration<\/a>. The export in DATEV format makes working with your tax advisor easier.<\/p>\n<h2>Anlage E\u00dcR and submission to the tax office<\/h2>\n<p>The E\u00dcR is submitted every year with the tax return on the official form &#8220;Anlage E\u00dcR&#8221;, electronically via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elster.de\/eportal\/formulare-leistungen\/alleformulare\">ELSTER<\/a> or suitable accounting software. Since the 2017 tax year, this applies to everyone, including small businesses with low income. An informal profit calculation or a template as a PDF is no longer sufficient.<\/p>\n<h2>Advantages of the E\u00dcR<\/h2>\n<p>The E\u00dcR is simpler than a balance sheet: no inventory, no balance sheet, less effort. Trips, purchases and running costs can be documented clearly. Many self-employed people and freelancers prepare it themselves, others with their tax advisor.<\/p>\n<h2>Related terms<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Obligation to keep accounts<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/features\/datev-export\/\">DATEV<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/glossary\/gobd-compliance\/\">GoBD compliance<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Tax return<\/li>\n<li>Small business<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/integrations\/\">Accounting software<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Profit determination<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"src\">Legal basis and sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gesetze-im-internet.de\/estg\/__4.html\">\u00a7 4 (3) EStG: legal basis of the E\u00dcR<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gesetze-im-internet.de\/ao_1977\/__141.html\">\u00a7 141 AO: obligation to keep accounts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gesetze-im-internet.de\/estdv_1955\/__60.html\">\u00a7 60 (4) EStDV: obligation to submit the Anlage E\u00dcR<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elster.de\/eportal\/helpGlobal?themaGlobal=help_euer_ufa_77_2025\">ELSTER: instructions for the Anlage E\u00dcR 2025<\/a> (in German)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n<br \/>\n[av_hr class='invisible' icon_select='yes' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello' position='center' shadow='no-shadow' height='50' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' custom_border_color='' custom_icon_color='' av-small-hide='aviaTBav-small-hide' av-mini-hide='aviaTBav-mini-hide' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-k3y7pcut' admin_preview_bg='']\r\n\r\n[av_button label='Try free for 30 days' icon_select='no' icon='ue800' font='entypo-fontello' link='page,8766' link_target='' size='large' position='center' label_display='' title_attr='' size-text='' av-desktop-font-size-text='' av-medium-font-size-text='' av-small-font-size-text='' av-mini-font-size-text='' margin='' margin_sync='true' padding='' padding_sync='true' av-desktop-margin='' av-desktop-margin_sync='true' av-desktop-padding='' av-desktop-padding_sync='true' av-medium-margin='' av-medium-margin_sync='true' av-medium-padding='' av-medium-padding_sync='true' av-small-margin='' av-small-margin_sync='true' av-small-padding='' av-small-padding_sync='true' av-mini-margin='' av-mini-margin_sync='true' av-mini-padding='' av-mini-padding_sync='true' color_options='' color='custom' custom_bg='#9eae12' custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_bg='theme-color' btn_custom_grad_direction='vertical' btn_custom_grad_1='#000000' btn_custom_grad_2='#ffffff' btn_custom_grad_3='' btn_custom_grad_opacity='0.7' btn_custom_bg='#444444' btn_color_bg_hover='theme-color-highlight' btn_custom_bg_hover='#444444' btn_color_font='theme-color' btn_custom_font='#ffffff' btn_color_font_hover='white' btn_custom_font_hover='#ffffff' border='' border_width='' border_width_sync='true' border_color='' border_radius='' border_radius_sync='true' box_shadow='' box_shadow_style='0px,0px,0px,0px' box_shadow_color='' animation='' animation_duration='' animation_custom_bg_color='' animation_z_index_curtain='100' hover_opacity='' sonar_effect_effect='' sonar_effect_color='' sonar_effect_duration='1' sonar_effect_scale='' sonar_effect_opac='0.5' css_position='' css_position_location=',,,' css_position_z_index='' av-desktop-css_position='' av-desktop-css_position_location=',,,' av-desktop-css_position_z_index='' av-medium-css_position='' av-medium-css_position_location=',,,' av-medium-css_position_z_index='' av-small-css_position='' av-small-css_position_location=',,,' av-small-css_position_z_index='' av-mini-css_position='' av-mini-css_position_location=',,,' av-mini-css_position_z_index='' id='' custom_class='' template_class='' av_uid='av-ju9gs2iy' sc_version='1.0' admin_preview_bg='']\r\n\r\n[av_hr class='invisible' icon_select='yes' icon='ue808' font='entypo-fontello' position='center' shadow='no-shadow' height='50' custom_border='av-border-thin' custom_width='50px' custom_margin_top='30px' custom_margin_bottom='30px' custom_border_color='' custom_icon_color='' av-desktop-hide='aviaTBav-desktop-hide' av-medium-hide='aviaTBav-medium-hide' id='' custom_class='' template_class='' av_uid='av-k3y7pcut-1' sc_version='1.0' admin_preview_bg='']\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":13914,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13979","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cash-basis accounting (E\u00dcR) in Germany: who may use it?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What does E\u00dcR mean? 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