VAT Return — the DIY guide for short-term rental hosts

Ist-Versteuerung — and why you should choose it

By default the tax office uses Soll-Versteuerung (accrual basis): VAT is due when the service is rendered — on guest check-out, not when the money arrives. This is unfavourable: you pay VAT before you have the cash.

Ist-Versteuerung (cash basis) is better: VAT is only due when the money actually hits your account. Airbnb often pays out weeks after check-out — on cash basis, the tax lands in the right quarter.

You are eligible for cash basis if your revenue is under €800,000 (always the case for STR hosts). Apply via "Sonstige Nachricht an das Finanzamt" in ELSTER with a short informal note: "I request cash-basis VAT treatment under §20 UStG from [month/year], as my annual turnover is well below €800,000." File on cash basis for the current quarter even before the Finanzamt confirms in writing — the approval is retroactive to the requested period.

Which sections you fill in

The ELSTER UStVA 2026 form has 10 sections. As a short-term rental host, you fill in three — four if you use Booking.com:

Section 3 — Your income

Enter your rental income as the net tax base — the amount before VAT. ELSTER calculates the tax automatically.

Which field code for what?

How to get the Kz 86 figure from Smoobu

For each booking in the quarter, you need two values from Smoobu (visible in the Google Sheets export or on the booking detail page in Smoobu):

• paid_out — your payout after the OTA host fee is deducted (for Berlin Airbnb bookings, this includes the Übernachtungssteuer pass-through)
• host_fee — the OTA service fee that was withheld (e.g. ~3% Airbnb host fee)

Step 1 — Tax base per booking

This strips the 7% VAT out of the gross amount. What remains is the net tax base to enter in ELSTER.

Step 2 — Quarterly total → field code 86

ELSTER rounds to whole euros and computes the tax (× 7%) automatically.

Worked example

Section 7 — Your input tax (Vorsteuer)

Here you enter the VAT that your suppliers have charged you — which you can reclaim. The total is subtracted from your own VAT liability.

What goes into Kz 66?

Example input tax collection (quarter)

Section 5 — Airbnb vs. Booking.com: the critical difference

In the ELSTER form, Section 5 appears before Section 7 — we cover it here after Section 7 because it builds on the input tax concept explained there.

Section 5 (§13b UStG) covers reverse charge: when a foreign EU company invoices you without charging German VAT, you become the tax debtor — you declare the tax and simultaneously reclaim it as input tax, net zero. Whether you need to fill it depends on which platform you use.

Airbnb Ireland handles the VAT obligation themselves: every host fee invoice already shows 19% German VAT. Leave Section 5 completely blank and claim the VAT from the invoice as input tax in Kz 66.

Booking.com BV (Netherlands) does not charge German VAT — reverse charge applies. Enter the net commission in Section 5, Row 30 (Kz 46); ELSTER calculates the 19% tax automatically (Kz 47). Then claim the same tax amount back in Section 7, Kz 67. Net cost: zero — but you must report it correctly. Find your monthly commission invoices in the Booking.com Extranet under Finance → Invoices; they show "reverse charge" or "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" instead of a VAT amount.

The quarterly workflow

1. Export booking data from Smoobu — CSV export or Google Sheets sync; you need paid_out and host_fee per booking
2. Calculate the tax base — (paid_out + host_fee) ÷ 1.07 per booking, then sum → Kz 86
3. Collect invoices — download Airbnb host fee invoices, cleaning invoices, software receipts
4. Sum the input tax — add up the VAT amounts shown on all invoices → Kz 66
5. Open ELSTER — Mein ELSTER → Formulare und Leistungen → Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung
6. Complete Sections 1, 3 and 7 — if you use Booking.com, also fill in Section 5 (Kz 46). Section 9 calculates automatically.
7. Review and submit — save the Übertragungsprotokoll as proof
8. Pay — transfer any amount due by the 10th of the following month (or set up a SEPA mandate)

Quarterly deadlines

If the 10th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the next working day applies. You can apply for a one-month extension (Dauerfristverlängerung) — for quarterly filers it is free.

Common mistakes

• Entering gross instead of net: Kz 86 requires the tax base without VAT. Divide your gross revenue by 1.07 — do not enter the gross amount directly.
• Including city tax as income: The Übernachtungssteuer is a pass-through item. It does not belong in Kz 86 — file it separately via the Berlin tax portal.
• Claiming insurance as input tax: Insurance premiums contain insurance tax, not VAT. No input tax deduction is possible.
• Forgetting Airbnb invoices: Airbnb issues a host fee invoice per payout period showing 19% VAT. Download them and include the VAT in Kz 66.
• Putting Booking.com commission into Kz 66: Booking.com does not charge German VAT. The net commission belongs in Section 5 (Kz 46) — not Kz 66. Then reclaim the calculated tax in Kz 67.
• Wrong quarter: On cash basis, what matters is when the money arrived. A booking paid out on 2 April belongs in Q2 — even if the stay was in March.
• Filing late: Late filing triggers surcharges. Set a recurring quarterly reminder and file even if you had zero bookings (file a zero return).