Number format: this calculator uses German notation throughout — a comma is the decimal separator and a dot groups thousands. “1.234,56” means one thousand two hundred thirty-four euros and fifty-six cents. The figures come from German tax law, so they are shown the way German authorities write them.
VAT rate (Umsatzsteuersatz)
19 % as a rule and 7 % for certain supplies — which ones the statute decides, not the calculator.
In plain language
Almost everything carries 19 % VAT. A reduced rate of 7 % applies to some things — books, food or theatre tickets, for example. Whether your supply is reduced-rate is not something a calculator can decide: the statute keeps a long list for that, and the classification turns on the individual case. If you are unsure, that is a question for your tax office or your tax adviser.
In detail
§ 12 (1) UStG: “The tax is 19 percent of the taxable base for each taxable supply.” § 12 (2) UStG reduces it to seven percent for the supplies listed there — by reference to schedule 2 and fifteen numbered items. When extracting the tax from a gross amount the order matters: net = gross ÷ 1,19, and the tax arises as the difference. Multiply twice instead and, depending on rounding, you end up a cent away from the gross amount — and that shows on the invoice.
Worked example
1.000 € net + 19 % = 1.190 € gross. In reverse: 1.190 € ÷ 1,19 = 1.000 € net, tax 1.190 − 1.000 = 190 €. At 119,01 € gross: net 100,01 €, tax 19,00 € — the total is exact.
In brief
Net amount times the rate; or gross amount divided by (1 + rate), the tax being the difference.
Legal basis: § 12 UStG · as at 2026