Low-value assets (GWG) in Germany: deduct immediately up to €800 net

What is a low-value asset (GWG)?

A low-value asset is an item of fixed assets (Anlagevermögen) whose acquisition or production cost excluding input VAT is no more than €800. Normally you would have to depreciate it over its useful life (see depreciation (AfA)). For GWG, § 6 Abs. 2 EStG instead allows you to deduct the full cost in the year of purchase as a business expense (Betriebsausgabe). Until 2017 the limit was €410; since 2018 it has been €800.

Four conditions must be met:

• Movable: no buildings, no fixtures that become part of a building.
• Depreciable: the item loses value through use or time. Works of art or land do not count.
• Fixed asset: it serves the business for more than one year. Goods you sell and consumables are not GWG but immediately a business expense.
• Capable of independent use: it can be used on its own, not only together with other devices (more on this below).

The three limits: €250, €800 and €1,000

The amounts refer to the net acquisition cost including incidental costs such as shipping or installation, minus discounts and early-payment discounts (Skonto). For each asset individually – three chairs at €300 each are three GWG, not one item for €900.

Always net: GWG for Kleinunternehmer and with input VAT deduction

Whether the €800 limit is exceeded is always checked against the net amount – i.e. the price without VAT (Umsatzsteuer), even if you are not allowed to deduct input VAT (§ 6 Abs. 2 Satz 1 EStG: acquisition cost „vermindert um einen darin enthaltenen Vorsteuerbetrag“, reduced by any input VAT included). At 19 % VAT this corresponds to a gross price of up to €952.

The only difference is the amount you deduct: if you are entitled to deduct input VAT, you deduct the net price and reclaim the VAT via the advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung). As a small business (Kleinunternehmer) the non-deductible VAT is part of the acquisition cost – you deduct the gross amount.

Example: a Kleinunternehmer buys a desk for €940 gross. Net that is €789.92 – so it is a GWG. He deducts the full €940 in the year of purchase. If the same desk costs €980 gross (€823.53 net), it is no longer a GWG; then the pool item or depreciation over 13 years remains.

Independent use: when an item counts on its own

An asset is not capable of independent use if it can only be used together with other assets and is technically coordinated with them (§ 6 Abs. 2 Satz 2 EStG). The limit then applies to the whole unit. What matters is whether the item works on its own according to its business purpose.

• Capable of independent use: office chair, desk lamp, coffee machine, tool case, smartphone, camera, projector, specialist book.
• Not capable of independent use: individual elements of a shelving system that are combined into one shelf; permanently installed parts of a machine; spare parts or accessories that only work in a particular device.
• Monitor, printer, keyboard and mouse: in the past often not capable of independent use, today usually no longer an issue, because as computer hardware they are fully deductible in the year of purchase anyway.
• Initial equipment with many identical items (for example 20 chairs for a seminar room): each chair is a separate GWG.

The pool item (Sammelposten): 20 % over five years

Instead of the GWG rule you can choose the pool item for a financial year (§ 6 Abs. 2a EStG, also called pool depreciation, Poolabschreibung). Then all assets of that year with acquisition costs of €250.01 to €1,000 net go into a common item, which is released at 20 % each in the year it is created and the four following years – without monthly reduction. If you sell or scrap an item from the pool, nothing changes in the pool item.

The choice applies uniformly for the whole year: if you opt for the pool item, you cannot use the GWG immediate deduction for assets between €250.01 and €800 in the same year. Assets up to €250 remain immediately deductible. You can choose again the next year. The pool item is especially worthwhile if you buy many assets between €800 and €1,000 that would otherwise have to be depreciated over a long time. But it has a catch: it continues to be released over five years even if an asset breaks or is sold in the second year – a remaining book value cannot then be deducted immediately. And in years with high profits, the immediate deduction usually brings more, because the tax saving is greater at a high marginal tax rate.

Examples: GWG, pool item or AfA?

The table shows typical purchases of a freelancer liable for VAT and what you can deduct in the first year if you choose the GWG immediate deduction (without a pool item):

Worked example: immediate deduction versus pool item

In 2026 a graphic designer buys an office chair (€480), a monitor arm with lamp (€300), a filing cabinet (€900) and a drawing table (€980), all net. The comparison shows which choice brings more in the first year:

Timing, receipts and fixed asset register

A GWG is deducted in the year of acquisition, i.e. of delivery – not in the year of the order and, even with the EÜR, not only in the year of payment. An office chair delivered on 28 December 2026 and paid for in January 2027 is a GWG of 2026. You deduct the input VAT on it, however, as soon as you have the invoice and have received the goods.

For GWG over €250, the law requires a continuously kept register with the acquisition date and acquisition cost (§ 6 Abs. 2 Satz 4 EStG), unless this information can be seen from your bookkeeping. You keep the invoice for eight years, as required by the GoBD. If you organise your receipts digitally from the start, you will also find them quickly in a tax audit (Betriebsprüfung).

Low-value assets with KontoVexa

If you record an expense over €250 net in KontoVexa for an item that lasts longer, you create a fixed asset from it with one click. KontoVexa suggests the method based on the amount: GWG immediate deduction up to €800 net, full deduction for computer hardware and software, or straight-line AfA according to the AfA table. The fixed asset appears in the fixed asset register, and the amounts flow into the right line of the Anlage EÜR. KontoVexa does not offer the pool item for new fixed assets. More on the page EÜR and fixed asset register.

Frequently asked questions