Rechnungsabgrenzung zum Jahresende: Vorauszahlungen richtig zuordnen

In October you paid the annual insurance premium for your business premises, which runs until next September. Or a customer paid you a one-year subscription in advance in November. If you prepare a balance sheet, you must accrue such payments at year-end. We explain prepaid expenses and deferred income under section 250 HGB and section 5(5) EStG, work through two examples and show what applies to cash-basis accounting.

What is accrual and deferral about?

In a balance sheet, an expense or income belongs to the year it economically relates to, not automatically to the year of payment. If payment and economic allocation differ, you need a prepaid or deferred item (Rechnungsabgrenzungsposten, RAP) at the balance sheet date. The law knows two types:

• Prepaid expense (active RAP): Expenditure before the balance sheet date, to the extent it represents expense for a specific period after that date (section 250(1) HGB, section 5(5) sentence 1 EStG).
• Deferred income (passive RAP): Income received before the balance sheet date, to the extent it represents income for a specific period after that date (section 250(2) HGB, section 5(5) sentence 1 EStG).

What matters is the specific period after the balance sheet date. A payment that cannot be assigned to a fixed period is not a case for an RAP.

Example 1: prepaid insurance

On 1 October 2026 you pay an annual premium of EUR 1,200 for October 2026 to September 2027. By 31 December 2026, three months have passed. Of this, EUR 300 is expense for 2026. The remaining EUR 900 relates to 2027 and is recorded as a prepaid item on the balance sheet. You release it in January, and the expense arises in 2027.

Example 2: deferred income from an annual subscription

On 1 November 2026 a customer transfers EUR 2,400 for a one-year software subscription. Two months are earned for 2026, which is EUR 400 of income. The remaining EUR 2,000 is income for 2027 and is shown as a deferred item. Without the deferral, you would report too high a profit for 2026.

What applies to cash-basis accounting?

If you determine your profit by cash-basis accounting (EÜR), there is no balance sheet and therefore no RAP. The cash-flow principle of section 11 EStG applies: income and expenses generally count in the year in which they are received or paid. An exception applies to regularly recurring expenses and income, such as rent or insurance contributions: they are allocated to the year they economically belong to if paid shortly before or after the turn of the year. Shortly means a period of ten days, i.e. from 22 December to 10 January (section 11(1) sentence 2 and (2) sentence 2 EStG). The annual premium from example 1 would therefore be deducted in full in the year of payment under EÜR.

To decide whether EÜR or a balance sheet suits you, also read our article on profit determination.

Minor amounts: an option in the tax balance sheet

Under section 5(5) sentence 2 EStG, you may omit an RAP in the tax balance sheet if the individual expense or income does not exceed the amount in section 6(2) sentence 1 EStG. That is the EUR 800 limit for low-value assets. You must exercise the option uniformly for all items concerned. An insurance premium of EUR 600 therefore does not have to be accrued if you use the option for all comparable cases.

Other cases regulated by law

• Disagio: If the repayment amount of a loan exceeds the amount paid out, the difference may be recognised as a prepaid item under commercial law and must be written off on a scheduled basis over the term (section 250(3) HGB).
• Customs duties, excise taxes and VAT on down payments: Under tax law they must be recognised on the asset side under the conditions of section 5(5) sentence 3 EStG.

Year-end checklist

1. Review all payments around the turn of the year that relate to periods after 31 December.
2. Go through typical candidates: insurance, rent and leasing, maintenance contracts, licences and subscriptions, vehicle tax, trade fair fees.
3. Also check income received in advance: annual fees, subscriptions, maintenance contracts.
4. Define and document the option for minor amounts uniformly.
5. Support the accrual with invoice, contract and calculation.
6. Do not forget to release the RAP at the start of the year.

A clean accrual prevents your profit from landing in the wrong year and saves you queries from your tax advisor and the tax office. We are happy to handle accruals as part of your bookkeeping.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an RAP as a sole proprietor using EÜR?

No. The cash-flow principle applies to EÜR. The ten-day rule for regularly recurring payments can shift the allocation at the turn of the year.

What is the difference from other receivables or liabilities?

With an RAP, payment comes before the balance sheet date and the service after. With other receivables and liabilities it is the reverse: the service falls in the old year and payment follows in the new year.