§13b UStG Check 2026 — Construction Service Reverse Charge Yes or No?

Question 1 of 4

Is your customer a business?

That is a company, self-employed person, partnership, limited company or similar — not a private individual. For private customers (end consumers) §13b generally does not apply.

Question 2 of 4

Is your service a construction service under §48 EStG?

Construction service = anything that happens directly on the structure: erection, repair, maintenance, modification, servicing or cleaning. This includes plumbing, heating, electrical, painting, drywall, roofing, scaffolding, tiling, screed. Pure planning or construction management services without any work on the structure are NOT included.

Question 3 of 4

Is your customer a construction contractor themselves?

For §13b to apply, your customer must sustainably provide construction services themselves. A reliable indicator: they have a USt 1 TG certificate from the tax office (ask for a copy). With a subcontract from a general contractor this is almost always the case.

Question 4 of 4

Are you a construction contractor yourself too?

Do you yourself also sustainably provide construction services, or is this an exception in a different business? In the normal case (construction tradesperson, plumbing/heating firm, electrical firm, etc.) → Yes.

Sample text for your invoice

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Important: This check is a guide and does not replace tax advice. For larger jobs or unclear cases, ask your tax advisor. Awerka accepts no liability for legal correctness.

§13b automatically in invoices

In Awerka you set the flag "is a construction contractor (USt 1 TG)" once per customer. Awerka then issues every construction invoice automatically without VAT — with the correct notice text. No more mistakes, no VAT adjustments on your tax return.

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Understanding §13b UStG

The reverse charge rule under §13b UStG is a special rule for the construction sector. Normally the provider (you as the tradesperson) shows the VAT on the invoice and pays it to the tax office. With §13b it is exactly the other way round: the recipient (your customer) owes the VAT.

The purpose of the rule

The reverse charge rule is designed to prevent VAT fraud, which used to be common precisely in the construction sector: subcontractors showed VAT, collected it and then "disappeared" without paying it to the tax office. With reverse charge the general contractor becomes the tax debtor — that is secure and transparent.

Requirements (all must be met)

Both parties are businesses (no B2C)
The service is a construction service under §48 EStG
The recipient sustainably provides construction services themselves (indicator: USt 1 TG)
The provider provides construction services themselves

What this means for you

You invoice without VAT (net amount)
The invoice carries the notice "Recipient's tax liability under §13b (5) UStG"
You do not pay any VAT — the customer does
Your own input tax (for materials, tools, etc.) remains fully deductible
In the advance VAT return the amounts go in line 60 (construction services §13b)

When §13b does NOT apply

Customer is a private individual → normal invoice with VAT
Not a construction service (e.g. architect's work, expert report) → normal invoice with VAT
Customer is not a construction contractor (e.g. a restaurant commissioning a renovation) → normal invoice with VAT
Material delivery without a construction service (pure supply of goods) → normal invoice with VAT

Frequently asked questions

§13b UStG (the recipient tax liability, known as the reverse charge rule) applies in construction when a construction contractor provides a construction service to another construction contractor. Both must be businesses, the service must be a construction service under §48 EStG, and the recipient must themselves sustainably provide construction services — typically proven by a USt 1 TG certificate from the tax office.

Construction services within the meaning of §48 EStG are all services that serve the creation, repair, maintenance, modification or removal of structures. These include shell construction, fit-out, plumbing, heating, electrical, painting, floor coverings, roofing, scaffolding and the like. Pure planning and construction management services without any work on the structure are not included.

The USt 1 TG is a certificate from the tax office confirming that your customer sustainably provides construction services within the meaning of §13b UStG. It is issued on request and is valid for three years. If it exists, you may and must invoice the customer without VAT. Ask for a copy of the certificate before the first invoice and check the issue date.

If you have wrongly invoiced without VAT although §13b does not apply, you have to pay the VAT afterwards — even if you never received it from the customer. The other way round: if you show VAT although §13b applies, your customer is not entitled to deduct input tax and will come back to you. Both cases are unpleasant. When in doubt: ask your tax advisor, or invoice conservatively with VAT and issue a correction invoice if the customer objects.

Classic reverse charge trades are plumbing/heating/air conditioning (SHK), electrical, painting, roofing, drywall, screed, joiners/carpenters with fitted installations, tilers, scaffolding and all other construction trades. Subcontractor setups too — where a general contractor passes a construction service on to another — are a typical §13b case.