VAT on truck sales: domestic, EU, export

As at 16 September 2026. This article sets out the state of the law and is no substitute for tax advice in an individual case.

How much VAT applies when selling a truck in Germany?

If a company sells a truck to a buyer in Germany, 19 per cent VAT applies – regardless of whether the buyer is a company or a private individual. The tax must be shown openly on the invoice (§ 1 (1) no. 1, § 12 (1) UStG).

The most common misconception: that no VAT applies on a sale to another company. That is not correct. The sale is taxable in B2B transactions as well. The buyer merely deducts the tax shown as input tax (§ 15 (1) UStG) – for him it is therefore economically neutral, but it is owed all the same, and owed by the seller.

Practical consequence for the price negotiation: clarify before you commit whether a quoted price is meant net or gross. Between €100,000 net and €100,000 gross there is €15,966 of VAT.

Do I have to pay VAT as a private individual?

No. Anyone who sells a single vehicle from their own holdings as a private individual is not a taxable person within the meaning of § 2 UStG and does not show VAT. The position is different if someone buys and sells vehicles systematically and repeatedly – in that case taxable-person status can arise even without a registered business.

Small businesses under § 19 UStG likewise do not show VAT, but in return they cannot deduct input tax either.

When is a sale to another EU country exempt from VAT?

As an intra-Community supply, the sale is exempt from VAT (§ 4 no. 1 letter b UStG). § 6a (1) UStG sets out four conditions for this, all of which must be met:

1. You or the buyer actually transport the vehicle into the rest of the Community territory.
2. The buyer is a taxable person registered for VAT in another Member State who acquires the truck for his business.
3. The acquisition is subject to VAT for the buyer in his Member State.
4. The buyer has used a valid VAT identification number issued by another Member State in his dealings with you.

Since the EU 'quick fixes' of 2020, point 4 is no longer a formality but a substantive condition: without a valid VAT identification number used by the buyer, the supply is taxable.

There is a second hurdle: the exemption falls away if you do not comply with your obligation to file the EC Sales List (Zusammenfassende Meldung), or if you file it incorrectly or incompletely for the supply in question (§ 4 no. 1 letter b in conjunction with § 18a UStG). The return is therefore not merely bureaucracy but a condition of the exemption.

If you sell to a private individual in another EU country, the exemption does not apply. The sale is treated like a domestic sale, with 19 per cent German VAT. The exception is covered further down under 'new vehicle'.

When is a sale to a non-EU country exempt from VAT?

If the truck goes to a country outside the EU – to Serbia, Turkey, North Africa or the Middle East, for example – the supply is exempt from VAT as an export supply (§ 4 no. 1 letter a in conjunction with § 6 UStG).

No VAT identification number is required here, because non-EU countries do not have them. What matters is this:

• If you transport or dispatch the vehicle to the non-EU country, that is sufficient (§ 6 (1) no. 1 UStG).
• If the buyer collects it, he must additionally be a foreign customer, that is, have his residence or registered office abroad (§ 6 (1) no. 2, (2) UStG).

Proof runs via the exit confirmation (Ausgangsvermerk) transmitted by the customs office of export in the electronic export procedure (ATLAS/AES) (§ 9 (1) no. 1 UStDV). No exit confirmation, no exemption – an export licence plate alone is not enough.

What evidence does the tax office require?

The burden of proof lies with the seller (§ 6 (4), § 6a (3) UStG). Exactly what has to be collected depends on the destination:

Under § 17b (2) no. 2 UStDV, the confirmation of arrival must contain: the buyer's name and address, the quantity and commercial description of the vehicle including the vehicle identification number, the place and month of receipt in the rest of the Community territory, the date of issue and the buyer's signature. It may be transmitted electronically; a signature is then not required, provided it is apparent that transmission began within the buyer's sphere of control. Several supplies made in one quarter may be combined in a single collective confirmation.

The route opened up by § 17b (3) no. 5 UStDV is often the most practical one for commercial vehicles: if the buyer collects the vehicle himself and registers it in the country of destination, proof of registration in the acquirer's name is sufficient.

How do I check the buyer's VAT identification number?

Through the qualified confirmation enquiry at the Federal Central Tax Office (§ 18e UStG). It confirms not only that the number is valid but also whether the name, legal form, town and street match the holder.

Print the result or save it and file it with the copy of the invoice. A simple enquiry, a look at the buyer's website or a letterhead is not enough. Check close to the time of the supply – a confirmation from six months ago says nothing about the day of delivery.

What applies to a new vehicle?

Special rules apply to vehicles that count as new for VAT purposes: here the intra-Community supply is exempt even if the buyer is a private individual (§ 6a (1) no. 2 letter c UStG). The acquisition is then taxed in the country of destination.

Under § 1b (3) no. 1 UStG, a land vehicle counts as new if it has covered no more than 6,000 kilometres or if it was first put into service no more than six months ago. One of the two conditions is enough. With used commercial vehicles this is practically never met – the rule becomes relevant for almost-new vehicles from a demonstration or short-term registration.

What is margin taxation and when does it apply?

Margin taxation under § 25a UStG concerns resellers, that is, the trade. If a dealer buys a truck from a private individual or from a small business – in other words without VAT – then on resale he taxes only the margin between the purchase and sale price, not the full sale price.

Two points are regularly overlooked here:

• With margin taxation, the exemption for intra-Community supplies is excluded (§ 25a (7) no. 3 UStG). The two cannot be combined.
• No VAT may be shown separately on the invoice. The buyer consequently cannot deduct any input tax from it.

For you as a selling fleet operator, margin taxation is generally not relevant – you are selling out of your own fixed assets, not as a reseller.

What happens if the buyer provides false information?

§ 6a (4) UStG provides protection of legitimate expectations: if you have treated a supply as exempt although the conditions were not met, it remains exempt where the exemption rests on incorrect information from the buyer and you could not have recognised the inaccuracy even when exercising the care of a prudent businessman. The buyer then owes the tax that was lost.

The catch lies in that care. Anyone who has never run a qualified check on the VAT identification number, never obtained a confirmation of arrival and never taken a copy of an identity document will not be able to rely on this protection. Protection of legitimate expectations does not replace the evidence; it only applies once the evidence is in place and nevertheless turns out to have been obtained by deception.

How does this work on a sale via truckoo?

Via truckoo, the transaction remains a domestic sale for you, even if the vehicle is exported afterwards. Your contractual partner is truckoo GmbH, based in Munich, not the bidding dealer or exporter. You issue your invoice to truckoo GmbH and show 19 per cent VAT.

The buyer organises the export: export licence plate, customs and transport are his responsibility, and collection takes place in Germany. Confirmation of arrival, exit confirmation and the EC Sales List for the export are therefore not your concern – those documentation obligations lie with the party that actually delivers abroad.

That is the real reason why selling abroad via a platform defuses the documentation risks: not because the rules are any different, but because you are not the party that has to comply with them.

Legal basis and sources

• § 4 UStG – Exemptions for supplies of goods and other services
• § 6 UStG – Export supply
• § 6a UStG – Intra-Community supply
• § 1b UStG – Intra-Community acquisition of new vehicles
• § 25a UStG – Margin taxation
• § 17b UStDV – Proof of arrival
• § 9 UStDV – Proof of export in transport cases

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