Reclaiming VAT from Germany: what falls under fuel, hotels and trade fairs?

## Claiming VAT back from Germany: what counts as fuel, hotels and trade fairs? When a Dutch entrepreneur travels to Germany on business, they pay German VAT on fuel, hotel accommodation and often on the trade fair stand or entrance ticket. That VAT cannot be offset in the Dutch return, but it does not have to be lost: under directive 2008/9, a Dutch entrepreneur can claim that VAT back from the German tax authority, and that request runs through the same portal of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration that serves other EU countries. Three cost categories occur most frequently with Germany: fuel, hotel accommodation and trade fair participation (stand rental, access, on-site catering). Each of these has separate rules on what Germany allows and to what extent, and those rules sometimes differ from what is customary in the Netherlands. ### Refuelling in Germany Fuel is the cost category that most entrepreneurs think of first, and rightly so: with regular cross-border traffic this quickly adds up. Germany generally allows VAT refunds on fuel, but not always for the full amount and not in the same way for every type of vehicle. Whether a receipt counts also depends on what is on it: registration number, date and VAT amount must be traceable. A receipt from a petrol station is usually sufficient, provided it is legible and complete. ### Hotel accommodation Overnights during a business trip are generally eligible, but hotels often split the bill into room, breakfast and other services (minibar, parking, wellness). Not every part of that bill falls under the same treatment, and that distinction is set out in the requirements that the German tax authority publishes per cost category. An invoice in the name of the business, with VAT number and specification, prevents dispute later. ### Trade fair participation Stand rental, entrance tickets and sometimes catering during a trade fair can qualify for the refund. This is a cost category where close attention is paid to what appears on the invoice: a lump sum for "participation" without itemisation gives more chance of delay than an invoice that lists stand rental, technical services and catering separately. For large trade fair invoices, it is therefore worthwhile to request an itemised invoice in advance. ### What this means for the refund The core of the process does not change per country: receipts and invoices are collected, classified by cost category, checked against what the refund country allows and bundled into a request to Germany. The difference lies in the details per cost category, and those details ultimately determine whether a request is processed without questions or whether the German tax authority asks for additional information. For entrepreneurs who travel mainly within the EU and encounter Germany as the largest neighbouring market most often, it is therefore mainly a matter of keeping the right receipts and submitting them on time. Anyone who wants to see how much this will yield concretely with their own travel pattern can have that [[LINK:/btw-calculator|calculated in a few questions]] without needing an account. Because the rules differ per cost category and Germany is not the only country where this applies, it is advisable to carefully work through the structure of the entire process first. An overview of all situations, researched per country and per cost category, is available on [[LINK:/btw-terugvragen|the page about VAT refunds]]. Anyone who wants to know where the information used comes from and how up to date it is will find that on the page [[LINK:/hoe-het-werkt|about the working method and sources]]. Complex situations, for example mixed use of a vehicle or an invoice that is not properly structured, fall outside what this platform as a service provider can assess; a VAT specialist is the right point of contact for that. For most entrepreneurs with fuel, hotel and trade fair costs in Germany, the question is mainly practical: is it worth keeping track of this, and how much time does it take. If you are curious whether your own German travel costs are worth claiming back, the free quick scan is the fastest starting point. For those who want to know more about how the costs of the service are structured, that overview is available on [[LINK:/prijzen|the page with rates]].