Customer can request differentiated invoice

Customers are entitled to an invoice that separately shows the tradesman's share of the wages for the tax office. This was ruled by the Mülheim District Court.

This article is part of the special topic Tax bonus for tradesmen's invoices: What you should know

Sometimes it happens that a customer refuses to pay the invoice because it is not broken down into labor and material costs. In most cases, it is about To be able to claim a tax bonus for craftsmen’s servicesThe question of whether the customer has a legally enforceable right to the separate disclosure of the wage portion has not yet been clarified by the highest court. 

To the background

Craftsmen's services are 20 percent, up to a maximum of 1.200 euros per year, deductible from the tax liabilityHowever, this only applies to pure labor costs as well as machine and travel costs plus VAT. Also tax-deductible are Costs for disposal as an ancillary service, as well as costs for consumablesHowever, costs for materials and other delivered goods are not deductible. The wage portion must be determined from the invoice, and the invoice must be paid by bank transfer.

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Incorrect invoice: The customer can refuse payment.

Customer can even refuse payment

The District Court of Mülheim/Ruhr (judgment of 30 July 2015, Ref. 12C1124/14) says: The customer is entitled to a differentiated invoice! Only in this way can they deduct tradesmen's services or household-related services to reduce their taxes. The entrepreneur's obligation arises from the duty not to harm the contractual partner. Since the tax office imposes these requirements, it is irrelevant whether the client can, for example, quantify the invoice amount themselves. As long as the company withholds the invoice, the customer can even withhold payment, since the private-law right to an invoice is a secondary obligation to the service recipient.

practical tip by lawyer Sabine Schönewald, Head of Department at Chamber of Crafts Cologne"To avoid such conflicts, every tradesman operating in the area of ​​tax-privileged services is well advised to at least show the wage portion accordingly in the invoice."