Entertainment Expenses for Self-Employed in Germany 2026: 70% Rule, Receipts and EÜR Booking

You take a client out for lunch, meet a potential customer at a café, or negotiate contract terms over dinner — these business entertainment expenses (Bewirtungskosten) are deductible for German freelancers and self-employed, but only if you follow the tax office's rules. Here's the 70% rule, the mandatory entertainment receipt requirements, and the most common mistakes that cost real money.

What counts as entertainment expenses?

Entertainment expenses cover food, drinks and related costs (tips, coatroom fees) you pay when hosting people for a business reason, governed by § 4 (5) No. 2 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG). Typical examples:

• Business lunches or dinners with clients, partners or suppliers
• Networking events where you host food and drinks
• Contract negotiations at a restaurant
• Hospitality for business partners during a workshop or seminar

Purely private invitations and birthday parties don't count. If the occasion is predominantly private — even with a couple of clients at the table — you lose the deduction.

The 70% rule: How much can you deduct?

For business meals with external people (clients, prospects, partners), Germany applies a hard cap: only 70% of the net cost is deductible as a business expense. The remaining 30% counts as non-deductible private living costs.

Example: you pay €119 gross for a business dinner (€100 net + €19 VAT). You book €70 as a business expense (70% of €100) and deduct the full €19 as input VAT.

Employee-only meals are different: if you host only your own employees (team lunch, internal strategy dinner, Christmas party under the €110 allowance), the 70% rule does not apply — the cost is 100% deductible.

Small refreshments like coffee, water or cookies during a client meeting at your office are not entertainment expenses at all. They count as ordinary business expenses with no 30% cut.

Input VAT: 100% deductible with a proper receipt

Unlike the 70% income tax cap, you can deduct the full input VAT (100%) — including on the non-deductible 30% portion. You need a proper invoice: for amounts over €250 gross, the receipt must include all standard invoice requirements (your name and address among them).

If you're a small business owner (Kleinunternehmer), there's no input VAT deduction — but you can still book 70% of the gross amount as a business expense.

Entertainment receipt: 2026 requirements

The entertainment receipt (Bewirtungsbeleg) is mandatory and, since 2023, must be generated electronically and sequentially by the restaurant's cash register (per the BMF letter of 30 June 2021). Handwritten or after-the-fact printouts are no longer accepted.

The front side (printed by the restaurant) must include:

• Name and address of the restaurant
• Date of the entertainment (machine-printed)
• Itemized food and drinks (not just "food and drinks")
• Tax number or VAT ID of the restaurant
• Sequential receipt number from the cash register
• Gross amount, net amount and VAT shown separately

On the back side you add by hand:

• Specific business reason (e.g. "contract negotiation Project XY", not "business meal")
• Names of all participants, including yourself
• Tip amount, listed separately
• Date and your signature

"Business meal with client" is not enough. You must show a concrete link to your business activity.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Cash payment without an entertainment receipt: the deduction is fully denied.
• Forgotten participant names: even if you dined alone with one client, both names must be on the receipt.
• Vague reason: "lunch" or "client meeting" with no concrete business context gets rejected.
• Family members listed as "business partners": auditors recognize this immediately.
• Forgetting the tip: tips are part of entertainment costs and also 70% deductible — but only if documented separately.

Booking entertainment expenses in the EÜR

In the income surplus calculation (EÜR), you typically split entertainment costs across two accounts: in SKR03 it's account 4650 (deductible 70%) and 4654 (non-deductible 30%); in SKR04 it's 6640 and 6644. Input VAT is booked in full.

If you capture entertainment receipts with Norman's AI bookkeeping, the system automatically splits the amount, books the input VAT correctly and files the receipt in a GoBD-compliant way — you just snap a photo with your phone.

Entertainment vs. travel expenses

Eating alone at a restaurant while traveling for a client visit is not an entertainment expense — it falls under the meal per diem (Verpflegungspauschale) for business travel (€16 for more than 8 hours away, €32 for multi-day trips). Only when you actually invite a client to dinner does it become entertainment with the 70% rule.

Entertainment expenses as GmbH or UG

For a GmbH the 70% rule applies the same way, but with different accounts and stricter director liability requirements. Read more in GmbH entertainment expenses.

Bottom line

Entertainment expenses are one of the most valuable business expense categories for German freelancers — as long as you document them properly. The 70% rule and a complete, machine-generated entertainment receipt are non-negotiable. Capturing receipts in an app saves you 5–10 minutes per business meal and removes audit risk. Try Norman for free and let AI handle the booking.