Fixed Asset Register in Germany 2026: Rules, Contents & Template for Freelancers and GmbHs

Every laptop, desk and machine over 800 euros net ends up in your fixed asset register (Anlagenverzeichnis) – and often stays there for years. The register is the basis for your depreciation (AfA), part of your tax return, and one of the first things the tax office wants to see in an audit. If it is missing or incomplete, estimates and follow-up questions follow.

For freelancers filing an income-surplus statement (EÜR), the fixed asset register is even officially mandated: it is called Anlage AVEÜR and is part of the annual tax return. GmbHs and UGs keep it as part of their fixed-asset accounting. Either way: no clean register, no correct depreciation.

This article explains who must keep a fixed asset register, which details belong in it, how to handle low-value assets (GWG) and pools correctly, and how to build the register step by step – including the most common mistakes to avoid.

What is a fixed asset register?

The fixed asset register (Anlagenverzeichnis, also Anlagespiegel) is the complete list of your fixed assets: everything you use in the business long-term and do not intend to sell. That includes computers, office furniture, machinery and the company car, but also intangibles such as purchased software or licences.

For each item, the register documents what it cost, over how many years you depreciate it and the residual book value at year-end. It is the link between your bookkeeping and your depreciation (AfA): the register is what tells you how much AfA flows into your profit calculation each year.

Who has to keep a fixed asset register?

Practically anyone with depreciable fixed assets – whether you file a balance sheet or an EÜR:

• Freelancers and self-employed with an EÜR: you must submit the Anlage AVEÜR electronically with your income-surplus statement as soon as you depreciate any asset.
• GmbH and UG: as a balance-sheet company you keep ongoing fixed-asset accounting. The asset movement schedule (Anlagenspiegel) is part of the annual financial statements and shows additions, disposals and depreciation per balance-sheet item.
• Small businesses (Kleinunternehmer): even without VAT the record-keeping duty applies – once you depreciate something, you need a register.

If you only ever buy immediately deductible small items, you can often skip a classic register, but you must still document GWG separately (see below).

What must the register contain?

For each asset, these mandatory details go in their own row:

• Description of the asset (e.g. "Lenovo ThinkPad notebook")
• Date of acquisition or production
• Acquisition or production cost (net of input VAT, if you can reclaim it)
• Useful life per the official AfA depreciation tables
• Depreciation method (straight-line or declining-balance)
• Annual AfA amount and accumulated depreciation
• Residual book value at year-end
• Disposals (sale, withdrawal, scrapping) with date

These fields create the audit trail across the entire useful life. An asset stays in the register at a memo value of 1 euro until it finally leaves the business.

Low-value assets, pools and the separate GWG register

For low-value assets (geringwertige Wirtschaftsgüter, GWG) these thresholds apply unchanged in 2026 (all net):

• up to €250: immediate deduction as a business expense, no special record-keeping required.
• €250.01 to €800: option of immediate write-off under § 6 (2) EStG. Here you must keep a separate GWG register showing the acquisition date and cost – unless that already follows from your bookkeeping.
• €250.01 to €1,000 (pool): alternatively, you can place these assets in an annual collective pool (Sammelposten) under § 6 (2a) EStG and write it off evenly over five years, one fifth per year.
• over €800 (or over €1,000 if you use the pool): capitalise and spread via depreciation (AfA) – these assets belong in the regular fixed asset register.

Important: per financial year you must choose either GWG immediate write-off or the pool – mixing both within one year is not allowed.

Building the register step by step

1. Collect receipts. Keep the invoice handy for every purchase over €250 – you will need date, net amount and description right away.
2. Classify the asset. Check the threshold: GWG, pool or regular fixed asset?
3. Set the useful life. Use the official AfA table (e.g. 3 years for PCs, 6 years for office furniture).
4. Calculate AfA. Cost divided by useful life gives the straight-line annual AfA. In the year of purchase you calculate pro rata temporis, month by month.
5. Roll the register forward. Each year reduce the book value and add additions and disposals.

Maintaining this in a spreadsheet every year, it is easy to miss an addition or miscalculate the AfA. An AI bookkeeping tool like Norman recognises the asset directly from the invoice, suggests useful life and depreciation method, and keeps the register up to date automatically – including the Anlage AVEÜR for your tax return.

Common mistakes

• GWG between €250 and €800 not documented – the separate register is missing.
• Full-year AfA in the year of purchase instead of pro rata temporis.
• Forgotten disposals: a sold company car sits in the register for years.
• Gross instead of net recorded, although input VAT is deductible.
• An asset over €800 fully deducted instead of capitalised – a classic, often confused with the investment deduction (IAB).

Conclusion

The fixed asset register is not optional paperwork but the mandatory basis of every depreciation – for freelancers as the Anlage AVEÜR, for the GmbH as part of the annual accounts. Master the required fields, the GWG thresholds and pro-rata AfA, and any audit becomes routine. It stays complete and error-free most easily when your bookkeeping software keeps the register automatically from your receipts, instead of you rebuilding it in a spreadsheet once a year.