If you build iOS apps as a freelancer (Freiberufler or Gewerbe) in Germany, almost everything you buy to do that work lowers your taxable profit. The hard part is knowing which expense goes in which category, how VAT is handled, and what the German rules do with big purchases like a Mac.

This guide walks through it category by category, using the same expense categories you'll find in incomepilot, so you can record each cost the right way and have a clean trail for your Einnahmenüberschussrechnung (EÜR) and VAT returns.

Not tax advice. This is a practical orientation for developers. For your specific situation, confirm with a Steuerberater.

TL;DR

  • A business expense (Betriebsausgabe) is anything bought predominantly for your work — it reduces taxable profit (§ 4 Abs. 4 EStG).
  • Hardware up to €800 net can be written off immediately (GWG, § 6 Abs. 2 EStG); above that it is depreciated over its useful life (AfA, § 7 EStG).
  • Services from outside Germany (Apple, Google, AWS, Figma…) are usually reverse charge (§ 13b UStG) — you self-account for VAT, you don't pay German VAT to them.
  • Keep the invoice for every expense. No receipt, no deduction.

The expenses, mapped to categories

Hardware

Your Mac, iPhone and iPad test devices, displays, keyboards, a dedicated test device, an external SSD — all deductible as Hardware.

The key rule is the price:

  • Up to €800 net → Geringwertiges Wirtschaftsgut (GWG): deduct the full amount in the year of purchase (§ 6 Abs. 2 EStG).
  • Above €800 net → depreciate (AfA, § 7 EStG) over the official useful life. For computers and peripherals the tax authority allows a 1-year useful life (BMF-Schreiben of 22 Feb 2022), so in practice a €2,500 MacBook can often be written off within the first year anyway.

If a device is used privately as well, deduct only the business share.

Subscription & Software

Anything you pay for monthly or yearly to do the work:

  • Subscription — App Store / Play subscriptions you resell or rely on, ChatGPT/Claude, design tools, analytics.
  • Software — one-off licences, IDE add-ons, paid SDKs, fonts, icon packs.

The Apple Developer Program (\$99/year) goes here too — it's the licence that lets you ship to the App Store, a textbook business expense.

Hosting & Cloud / Domain & DNS

Backends and infrastructure for your apps:

  • Hosting & Cloud — AWS, Hetzner, Supabase, Firebase, CloudKit overages.
  • Domain & DNS — your marketing site and API domains, Cloudflare.

Internet & Phone (home office)

Your internet line and mobile plan are partly business. In incomepilot these are flagged as home-office categories, so you record only the business share (the Arbeitszimmer-Anteil) rather than the full bill.

Rent & Utilities (home office)

If you have a dedicated work room (häusliches Arbeitszimmer, § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6b EStG), a proportional share of Rent and Utilities is deductible. The share is the room's floor area divided by the flat's total area — incomepilot asks for exactly that percentage and applies it for you. (The flat-rate Homeoffice-Pauschale, § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 6c EStG, is the simpler alternative when you don't have a separate room.)

Marketing & Ads

App Store search ads, Meta/Google campaigns, ASO tools, press kits, paid newsletter placements.

Education & Training

WWDC tickets, paid courses, conference fees, technical books — anything that keeps your skills current.

Travel & Transport

Trips to clients or conferences: train, flights, mileage, hotels. (Meals on a trip have their own rules — see below.)

Meals & Entertainment

Business meals are deductible at 70% of the net amount (the other 30% is not, § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 2 EStG), and you need the full restaurant receipt with the business reason noted.

Professional services, Insurance, Bank & Payment fees

  • Professional services — your Steuerberater, legal advice, contractors.
  • Insurance — professional/business liability (Betriebshaftpflicht).
  • Bank & Payment fees — business account fees, Stripe/PayPal/App Store commission on the payout side.

Office supplies & Other

Desk, chair, stationery → Office supplies. Anything that genuinely doesn't fit → Other, with a clear description so it's defensible later.

VAT: the reverse-charge trap

Most of your tooling is billed from outside Germany — Apple (Ireland), Google, AWS, Figma, GitHub. These are reverse charge: the supplier invoices you without VAT, and you declare the VAT on both sides of your return (it nets to zero if you're VAT-registered). You should not be paying German VAT to them.

incomepilot detects a non-German supplier country and switches the expense to reverse charge automatically, then reports it in the right UStVA boxes.

If you're a Kleinunternehmer under § 19 UStG, you don't charge VAT on your sales — but reverse-charge purchases from abroad (§ 13b UStG) can still create a VAT obligation, which is exactly the kind of thing the tool surfaces for you.

How incomepilot helps

  • Pick a category and supplier country; VAT type is derived for you.
  • Mark recurring expenses (rent, internet, subscriptions) once and generate them every month.
  • Attach the invoice to each expense so the audit trail lives with the record.
  • Everything flows into your UStVA and ZM reports automatically.

FAQ

Can I deduct a MacBook I also use privately?

Yes, but only the business share. If it's used overwhelmingly for work, you can deduct it in full; otherwise estimate and document a reasonable business percentage.

Is the \$99 Apple Developer Program fee deductible?

Yes — it's a pure business expense. Record it under Subscription (or Software) with Apple as the supplier; it's reverse charge.

Do I pay German VAT on App Store and AWS invoices?

No. Those are reverse-charge supplies from outside Germany. You self-account for the VAT; you don't pay German VAT to the supplier.

What about a test iPhone?

Fully deductible as Hardware. Under €800 net it's an immediate write-off; above that it's depreciated (with the 1-year useful life for computers).

Do I need to keep receipts?

Yes. Without an invoice the expense isn't deductible. Attach a PDF or photo to each record so it's there at tax time.

Legal references (German law)

  • § 4 Abs. 4 EStG — definition of business expenses (Betriebsausgaben).
  • § 4 Abs. 5 EStG — partially or non-deductible expenses (meals, home office).
  • § 6 Abs. 2 EStG — immediate write-off for low-value assets (GWG, €800).
  • § 7 EStG — depreciation (AfA); BMF-Schreiben of 22 Feb 2022 for the 1-year useful life of computer hardware and software.
  • § 13b UStG — reverse charge for services from abroad.
  • § 19 UStG — small-business scheme (Kleinunternehmerregelung).

Always confirm how these apply to your situation with a Steuerberater or the Finanzamt — this article is general information, not tax advice.

Ready to track this properly? incomepilot records expenses by category, derives VAT automatically, and generates your UStVA and ZM reports.