Kaffeesteuer bezahlen

Coffee tax is a tax levied on coffee and coffee-containing goods as defined by law. These include:

• Roasted coffee
• soluble coffee
• Cappuccino
• cáfe au lait
• Espresso
• Mocha
• latte macchiato certain confectionery containing coffee

You may manufacture, handle, process, store, receive or ship coffee in a tax warehouse without first incurring taxes. A tax warehouse must be approved by the main customs office.
The tax arises as soon as coffee is removed from the tax warehouse or goods containing coffee are produced there. In addition, the tax arises, among other things, if you

• produce goods containing untaxed coffee without a permit from the main customs office, or
• supply coffee to persons without a permit for the tax-free commercial use of coffee, or
• import coffee or goods containing coffee from another country into Germany or transport them for commercial purposes.

The amount of tax is based on the type and quantity of coffee or on the coffee content in goods. The tax rate is EUR 2.19 per kilogram for roasted coffee and EUR 4.78 per kilogram for soluble coffee. If goods containing coffee are transported to Germany, flat tax rates apply depending on the content of roasted coffee or soluble coffee in the goods.
If you are required to pay the tax, you must file a tax return without being asked to do so. If you do not wish to pay coffee tax initially, you will need permission from the main customs office.

Requirements

You must pay coffee tax if the tax has arisen and you are a tax debtor within the meaning of the law. This can be the case in various constellations, in particular if

• you are the owner of a tax warehouse from which the products were taken or consumed,
• you were involved in a production using untaxed coffee without a permit,
• you have supplied the coffee to persons without a permit for the tax-exempt commercial use of coffee, or
• you were involved in irregularities during a transport during which the tax was suspended.