📚 Knowledge Base for the Used Car Trade

Welcome to the practical knowledge base. Here, dealers will find connected information about the tax and process-related challenges in the car trade, structured to work in day-to-day operations and during a tax audit.

✅ Quick Start: Which Scenario Applies?

• Does the vehicle fall under § 25a, involve a private purchase, or require margin scheme treatment?
  → Margin scheme taxation (§ 25a UStG): technical guide

• Planning a VAT-exempt sale within the EU under § 6a? → Intra-Community supply (§ 6a UStG): documentation and EC Sales List → Check a VAT ID

• Planning a sale to a third country outside the EU?
  → Vehicle sale to a third country: MRN and proof of export

• Are tax-audit pressure, GoBD, and record retention the real problem?
  → GoBD at a car dealership: what tax authorities actually audit

• Questions about e-invoicing since 2025, deadlines, DATEV, or ZUGFeRD?
  → E-invoicing in the car trade from 2025: obligations, ZUGFeRD, and DATEV

💶 VAT & Calculations

• The basics: margin scheme taxation (§ 25a UStG)
  Learn: When § 25a applies, how to calculate the margin, and which invoicing requirements must be met.

• Avoid the most common VAT mistakes
  Learn: Pitfalls involving “new means of transport,” incorrect VAT disclosure, conflicts between § 25a and intra-Community supplies, and documentation problems.

🌍 International Trade (EU & Exports)

• Intra-Community supply (EU) Checklist: VAT ID validation (tool), EC Sales List, proof of arrival/CMR consignment note, and the typical risks of customer collection cases.

• Sale to a third country (export)
  Checklist: Document the MRN, electronic exit confirmation, and correct invoice notes in an audit-proof manner.

⚖️ Compliance, GoBD & Digitalization

• GoBD at a car dealership
  In practice: What auditors actually want to see: invoice numbers, cash transactions, immutability, and document storage.

• E-invoicing from 2025
  Update: ZUGFeRD vs. XRechnung, the obligation to receive e-invoices since January 1, 2025, and GoBD-compliant archiving of XML data.

• Cash at a car dealership
  Learn: What to watch for in cash transactions at a car dealership, the KYC process, and money laundering prevention.

• Car dealership DMS vs. Excel
  Comparison: Where Excel reaches its limits and when a specialized DMS becomes financially worthwhile.