VAT rates in Germany 2025

Lfd.

No.

Goods description

1

Living animals, that is

a)

(deleted)

b)

Mules and mules,

c)

Housed cattle, including purebred breeding animals,

d)

House-bred pigs including purebred breeding animals,

e)

House-bred sheep including purebred breeding animals,

f)

Domestic goats including purebred breeding animals,

g)

Domestic poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and guinea fowl),

h)

House Rabbit,

i)

House pigeons,

j)

bees,

k)

trained guide dogs for the blind

2

Meat and edible meat offal

3

Fish and crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates, except ornamental fish, lobsters, lobsters, oysters and snails

4

Milk and milk products; birds‘ eggs and egg yolks, except shelled inedible eggs and yolks; natural honey

5

Other goods of animal origin, namely

a)

Stomachs of domestic cattle and poultry,

b)

(deleted)

c)

raw bones

6

Bulbs, bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots and rhizomes, dormant, growing or in flower; chicory plants and roots

7

Other living plants including their roots, cuttings, and grafts; fungal mycelium

8

Flowers and flower buds, cut, for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh

9

Leaves, branches and other parts of plants, without flowers or flower buds, and grasses, mosses and lichens, for bouquets or ornamental purposes, fresh

10

Vegetables, plants, roots and tubers used for nutritional purposes

a)

Potatoes, fresh or chilled,

b)

Tomatoes, fresh or chilled,

c)

Cooking onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other vegetables of the Allium species, fresh or chilled,

d)

Cauliflower, cauliflower/cauliflower, kohlrabi, savoy cabbage and similar edible cabbage species of the genus Brassica, fresh or chilled,

e)

Salads (Lactuca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium species), fresh or chilled,

f)

Carrots and edible carrots, turnips, beets, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar edible roots, fresh or chilled,

g)

Cucumbers and gherkins, fresh or chilled,

h)

Legumes, whether or not shelled, fresh or chilled,

i)

Other vegetables, fresh or chilled,

j)

Vegetables, whether or not cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen,

k)

Vegetables, provisionally preserved (e.g., by sulfur dioxide or in water, to which salt, sulfur dioxide or other preservatives have been added), unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption,

l)

Vegetables, dried, whether or not cut, sliced, powdered or otherwise comminuted, but not further prepared,

m)

Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not peeled or crushed,

n)

Topinambur

11

Edible fruits and nuts

12

Coffee, tea, mate and spices

13

Cereals

14

Mill products, namely

a)

Meal from cereals,

b)

Coarse meal, fine meal and pellets of cereals,

c)

Cereal grains, otherwise worked; cereal germ, whole, crushed, flaked or ground

15

flour, semolina, powder, flakes, granules and pellets of potatoes

16

Meal, meal, and powder of dried legumes and flour, meal, and powder of edible fruits

17

Strength

18

Oilseeds and oleaginous fruits, and flour thereof

19

Seeds, fruits, and spores, for sowing

20

(deleted)

21

Rosemary, mugwort, and basil in presentations for kitchen use, as well as dost, mint, sage, chamomile flowers, and house tea

22

Johnny bread and sugar beet, fresh or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included; except seaweed, seaweed and sugar cane

23

Straw and chaff of cereals and various plants used for feeding

24

Pectins, pectinates and pectates

25

(deleted)

26

Edible animal and vegetable fats and oils, whether or not processed

a)

Pork lard, other pork fat and poultry fat,

b)

Fat of cattle, sheep or goats, rendered or solvent-extracted,

c)

Oleomargarine,

d)

Fats Vegetable oils and vegetable fats and their fractions, whether or not refined,

e)

Animal and vegetable fats and oils and their fractions, partly or wholly hydrogenated, interesterified, re-esterified or elaidinized, whether or not refined, but not further prepared, excluding hydrogenated castor oil (so-called opaline wax),

f)

Margarine; edible mixtures or preparations of animal or vegetable fats or oils or of fractions of different fats or oils, other than molding or mold-release oils

27

(deleted)

28

Preparations of meat, fish or of crustaceans, mollusks or other aquatic invertebrates, excluding caviar and prepared or preserved lobster, lobsters, oysters and snails

29

Sugar and sugar confectionery

30

Cocoa powder not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, and chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa

31

Preparations made from cereals, flour, starch or milk; bakery products

32

Preparations of vegetables, fruits, nuts or other parts of plants, not including fruit or vegetable juices

33

Various food preparations

34

Water, except for – drinking water, including spring water and table water, placed on the market in pre-packaged form for supply to the consumer, – medicinal water, and – steam

35

Milk-based mixed drinks containing at least seventy-five percent milk or milk products (e.g., whey) of the finished product

36

Cooking vinegar

37

Residues and wastes from the food industry; prepared feed

38

(deleted)

39

Eating salt, not in an aqueous solution

40

a)

commercial ammonium carbonate and other ammonium carbonates,

b)

Sodium hydrogen carbonate (sodium bicarbonate)

41

D-glucitol (sorbitol), whether or not containing added saccharin or its salts

42

Acetic acid

43

Sodium salt and potassium salt of saccharin

44

(deleted)

45

Animal or vegetable fertilizers, other than guano, whether or not mixed together, but not chemically treated; fertilizers obtained by mixing animal or vegetable products

46

Mixtures of odoriferous substances and mixtures (including alcoholic solutions) with a basis of one or more of these substances, put up for culinary use

47

Gelatin

48

Wood, specifically

a)

Firewood in the form of logs, billets, twigs, bundles of brushwood or similar shapes,

b)

Sawdust, wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms,

49

Books, newspapers and other products of the graphic arts with the exception of products for which there are restrictions as harmful to minors carrier media or information obligations under § 15 (1) to (3) and (6) of the Youth Protection Act, as amended, as well as the publications that serve primarily advertising purposes (including travel advertising), namely

a)

Books, pamphlets and similar printed matter, whether or not in part-books, loose sheets or leaves, intended for brochures, cardboard or binding, and newspapers and other periodicals, paperback, bound or in collections of more than one number in a common cover (except those containing mainly advertising),

b)

Newspapers and other periodicals, whether or not containing pictures or advertisements (excluding advertising journals, advertising newspapers and the like, which contain mainly advertisements),

c)

Picture albums, picture books, and drawing or coloring books, for children,

d)

Notes, handwritten or printed, also with pictures, also bound,

e)

Cartographic products of all kinds, including wall maps, topographic plans and globes, printed,

f)

Stamps and the like (eg, first-day covers, postal stationery) as collectibles

50

Discs, tapes, non-volatile semiconductor storage devices, „intelligent cards (smart cards)“ and other sound carriers or similar recording media containing exclusively the sound recording of the reading of a book, with the exception of products for which restrictions are imposed as carrier media harmful to minors or. Notice obligations under § 15 paragraphs 1 to 3 and 6 of the Youth Protection Act, as amended exist.

51

Wheelchairs and other vehicles for the disabled, whether or not motorized or fitted with other means of mechanical propulsion

52

Body substitutes, orthopedic appliances and other orthopedic devices, and devices to correct functional defects or infirmities, for humans, namely

a)

Artificial joints, excluding parts and accessories,

b)

Orthopedic appliances and other orthopedic devices, including crutches and medical-surgical belts and bandages, excluding parts and accessories,

c)

Prosthetics, excluding parts and accessories,

d)

Hearing aids, pacemakers and other devices intended to correct functional defects or infirmities, to be worn in the hand or body or to be implanted in the organism, excluding parts and accessories

53

Artifacts, namely

a)

Paintings and drawings created entirely by hand, as well as collages and similar decorative pictorial works,

b)

Original stitches, cuts, and lithographs,

c)

Original products of sculpture, made from fabrics of all kinds

54

Collection items,

a)

zoological, botanical, mineralogical, or anatomical, and collections of that kind,

b)

of historical, archaeological, paleontological, or ethnological value,

c)

of coinage value, namely

aa)

Invalid banknotes, including stamp money and paper currency,

bb)

Coins of base metals,

cc)

coins and medals made of precious metals, if the taxable amount for the sales of these items is more than 250 percent of the metal value excluding sales tax, calculated on the basis of the fine weight

55

Products for the purpose of menstrual hygiene, namely

a)

hygienic pads (liners) and tampons made from fabrics of all kinds,

b)

c)

d)

e)