Tills and record keeping · AT · DE
Receipts and cash registers
In Austria you need a cash register with a signature from €15,000 annual turnover per business if cash sales exceed €7,500; card payments count as cash. Every cash payment gets a receipt, from 1 October 2026 also as an on-screen receipt. Germany has no cash register duty, but electronic tills need a TSE and must generally issue receipts.
Legal basis
- AT — Austria
- § 131b BAO: cash register with a signature from €15,000 annual turnover per business if cash sales exceed €7,500; card payment counts as cash. The RKSV covers registration within one week, data backup and the annual receipt.1234
- AT — Austria
- § 132a BAO: a receipt for every cash payment. From 1 October 2026 an electronic receipt that the guest can read on the spot when paying is enough; paper on request. That the screen must face the guest is the Ministry of Finance’s interpretation.567
- DE — Germany
- § 146a AO: electronic tills need a certified technical security system (TSE), the receipt duty applies, and the till must be reported to the tax office within one month. § 6 KassenSichV: receipt details; electronic only with the guest’s consent.89
What the inspector wants to see
- Austria: is the till registered, and are the backups of the data capture log available?23
- Austria: is the annual receipt printed, checked and kept?4
- Austria from 1 October 2026: how is the electronic receipt offered, and is the way receipts are issued documented?67
- Germany: is the TSE reported to the tax office, and do the receipts carry the required details?89
Common mistakes
- Austria: annual receipt not checked or backup of the data capture log forgotten.34
- Austria from 1 October 2026: the electronic receipt only on a screen the guest cannot see.7
- Germany: a new till or TSE not reported within one month.8
- Germany: an electronic receipt issued instead of paper without the guest’s consent.9
Practise, read, print
The guide is in German for now.
Sources
We read every source in the original on the date shown and checked it against the text: EU law in its German-language version, the links lead to the English one. All sources and what has changed (in German)
- 1AT — applies in AustriaBundesabgabenordnung (BAO), the Federal Fiscal Code, Austria, § 131b (1) 2, (2) and (3) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 2AT — applies in AustriaRegistrierkassensicherheitsverordnung (RKSV), the cash register security ordinance, Austria, § 6 (3) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 3AT — applies in AustriaRegistrierkassensicherheitsverordnung (RKSV), the cash register security ordinance, Austria, § 7 (1)–(3) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 4AT — applies in AustriaRegistrierkassensicherheitsverordnung (RKSV), the cash register security ordinance, Austria, § 8 (2) and (3) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 5AT — applies in AustriaBundesabgabenordnung (BAO), the Federal Fiscal Code, Austria, § 132a (1), (3), (5) and (6) (until 30 September 2026) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 6AT — applies in AustriaBundesabgabenordnung (BAO), the Federal Fiscal Code, Austria, § 132a (1) (from 1 October 2026, Federal Law Gazette I No. 97/2025) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 7AT — applies in AustriaAustrian Ministry of Finance: electronic receipts from 1 October 2026 (interpretation, not law), as of 23 September 2026 · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 8DE — applies in GermanyAbgabenordnung (AO), the Fiscal Code, Germany, § 146a (1), (2) and (4) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 9DE — applies in GermanyKassensicherungsverordnung (KassenSichV), the cash register security ordinance, Germany, § 6 · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 10DE — applies in GermanyGerman Federal Ministry of Finance: digital cash registers and the end of paper receipts (draft, not in force), as of 23 September 2026 · in German, checked 23 September 2026
Something out of date or missing? Write to us and we will check it against the source.