<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Am I allowed to ask my employer (large IT multinational) if I can receive my salary in BTC instead of EUR according to german law?</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>There appears to be an obstacle in law: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>German labour law sets out certain rules when it comes to the payment of employees. An important regulation is § 107 GewO, which states a simple principle: “Wages shall be calculated and paid out in Euro”.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>From <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/salary-payment-tokens-german-labour-law-considerations" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Salary Payment in Tokens: German Labour Law Considerations</a></p>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Would I have to pay income tax if I do not exchange them for a year</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Salary is subject to income tax. Paying a salary is not the same as making an investment.</p>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>would I have to pay VAT for purchases made using BTC?</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Germany will regard bitcoin as the equivalent to legal tender for tax purposes when used as a means of payment,</p>
</blockquote>

<p>...</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>When a buyer of goods pays with bitcoin, an article of the EU's VAT Directive will be applied to the price of bitcoin at the time of the transaction, as documented by the seller</p>
</blockquote>

<p>From <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/germany-considers-crypto-legal-equivalent-to-fiat-for-tax-purposes/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Germany Won't Tax You for Buying Coffee With Bitcoin</a></p>

<p>(the title may be confusing -- it is contrasting the rules in Germany with those in the US where using BTC to buy coffee means the buyer pays capital gains tax in addition to any applicable sales tax.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-13T11:01:58.627Z
2018-07-13T11:12:41.993Z
2018-07-13T11:12:41.993Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>Am I allowed to ask my employer (large IT multinational) if I can receive my salary in BTC instead of EUR according to german law? Would I have to pay income tax if I do not exchange them for a year (tax exemption in place) and would I have to pay VAT for purchases made using BTC?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-13T02:41:02.180Z
Someone with personal experience may be able to comment on the matter, but in general I think this is a question best left to a qualified accountant (lawyer?) who is familiar with German law :)
chytrik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-13T07:22:55.057Z
When working in a neighbor country and living in Germany, taxes are to be paid - e.g. you work in Switzerland, and live in Germany. German tax authorities asks for the taxes on all salaries, no matter where or in which currency they are received. This is „income tax“. And then there is speculation tax on investments. If you hold special investments, you might be excepted from tax, but currently this does not hold true for bitcoin. This forum here may not be the best to find the right answer, there is a German forum (coinforum.de) with a special section on taxes (obviously in German).
pebwindkraft
<taxes><salary>
Getting salary in BTC in Germany
Samuryte
# Getting salary in BTC in Germany

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-12)

Am I allowed to ask my employer (large IT multinational) if I can receive my salary in BTC instead of EUR according to german law? Would I have to pay income tax if I do not exchange them for a year (tax exemption in place) and would I have to pay VAT for purchases made using BTC?

**Tags:** taxes, salary

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Someone with personal experience may be able to comment on the matter, but in general I think this is a question best left to a qualified accountant (lawyer?) who is familiar with German law :)  
> **username_2**: When working in a neighbor country and living in Germany, taxes are to be paid - e.g. you work in Switzerland, and live in Germany. German tax authorities asks for the taxes on all salaries, no matter where or in which currency they are received. This is „income tax“. And then there is speculation tax on investments. If you hold special investments, you might be excepted from tax, but currently this does not hold true for bitcoin. This forum here may not be the best to find the right answer, there is a German forum (coinforum.de) with a special section on taxes (obviously in German).  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-13. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

> **Am I allowed to ask my employer (large IT multinational) if I can receive my salary in BTC instead of EUR according to german law?**

There appears to be an obstacle in law:

> German labour law sets out certain rules when it comes to the payment of employees. An important regulation is § 107 GewO, which states a simple principle: “Wages shall be calculated and paid out in Euro”.

From [Salary Payment in Tokens: German Labour Law Considerations](https://www.natlawreview.com/article/salary-payment-tokens-german-labour-law-considerations)

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> **Would I have to pay income tax if I do not exchange them for a year**

Salary is subject to income tax. Paying a salary is not the same as making an investment.

---

> **would I have to pay VAT for purchases made using BTC?**

Yes.

> Germany will regard bitcoin as the equivalent to legal tender for tax purposes when used as a means of payment,

...

> When a buyer of goods pays with bitcoin, an article of the EU's VAT Directive will be applied to the price of bitcoin at the time of the transaction, as documented by the seller

From [Germany Won't Tax You for Buying Coffee With Bitcoin](https://www.coindesk.com/germany-considers-crypto-legal-equivalent-to-fiat-for-tax-purposes/)

(the title may be confusing -- it is contrasting the rules in Germany with those in the US where using BTC to buy coffee means the buyer pays capital gains tax in addition to any applicable sales tax.)


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