VAT Calculator for Hospitality (DE/AT)

The 2026 VAT reform: what changed for hospitality

On 1 January 2026, a permanent change to VAT in German hospitality took effect. Since then, all food is taxed at the reduced rate of 7 % — regardless of whether the meal is eaten in the restaurant (on-site), picked up for takeaway, or delivered.

This ended the distinction that complicated life for caterers, restaurateurs and event service providers for years: the well-known "7 % takeaway / 19 % on-site" split. The exact same dish used to be taxed differently depending on where it was consumed. With the reform, that split is gone.

The VAT calculator for hospitality does the conversion for you: enter a net or gross amount, pick the category and the country — and you get the correct tax amount and counter-value. On this page we explain which rates apply in 2026, how the formula works, where the pitfalls are, and what concretely changed compared to before.

How much VAT on food and drinks in 2026?

The essentials, compact:

Germany (from 1 Jan 2026):

• Food: 7 % — and that means all food, whether on-site, takeaway or delivered.
• Drinks: 19 % — beverages stay at the standard rate as a rule.
• Special case, milk(-mixed) drinks: 7 % — more on this below.

Austria:

• Food: 10 %
• Drinks: 20 %

For businesses operating in both countries or running events there, this is an important distinction: the logic "food reduced, drinks full rate" is the same in both countries — but the percentages differ. 7 % versus 10 % on food, 19 % versus 20 % on drinks. If you calculate quotes for clients in Germany and Austria, don't mix the rates up.

The formula: converting gross ↔ net

The base calculation is always the same, no matter which rate applies.

From gross to net:

Net = Gross ÷ (1 + rate / 100)

The tax included then follows as the difference:

Tax = Gross − Net

From net to gross, you reverse the calculation:

Gross = Net × (1 + rate / 100)

Tax = Gross − Net

The (1 + rate/100) is the decisive part. At 7 % you use the factor 1.07, at 19 % use 1.19, at 10 % use 1.10, and at 20 % use 1.20.

Worked examples

Example 1 — food Germany (7 %):

• Gross: €107.00
• Net: 107 ÷ 1.07 = €100.00
• Tax included: 107 − 100 = €7.00

Example 2 — drinks Germany (19 %):

• Gross: €119.00
• Net: 119 ÷ 1.19 = €100.00
• Tax included: 119 − 100 = €19.00

Example 3 — net to gross, food (7 %):

• Net: €250.00
• Gross: 250 × 1.07 = €267.50
• Tax: €17.50

Example 4 — food Austria (10 %):

• Gross: €110.00
• Net: 110 ÷ 1.10 = €100.00
• Tax: €10.00

Example 5 — drinks Austria (20 %):

• Gross: €120.00
• Net: 120 ÷ 1.20 = €100.00
• Tax: €20.00

Doing this by hand, it's easy to slip on the factor — that's exactly what the calculator is for.

Special case: milk and milk-mixed drinks

This is where it gets more nuanced, and exactly where mistakes happen in practice. Drinks in Germany are normally taxed at 19 % — but there is an important exception:

Milk and milk-mixed drinks with a milk content of at least 75 % are taxed at 7 % — provided they are alcohol-free and supplied as takeaway / delivery.

What this means in practice:

• A cocoa with more than 75 % milk content, alcohol-free, to take away → 7 %.
• A milk-mixed drink below 75 % milk content → stays at 19 %.
• A drink containing alcohol → does not fall under the exception, so 19 %.

The three conditions — at least 75 % milk content, alcohol-free, and takeaway / delivery — must all be met at the same time. If one of them drops away, the regular drinks rate applies again. Check the recipe of your beverages carefully if you serve or deliver milk-based drinks: the milk content determines the tax rate.

Splitting flat-rate and combo offers correctly

Caterers and event providers rarely sell only food or only drinks. Buffet flat rates, "all inclusive" per-person packages, catering flatrates — they usually contain both. And that is the trickiest point for tax purposes.

Flat-rate and combo offers that contain food AND drinks must be split proportionally for taxation. You cannot simply book the entire package price at 7 % just because food makes up the largest part. The drinks portion has to be recorded separately at its own rate (19 % in Germany).

Example — catering package Germany: A package costs €300 gross and consists of food and drinks. You split the portions — say €240 to food and €60 to drinks:

• Food €240 gross → Net 240 ÷ 1.07 = €224.30, tax €15.70
• Drinks €60 gross → Net 60 ÷ 1.19 = €50.42, tax €9.58

So instead of one single line item, you get two cleanly separated rows with different rates. The split should be plausible and based on realistic values — not skewed so that the drinks portion is artificially shrunk. How a correct split looks in an individual case is best clarified with your tax advisor.

Common mistakes in practice

These pitfalls keep coming up:

• Booking all drinks at 7 %. Food is reduced — drinks are not. The reduced rate on food tempts people to apply it to the drink too. Wrong.
• Not splitting flat rates. Booking a complete package with food and drinks at 7 % is wrong. The drinks portion needs its own rate.
• Milk drinks blanket-taxed at 19 % or blanket-taxed at 7 %. The exception only applies at ≥ 75 % milk content, alcohol-free and takeaway. Everything else is a case-by-case matter.
• Mixing up DE and AT rates. 7 % is not 10 %, 19 % is not 20 %. A frequent error with cross-border events.
• Wrong factor when converting. Gross divided by 1.07 — not "minus 7 %". €107 minus 7 % would be €99.51, the correct net is €100. A percentage deduction from the gross amount is not the same as backing the tax out.
• Still factoring in the place of consumption. Since 2026, "on-site / takeaway" is irrelevant for the food rate. Anyone still splitting by the old pattern is calculating with outdated rates.

What changed compared to before

The core difference is with food:

• Before: food eaten on-site in the restaurant → 19 %. The same food taken away or delivered → 7 %. The place of consumption decided the rate.
• Since 1 Jan 2026: all food at 7 % — on-site, takeaway, delivered. The place of consumption no longer matters for the tax rate.

What stayed the same:

• Drinks remain at 19 % in Germany. Nothing changed here.
• The obligation to split combo offers remains — it has even become more important, because the gap between the food rate (7 %) and the drinks rate (19 %) is large and noticeably affects the tax burden on bigger packages.

In practice this means: anyone doing pure food catering or takeaway sales has it easier than before — one rate for all food. Anyone selling drinks on top still has to separate cleanly.

Limits of this calculator

The VAT calculator for hospitality is a tool for quick conversion — not a substitute for tax advice. Note:

• It converts amounts, but makes no decision about which category applies to your specific item. Classifying "food or drink", the precise treatment of milk-mixed drinks, or the correct split of a flat rate is a matter of professional judgement.
• Special cases, transitional rules and industry-specific constellations are not covered. There are situations that go beyond the standard rates named here.
• Binding information on your individual situation comes only from your tax advisor or the tax office. This page is orientation, not tax or legal advice.

When in doubt: better to talk to your tax advisor once than to book a rate incorrectly for good.

Tips for everyday practice

• Separate food and drinks consistently — already at the quoting stage, not just on the invoice. That saves corrections.
• Store fixed split keys for your standard packages if they are always composed similarly — agreed with your tax advisor.
• Check the recipe of your milk drinks and document the milk content so you can justify the 7 % rate transparently.
• Update your POS and invoicing systems to the 2026 rates. Old logic with "19 % on-site for food" has to go.
• Cross-check critical amounts — especially on large packages it pays to double-check net, gross and the shown tax.

If you're calculating events and catering jobs anyway, you can carry this separation of food, drinks and flat rates straight through your quoting and event planning — in Univents you can store line items with their tax rates directly on the event, so the split runs cleanly from the start.