Compliant credit notes: what affiliate programs must know
When you pay partners, you issue credit notes for tax purposes. What German §14 VAT requires — and how to let the system handle it.
by Benjamin Oestreich
When you pay a partner for a referred sale, the partner doesn't invoice you — you issue them a credit note. For tax purposes that is an invoice under §14 of the German VAT Act, with mandatory fields.
What a credit note must contain
- Full name & address of you and the partner
- Your tax number or VAT ID
- Issue date and sequential number
- Description of the service (period, referral)
- Net amount, VAT rate and VAT — or a note on the small-business rule (§19)
- The word “credit note”
The trap: itemised proof
A lump sum “June commission: €312.40” often isn’t enough. Clean means per-transaction proof. This is exactly where spreadsheets turn into a night shift.
Handle small businesses correctly
If your partner is a small business under §19, you show no VAT but the corresponding note. Mix it up and it shows at the next audit.
How PartnerDesk does it
Credit-note PDF with itemised proof, anonymised references and automatic §19 handling — one click, all partners at once.