Do I Need a Trading GmbH?

The answer depends on many factors: municipal trade tax rate, managing director salary, deductible costs, and whether profits are distributed or retained. Generally, a GmbH becomes interesting from around €80,000–€150,000 annual profit — especially when profits remain in the GmbH (only ~15.8% corporate tax + solidarity surcharge). Use our calculator for your individual calculation.

A trading GmbH actively trades and is subject to trade tax (typically 14% at rate 400%). An asset-managing (vermögensverwaltende) GmbH only manages assets (e.g., buy-and-hold, dividend strategies) and is exempt from trade tax. Active options trading is usually classified as commercial. Exception: Pure options selling (Stillhalter) may be considered asset management — consult a tax advisor!

Setup costs are typically €2,000–€3,500 (notary ~€500, commercial register ~€150, tax advisor consultation ~€1,500, miscellaneous ~€350). Additionally, share capital of €25,000 is required, but this is not a cost — it remains as capital in the company and can be used for trading.

Expect annual costs of around €4,000–€7,000: Tax advisor (€3,000–€5,000 for annual accounts, tax returns, bookkeeping), IHK membership fee (€150–€300), accounting software (€300–€500), commercial register fees (€100), and various insurance/miscellaneous (€300–€500).

The salary is a business expense for the GmbH (reduces corporate taxable profit). For you personally, it is subject to regular income tax (14–45% progressive). At a salary of €48,000, the personal tax rate is about 25%. Important: The salary must be at arm's length — excessively high salaries can be classified as hidden profit distribution.

Distributed profits are subject to 25% capital gains tax + solidarity surcharge (+ church tax if applicable). This means: Corporate tax (~15.8%) is paid first on the profit, then ~26.4% on the distribution. The total burden is about 48% — significantly higher than the private capital gains tax of 26.4%. The GmbH advantage therefore lies primarily in retaining profits and deducting costs.

Yes! In a GmbH, all business expenses can be deducted without limit: office, hardware, software, data feeds, training, travel costs, and your own salary. As a private individual, business expenses for capital income are not deductible (§20 Abs. 9 EStG) — only the saver's allowance of €1,000 is available. This is one of the main advantages of the GmbH.

A UG (mini-GmbH) can be founded with as little as €1 share capital and is subject to the same tax rules as a GmbH. Disadvantage: 25% of annual surplus must be retained as reserves until €25,000 is reached. A cheaper alternative to start, but the same tax considerations apply long-term.