Navigating U.S. Market Entry

Tax 101 for International Startups Scaling Globally

Stripe Startups 29 April Berlin

Tax 101 for scaling globally

Agenda

01 Introduction

02 Legal Structures 101

03 Tax Tree Digital Products (SaaS)

04 Tax Advisor Insights

05 Common Accounting Pitfalls
in Germany Using Stripe

06 Q&A

01

Introduction

Party like Gatsby

Roaring Twenties-themed show. 19 countries; 100k+ guests across Europe, the US, and Canada

MeetAnyway Inc. + GmbH

Platform for hosting engaging online events for researchers.

Fizard

AI-native operating system for tax firms in Germany, with Taxard tax firm as a “blueprint”.

02

Legal Structures 101

Good to Know

Selling internationally

Selling to the U.S. (or other countries) doesn't mean you must set up an entity there.

Globe showing a route between the United States and Germany

03

Tax Tree Digital Products (SaaS)

03

Tax Tree Digital Products (SaaS)

🇩🇪 Germany

19% / 7%

03

Tax Tree Digital Products (SaaS)

🇩🇪 Germany

19% / 7%

🇪🇺 European Union

B2B - Reverse charge

B2C EU 19% / 7% or OSS

03

Tax Tree Digital Products (SaaS)

B2B - Reverse charge

🌎 Third country

B2B - Outside the scope
of German VAT

B2C - Individual
thresholds

03

Tax Tree Digital Products (SaaS)

Recommendation

Stripe Automated Tax

Activate Stripe Automated Tax to keep track of which countries need your attention.

→ Tax registration: Rule of 👍 vs Merchant of Record (Stripe Managed Payments)

04

Tax Advisor Insights

Save Money

Make use of your tax advisor. Asking questions costs less than fixing mistakes.

Save Time

Avoid shadow accounting early on. Make your tax firm's accounting your source of truth.

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls in Germany Using Stripe

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Invoices

Collecting payments without invoices

Do this

Activate post-payment invoices.

01 / 04

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Refunds

Refund of payments without Void/Credit Note

Do this

Refund via Billing - Invoices.

Stripe dashboard transaction refund screen

02 / 04

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Overdue invoices

No process for overdue invoices

Do this

Void overdue, uncollectible invoices regularly.

03 / 04

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Void invoices

Marking invoices as uncollectible

Do this

Void invoices instead.

Stripe invoice status menu showing uncollectible invoice status

04 / 04

06

Q&A

Reach out

Reach out via marcmetz.com

Looking for a tax firm
Questions regarding Stripe-Accounting setup

Stripe-DATEV Automation

Try fizard.com → 3 months free with code TAX101

Incl. account review and onboarding at no cost with me.

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Credit balance

Undocumented credit balance on customer accounts

Do this

Apply a one-time coupon.

01 / 06

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Disputes

No process for disputes

Do this

Create a credit note without refund for lost disputes.

02 / 06

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Invoice details

Missing business details (e.g. VAT ID) on invoices

Do this

Consult your tax advisor up front.

Frequently missing: Settings - Billing - Invoice tax information → set VAT ID to default.

03 / 06

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

B2B tax IDs

B2B checkout without tax ID collection

Do this

Allow tax ID collection and require it for B2B-only flows.

04 / 06

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

B2C VAT

Missing or wrong VAT / not tracking tax obligations

Do this

Use Stripe Automatic Tax and set it up correctly.

Bonus: Managed Payments.

Stripe automatic tax collection settings

05 / 06

05

Common Accounting Pitfalls

Service period

Missing service period for applicable items on one-off invoices

Do this

Add supply date.

06 / 06