Shareholders can generally obtain a loan from their GmbH. This can be documented by means of a separate loan agreement. For smaller amounts that occur more frequently, the company's claims can also be recorded via a shareholder current account (Gesellschafterverrechnungskonto).
The BFH addressed the proper accounting treatment in a 2023 ruling. In the case at hand, a current account containing receivables of the company against the shareholder had remained non-interest-bearing. The BFH held that such claims must generally bear interest at arm's length, as they constitute a loan receivable of the company against the shareholder.
The BFH also commented on a question of practical relevance: how high the interest rate must actually be in order to avoid a hidden profit distribution (verdeckte Gewinnausschüttung). To determine the arm's length interest rate, the comparable uncontrolled price method (Preisvergleichsmethode) is to be applied primarily.
The arm's length price is the interest rate at which unrelated third parties would have granted the loan under comparable conditions. According to the BFH, where there are no special circumstances, there is nothing to prevent the contracting parties from splitting the customary bank margin between debit and credit interest equally (the so-called halving principle, Halbteilungsgrundsatz).