Amazon FBA reimbursements: is VAT due on them?

Amazon pays you for stock that was lost or damaged? Genuine damages are not consideration for a supply, because there is no exchange of supply and payment (section 1.3(1) UStAE, the German VAT application decree). Whether that holds for Amazon's payment in your case, the decree does not say expressly for Amazon; if in doubt, ask your tax adviser.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

Rule: VAT arises on supplies and services made for consideration (section 1(1) no. 1 UStG). Genuine damages are not consideration.
Condition: A payment is damages when the payer has to answer for the loss, and not because you supplied something to the payer.
Open: The decree's section names no payments by a marketplace for lost or damaged goods.

Damages or consideration: how do you tell?

By law, consideration is everything that forms the value of the counter-performance (section 10(1) UStG). If you sell an item for 119 euros, the money is the counter-performance for the supply: that is consideration, and 19 percent VAT is inside it.

With damages the reason for the payment is a different one. The decree says the payment is not made because the payer received a supply or service, but because the payer has to answer for the damage under law or contract. In that case there is no exchange of supply and payment (section 1.3(1) UStAE). As an example, the decree names contractual penalties for non-performance, which have the character of damages (section 1.3(3) UStAE).

And with Amazon?

The words marketplace, warehouse, logistics, loss, damaged and Amazon do not appear in section 1.3 of the decree (BMF handbook 2024). So whether Amazon's payment is genuine damages in your case cannot be read from the decree. What counts is the reason for the payment, not its name in the statement. Take the terms and the statement line to your tax adviser.

Where do you find the reimbursement in the Amazon reports?

According to Amazon, the Amazon VAT Transactions Report (AVTR) contains the taxable transactions. Its help page lists sales, refunds, returns, cross-border inbound shipments, transfers between fulfilment centres, commingling transactions, liquidations, donations and Amazon service fees. A payment from Amazon to you for lost stock is not in that list. If a transaction is missing from the report, Amazon advises you to make sure that the AVTR supports the transaction type.

How the settlement report is built is explained in Amazon settlement report explained. The columns of the VAT report are in Amazon VAT report columns explained.

Income tax: the reimbursement in the EÜR

With the EÜR you take as profit the surplus of business income over business expenses (section 4(3) sentence 1 EStG). Income counts in the calendar year in which it reaches you (section 11(1) sentence 1 EStG); for regularly recurring income shortly before or after the turn of the year, sentence 2 applies. If Amazon's payment is part of your business income, it counts in the year it reaches you. How to book Amazon payments in the EÜR is shown in Booking Amazon sales in the EÜR.

Not the same: refunds to your customers

If your customer is refunded the price and the refund is charged to you, that is a different question. The tax base of your supply changes, and you correct the tax (section 17(1) sentence 1 UStG). That is covered in Amazon VAT refund in Germany.

Common mistakes

Classifying the payment by its name. What counts is the reason for the payment, as the decree describes it.
Mixing lost stock with customer refunds. One is money to you, the other changes the consideration of a supply.
Looking in the report for a line it does not list. Check the transaction type before assuming a gap.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: your OSS return first, then every other tax you owe, calculated and filed in one place.

You upload your Amazon and eBay CSV reports, and VAT GPT breaks the VAT down for Germany and the EU (OSS).
From the figures, VAT GPT prepares the VAT return (monthly or quarterly).
You prepare the income surplus statement (EÜR) in the same account.

With VAT GPT Pro you send the VAT return and the EÜR through ELSTER and the OSS return to the BZSt. There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, including VAT). Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Is the reimbursement for lost stock subject to VAT? Genuine damages are not consideration and trigger no VAT (section 1.3(1) UStAE). Whether your payment is genuine damages depends on its reason.

Does the decree say anything about Amazon? The section names neither marketplaces nor warehouses nor lost goods.

Does the reimbursement belong in my VAT return? That depends on whether the payment is consideration. If in doubt, ask your tax adviser.

Does the reimbursement count in the EÜR? If it is part of your business income, it counts in the year it reaches you (section 11(1) sentence 1 EStG).

Is this the same as a refund to a customer? No, if the customer is refunded the price and the refund is charged to you, the consideration of your supply changes (section 17(1) UStG).