Amazon FBA taxes in Germany: income tax, trade tax and VAT

Do you sell with Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) from Germany? You generally deal with three taxes: income tax on your profit, trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) on a trade income above €24,500 (individuals) and VAT (Umsatzsteuer) unless you are a small business owner (Kleinunternehmer). VAT is the tricky part, because it depends on where the goods are when they ship.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In short

Income tax: Without a statutory bookkeeping duty, you work out the profit with the EÜR (§ 4 (3) EStG).
Trade tax: For individuals, €24,500 of trade income stays free (§ 11 (1) GewStG).
VAT: Small business owners are exempt up to €25,000 (previous year) and €100,000 (current year) (§ 19 (1) UStG).

Which taxes apply to Amazon FBA?

Tax	On what	Basis
Income tax	Profit from your trade business	§ 2 (1) no. 2, § 15 EStG
Trade tax	Trade income above the €24,500 allowance (individuals)	§ 2, § 11 GewStG
VAT	Your supplies to customers, unless you are a small business owner	§ 19, § 18 UStG

Whether your selling is a trade business is decided by § 15 (2) EStG: an independent, sustained activity with the intention of making a profit that takes part in general economic activity. Anyone who sells goods on Amazon continuously and for profit typically falls under it. The law does not look at who stores and ships the goods.

How do I register my trade and get a tax number?

Anyone starting a permanent trade must notify the competent authority at the same time (§ 14 (1) GewO). For taxes you also need a tax number from the Finanzamt; how to apply is in Applying for a tax number. You store your VAT ID in your Amazon seller account: Add your VAT ID in Seller Central.

How do I work out my profit with the EÜR?

Income tax is due on your profit, not your sales. Taxpayers who are not legally obliged to keep books and do not keep any may treat the surplus of business income over business expenses as profit (§ 4 (3) sentence 1 EStG). Business expenses are the costs caused by the business (§ 4 (4) EStG). For an FBA seller that includes, for example, the purchase of goods and the fees Amazon charges you. How the EÜR works in ELSTER: EÜR template: preparing and sending the income surplus statement in ELSTER.

Your profit from selling counts as income from a trade or business (§ 2 (1) no. 2 EStG).

When do I pay trade tax?

Every permanent trade business operated in Germany is subject to trade tax (§ 2 (1) GewStG). For individuals and partnerships, an allowance of €24,500 is deducted from the trade income (§ 11 (1) sentence 3 no. 1 GewStG); the base rate is 3.5 percent (§ 11 (2) GewStG). So as a sole trader you pay no trade tax on the first €24,500 of trade income. More on the return: Trade tax return in Germany, also for small businesses.

Am I a small business owner or taxed normally?

A sale is VAT-exempt if total turnover did not exceed €25,000 in the previous calendar year and does not exceed €100,000 in the current calendar year (§ 19 (1) UStG). In the year you start your business, the tax authorities apply only the €25,000 limit (section 19.1 (3) UStAE). As a small business owner you then usually file no advance return; the exceptions and the trap with voluntary returns are in VAT return for a small business in Germany.

If you are not a small business owner, you transmit an advance return by the tenth day after the end of each return period (§ 18 (1) UStG). The return period is the calendar quarter; if the previous year's tax was more than €9,000, it is the calendar month (§ 18 (2) UStG). If the previous year's tax was no more than €2,000, the tax office can exempt you from advance returns (§ 18 (2) sentence 3 UStG). On application the tax office extends the deadline by one month (permanent extension, Dauerfristverlängerung, § 46 UStDV). If you are just starting, for the years 2021 to 2026 the expected tax of the current year decides (§ 18 (2) sentence 6 UStG); for later years the wording of the law makes the calendar month the return period in the start year and the following year (§ 18 (2) sentence 4 UStG). How to prepare the return with Amazon data: VAT return with Amazon.

Where are the goods, and which country gets the VAT?

German warehouse, German customer: If goods are shipped from Germany to a customer in Germany, the supply is deemed made where the shipping begins (§ 3 (6) UStG). German VAT applies.
German warehouse, customer in another EU country: This is an intra-Community distance sale. The place of supply is where the goods are when shipping ends (§ 3c (1) UStG). If these sales (together with certain services) stay at €10,000 or less in the previous and the current year and you are established in Germany only, German VAT still applies, unless you waive this towards the tax office; the waiver binds you for at least two calendar years (§ 3c (4) UStG). Above that, the customer country's rate applies. You can declare it through the One Stop Shop (OSS). More: The EU OSS threshold of 10,000 euros and OSS registration in Germany.
Warehouse in another EU country: Moving goods of your business from Germany to the rest of the EU counts as a supply for consideration (§ 3 (1a) UStG). What else applies in the destination country is covered in Amazon Pan-EU: stock abroad and VAT.

OSS returns are additional and do not replace the VAT return you file in Germany (European Commission). The OSS process is described in The OSS return for online sellers.

Which mistakes happen often?

Not registering the trade. Anyone starting a permanent trade must notify it (§ 14 (1) GewO).
Confusing the allowance with an exemption of the business. It reduces trade income by up to €24,500 (individuals).
Misreading the small business limits. What counts is the previous year (€25,000) and the current year (€100,000); in the year you start, only the €25,000 limit applies.
Treating a sale to another EU country like a German one. Above the €10,000 limit the place of supply is in the destination country (§ 3c UStG).
Overlooking stock abroad. Moving goods to another EU country counts as a supply (§ 3 (1a) UStG).
Not recording Amazon fees. Business expenses only reduce your profit if they appear in the EÜR.

How VAT GPT helps

This is how your Amazon figures reach the return:

Upload: You upload the Amazon report in your browser. VAT GPT recognises it by its header row.
Check: VAT GPT calculates VAT for Germany and for OSS. Amazon's fee invoices and credit notes from the report are saved as expenses. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro you send the advance VAT return and the OSS return through ELSTER. EÜR, trade tax and income tax returns are sent with Pro too.

There is Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT). Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Which taxes do I pay with Amazon FBA? Income tax on your profit, trade tax on trade income above the €24,500 allowance (individuals) and VAT, unless you are a small business owner.

Do I need a trade registration for Amazon FBA? Anyone who sells regularly with the intention of making a profit generally runs a trade business (§ 15 (2) EStG) and must notify it (§ 14 (1) GewO).

Do I pay trade tax as a sole trader just starting out? Only on the part of the trade income above the €24,500 allowance (§ 11 (1) GewStG).

Do I have to file advance VAT returns as a small business owner? Usually not (§ 19 (1) sentence 2 UStG), except in the cases named there.

Which VAT applies when FBA delivers to customers in other EU countries? For intra-Community distance sales, the place of supply is the country where shipping ends (§ 3c (1) UStG). Up to the €10,000 threshold, German VAT can still apply (§ 3c (4) UStG).

Does an OSS return replace the advance VAT return? No. OSS returns are additional and do not replace the return in your own member state (European Commission).