Amazon KDP and VAT in Germany: what applies to your royalties?

Do you publish with Amazon KDP from Germany and does Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. pay your royalties from the European marketplaces? Then you charge no German VAT (§ 3a (2) sentence 1 UStG), but you are not done: under standard taxation you declare the turnover separately in the advance return and report it in the EC Sales List.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

This article assumes that you supply Amazon with a service against royalties, namely granting publishing rights to your book. It covers payments from Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. for royalties earned on the European marketplaces, which is how the KDP help describes it. Payments from other Amazon companies are assessed separately. Whether this fits your case is for the tax office or your tax adviser to confirm.

In short

  • Advance return: Separate declaration in the line with code (Kennzahl) 21 (§ 18b sentence 1 no. 2 UStG).
  • EC Sales List: Due by day 25 after each quarter, with the recipient's VAT ID (§ 18a (2) UStG).
  • Small business owners: They do not file the EC Sales List (§ 18a (4) UStG).

Do I charge German VAT on KDP royalties?

No, if your service is not supplied in Germany under § 3a (2) UStG. That rule says that a service supplied to a business for its business is supplied at the place from which the recipient runs its business. For the European marketplaces, the KDP help names Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. as the company that issues the payments for royalties earned there. You therefore do not show German VAT.

The law itself describes these cases as services for which the recipient established in another member state owes the tax there (§ 18a (2) UStG). People often call this the reverse charge. The tax does not disappear; it is levied on the recipient, not on you.

Where does it go in the advance VAT return?

The business must declare, separately for each advance-return period, the tax base of its taxable services within the meaning of § 3a (2) UStG supplied in another EU country, for which the recipient owes the tax there (§ 18b sentence 1 no. 2 UStG). In the advance return that is the line for non-taxable other services under § 18b sentence 1 no. 2 UStG, code 21. The details belong in the period in which the services were supplied (§ 18b sentence 3 UStG).

The advance-return period is the calendar quarter; if your tax in the previous year was more than €9,000, it is the calendar month (§ 18 (2) UStG). If it was no more than €2,000, the tax office can release you from advance returns (§ 18 (2) sentence 3 UStG). The return is due by the tenth day after the period ends (§ 18 (1) sentence 1 UStG), or one month later on application (§ 46 UStDV). How to file it in ELSTER: file your advance VAT return online.

Do I have to file an EC Sales List?

A business that supplies such services in another EU country, for which the recipient owes the tax there, submits an EC Sales List to the Federal Central Tax Office by the 25th day after the end of each calendar quarter (§ 18a (2) sentence 1 UStG). For the fourth quarter that is 25 January. The list contains the recipient's VAT ID, the sum of the tax bases and a note that such a service was supplied (§ 18a (7) sentence 1 no. 3 UStG). So you need Amazon's number from your Amazon documents.

If you find an error, you correct the list within one month (§ 18a (10) UStG).

How does invoicing work on KDP: credit note or self-billing?

The recipient can also issue the invoice if you agreed that beforehand; it is then called a Gutschrift (self-billing, § 14 (2) UStG). For KDP, Amazon describes a self-billing agreement under which Amazon creates invoices in your name and ensures timely payment. According to the KDP help, this is a beta available only by invitation to selected authors. Tax invoices are generated only for authors resident in the EU who enter a registered EU VAT ID in their tax profile and accept the agreement. The invoices stay available for 10 years.

According to the KDP help, the VAT ID in your KDP tax profile is separate from any tax forms you may have submitted.

What applies to small business owners on KDP?

If you apply § 19 UStG because your total turnover was no more than €25,000 in the previous year and is no more than €100,000 in the current year, the filing duties of § 18 (1) to (4) UStG do not apply, while § 18 (4a) UStG remains unaffected (§ 19 (1) sentence 2 UStG), and the EC Sales List under § 18a (1) to (3) UStG falls away (§ 18a (4) UStG). More: VAT return for a small business in Germany.

When does the 7 percent rate apply to royalties?

The tax is reduced to seven percent for granting, transferring and exercising rights arising from the copyright act (§ 12 (2) no. 7 c UStG). The rate only matters if the service is supplied in Germany, because VAT applies only to supplies a business makes within Germany (§ 1 (1) no. 1 UStG). For royalties from Amazon Media EU S.à r.l., the place of supply under § 3a (2) UStG is not Germany. It can differ with other contracts, for example if you grant rights to a business in Germany.

Which mistakes happen often?

  • Showing German VAT on the royalties. For a service to Amazon Media EU S.à r.l., the place of supply is not Germany.
  • Forgetting code 21. The tax base belongs separately in the advance return (§ 18b UStG).
  • Forgetting the EC Sales List. Under standard taxation it is due every quarter (§ 18a (2) UStG).
  • Not knowing the recipient's VAT ID. Without it a mandatory detail is missing (§ 18a (7) UStG).
  • Mixing up the KDP tax profile and VAT. The EU VAT ID in the profile is separate from tax forms (KDP help).
  • Leaving a wrong list uncorrected. You must correct it within one month (§ 18a (10) UStG).

How VAT GPT helps

This is how you work with your figures in VAT GPT:

  1. Upload: If you also sell goods yourself on Amazon or eBay, you upload their CSV reports; the Free plan calculates VAT for Germany and OSS from them.
  2. Check: If VAT GPT classifies a sale as a service to a business in another EU country and it is not a delivery of goods, it appears in the advance return in the line for non-taxable other services (code 21). Before you send, you see what you pay or get back.
  3. Send: You create the advance return monthly or quarterly; with VAT GPT Pro you send it via ELSTER.

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). Sending to ELSTER is part of Pro. Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay VAT as a KDP author in Germany? You charge no German VAT on royalties from Amazon Media EU S.à r.l., because the service is supplied where the recipient runs its business (§ 3a (2) UStG). Under standard taxation you still have to report it.

What is the reverse charge on KDP? The law puts it this way: the recipient established in another member state owes the tax there (§ 18a (2) UStG). You calculate no tax, but you report the service.

Do I need a VAT ID for KDP? The KDP help asks EU-resident authors with a registered number to enter it in their tax profile so that tax invoices are generated. The EC Sales List shows the recipient's number (§ 18a (7) UStG).

Must a small business owner file the EC Sales List? No. § 18a (1) to (3) UStG does not apply to businesses that apply § 19 (1) UStG (§ 18a (4) UStG).

Does the 7 percent rate apply to KDP royalties? The reduced rate for copyright rights applies to services supplied in Germany (§ 12 (2) no. 7 c UStG). For royalties from Amazon Media EU S.à r.l., the place of supply is not Germany.

When is the EC Sales List due? By the 25th day after the end of the calendar quarter (§ 18a (2) UStG).

Further reading

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Sources