Calculate Amazon OSS: a worked example

For the OSS return you add up your net sales of the quarter by country and tax rate and calculate the tax. The example below shows this with seven invented rows from the Amazon VAT report, with France, Italy and Poland. The numbers are made up.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

In brief

Group: add up the UNION-OSS rows by country and tax rate.
Calculate: net total times the destination country's tax rate gives the tax.
Euro: you convert foreign currency with the ECB rate of the last day of the quarter.

What does the example look like?

Assumption: a seller sells goods in the quarter to private customers in France, Italy and Poland and once in Germany. All names and amounts are invented; only the tax rates come from the EU list.

Row	Country	TAX_REPORTING_SCHEME	Net	Rate	Tax
1	FR	UNION-OSS	€500.00	20 %	€100.00
2	FR	UNION-OSS	€500.00	20 %	€100.00
3	IT	UNION-OSS	€250.00	22 %	€55.00
4	IT	UNION-OSS	€250.00	22 %	€55.00
5	PL	UNION-OSS	PLN 1,000.00	23 %	PLN 230.00
6	PL	UNION-OSS	PLN 1,000.00	23 %	PLN 230.00
7	DE	REGULAR	€100.00	19 %	€19.00

The first six rows belong in the OSS return. Row 7 is a sale within Germany and belongs in the advance VAT return.

How do the OSS lines come about?

You group by country and tax rate:

Country	Net amount	Rate	Tax amount
France	€1,000.00	20 %	€200.00
Italy	€500.00	22 %	€110.00
Poland	PLN 2,000.00	23 %	PLN 460.00

The rates in the table are the standard rates of the EU list (as of July 1, 2026). Check your destination country's current rate before every return: OSS VAT rates of the EU countries at a glance. Some goods have reduced rates.

What applies to amounts in a foreign currency?

You file the OSS return in euro. Under section 16 (6) UStG, the rate of the European Central Bank on the last day of the quarter applies; if there is none for that day, the one of the next day applies. With an invented rate of 4.25 zloty per euro:

Country	Net amount in euro	Tax amount in euro
Poland	PLN 2,000.00 divided by 4.25 = €470.59	PLN 460.00 divided by 4.25 = €108.24

In total, the example gives €1,970.59 net sales and €418.24 OSS tax. You get the real rate from the ECB.

What does the same data look like in the VAT return?

The advance VAT return shows row 7 with €100.00 net sales at 19 % in box 81. The OSS sales are not in box 81; their VAT is declared in the OSS return, their net amount goes into box 45. More: VAT return from your Amazon and eBay reports.

How VAT GPT helps

You upload the Amazon report; VAT GPT recognises UNION-OSS and REGULAR rows.
The OSS window shows the table "OSS-Umsatzsteuer nach Land" (OSS VAT by country) with country, net amount, rate and tax amount.
You check the amounts and confirm; with VAT GPT Pro you send the return.

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

Are the numbers real? No, the example is invented. It only shows the calculation.

Do the rates always apply? No. The standard rate differs by country and can change. Check the rate before every return.

What about refunds? They reduce the sales, see OSS returns: how to report refunds and negative sales.