Amazon seller taxes in Germany, step by step

You want to sell on Amazon and wonder what to do in which order? Five steps are enough: trade registration and tax number, VAT ID, VAT return, OSS for sales to other EU countries, and the year-end close. Starting early avoids costly mistakes.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

In brief

Start: register the trade, get a tax number from the tax office and a VAT ID from the Federal Central Tax Office.
Ongoing: VAT advance return from the Amazon VAT Transactions Report (AVTR), by the 10th day after the period.
Year end: VAT return, EÜR, trade tax and income tax.

An overview of all taxes is in Taxes for online sellers: overview. This article is about the order.

Step 1: How do I register the trade and get a tax number?

Anyone who starts a permanent trade must notify the competent authority at the same time (section 14 (1) GewO). The municipality informs your tax office (section 138 AO). How registration works online is in Trade registration online.

Then you need a tax number. You apply for it at the tax office, in ELSTER with the tax registration questionnaire. There you also decide whether to use the small business rule. It applies if your total turnover in the previous year did not exceed 25,000 euros and does not exceed 100,000 euros in the current year (section 19 (1) UStG). In the year you start, only the 25,000 euro limit applies (section 19.1 (3) UStAE). More in Small business rule 2026: limit and Apply for a tax number.

Step 2: Where do I enter the VAT ID in Seller Central?

The Federal Central Tax Office issues the VAT identification number on request (section 27a UStG). The application is explained in Apply for a VAT ID at the BZSt. How to store it in Seller Central is in Add the VAT ID in Seller Central.

Step 3: How do I file the VAT advance return?

The advance return goes to the tax office electronically by the tenth day after the end of the advance return period (section 18 (1) UStG). The period is the calendar quarter. If your tax in the previous year was more than 9,000 euros, it is the calendar month (section 18 (2) UStG). If it was not more than 2,000 euros, the tax office can exempt you from advance returns (section 18 (2) sentence 3 UStG). If you are starting out, for 2021 to 2026 the expected tax of the current year decides (section 18 (2) sentence 6 UStG); for later years the statute provides the calendar month in the year you start and the following year (section 18 (2) sentence 4 UStG).

You get your figures from the Amazon VAT Transactions Report (AVTR). Amazon describes it as a monthly report with "detailed data on all taxable transactions on the European marketplaces and in Amazon's logistics network". How to download it is in Download the Amazon VAT report. The steps up to filing are in VAT return for Amazon.

Three cases need special attention:

Warehouses in another EU country: if you move goods from Germany to an Amazon warehouse in another EU country, this counts as a supply for consideration (section 3 (1a) UStG). This applies even though no customer is behind it. In Germany it is a tax-exempt intra-Community supply (section 4 no. 1 (b), section 6a (2) UStG): you declare it in the advance return (section 18b UStG) and in the recapitulative statement (ZM); without a correct ZM the exemption is lost. More in Amazon Pan-EU: warehouses abroad.
Exports to non-EU countries: you enter export supplies in the advance return, in the form under "Further tax-exempt supplies with input tax deduction" (Kz 43). More in Distance sales to non-EU countries.
Exact deadlines: you find 2026 and 2027 in the calendar VAT return deadlines 2026 and 2027.

Step 4: Do I need OSS?

If you sell goods to private customers in other EU countries, a threshold of 10,000 euros in total in the previous and the current year counts; electronic, telecom and broadcasting services to private customers there count too (section 3c (4) UStG). If you are established only in Germany and do not exceed it, a sale you ship from Germany is a German sale; you can waive this rule. Above it, the destination country's VAT applies. You declare it through the OSS procedure or by registering in each destination country.

For the OSS procedure you register with the BZSt. The application goes through the BZStOnline portal. Then you file the OSS return within one month after each quarter and pay the tax by the last day of the following month (section 18j (4) UStG). All details: OSS threshold 10,000 euros, OSS registration at the BZSt and OSS for Amazon.

Step 5: What comes at year end?

At year end you close four things:

VAT return: for the calendar year you file a tax return (section 18 (3) UStG). See Annual VAT return online.
EÜR: your profit is the surplus of business income over business expenses (section 4 (3) EStG). See EÜR software.
Trade tax: for sole traders it applies only once trade income exceeds 24,500 euros. See Amazon seller trade tax.
Income tax: your profit is income from trade. See Amazon seller income tax.

What does a late start cost?

If you pay tax late, you owe a late-payment surcharge of 1 percent of the rounded-down tax in arrears for every month begun (section 240 AO). If a return is filed late, a late-filing surcharge may be set (section 152 AO). In addition, receipts and reports are missing afterwards. The earlier you start, the less you have to catch up on.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: OSS first, then all other taxes in one place.

Upload your Amazon reports, ideally with your invoices. VAT GPT reads amounts, countries and tax rates; you check and confirm.
You see the totals for Germany and the EU countries (OSS) and get your VAT return and your OSS return from them.
In the same account you create your EÜR, trade tax and income tax return.
With VAT GPT Pro you send the VAT return and the returns via ELSTER, and the OSS return directly to the Federal Central Tax Office.

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

Do I need a trade as an Amazon seller? Anyone who sells regularly to make a profit runs a trade. The notification is governed by section 14 GewO.

Who issues the VAT ID? The Federal Central Tax Office, on request (section 27a UStG). How is in step 2.

Do I have to use OSS? No, OSS is optional. If your sales to private customers in other EU countries exceed 10,000 euros in total in the previous or the current year, you owe the destination country's VAT; with OSS you declare it in one place at the BZSt. Anyone taking part files the OSS return every quarter (section 18j (4) UStG).

When is the first advance return due? By the tenth day after the end of the advance return period (section 18 (1) UStG).