Deduct Amazon fees: expenses and input VAT

Amazon fees are business expenses, because they arise from running your business (section 4(4) EStG). You can only deduct the input VAT if the invoice fits, though. If German VAT is shown on the invoice, you deduct it as input VAT. If no tax is shown because a business from another EU country invoices you, you owe the tax yourself (reverse charge) and, if you are under the regular VAT scheme, deduct it in the same step. Which case applies to you, you read off the fee invoice.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

Income tax: All Amazon fees are business expenses, even when Amazon takes them straight out of your payout.
Invoice with German VAT: The tax is deductible input VAT if you hold a proper invoice (section 15(1) sentence 1 no. 1 UStG).
Invoice without tax from an EU business: You owe the tax under section 13b UStG and, under the regular VAT scheme, deduct it as input VAT (section 15(1) sentence 1 no. 4 UStG).
Small business scheme (Kleinunternehmer): no input VAT deduction (section 15(2) sentence 1 no. 1 UStG).
Proof: The fee invoice counts, not the payout overview.

Which fees are there?

Your fee invoice lists what Amazon charged you. The tax treatment is the same for all of them: they are caused by your business. Common kinds:

Selling fees: a share of the sale price that Amazon charges for the sale.
Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fees: storage, packing and shipping when Amazon ships the goods for you.
Storage fees: the cost of your goods sitting in an Amazon warehouse.
Advertising costs: money spent on ads on Amazon. For these invoices, check separately who issues them and whether tax is shown.
Seller account subscription: the recurring fee for your selling plan.

The amounts are in your account; for tax purposes what counts is whether you hold the invoice.

Where do I find the fee invoices?

Amazon's help page on the VAT Transactions Report (AVTR) says that individual fee invoices remain available in the tax documents. The fee lines themselves appear in the AVTR with SALES_CHANNEL equal to AMAZON_FEE, and a month's fees show up in the next month's report. You need the invoice itself for the input VAT deduction; more on the report in Amazon VAT Transactions Report (AVTR): all columns explained.

The settlement report shows which fees were deducted from your payout. It is not an invoice unless it carries all the required details itself. The difference is in Amazon settlement report explained.

With or without VAT: what does your invoice say?

This decides whether and how you deduct input VAT.

Case 1: invoice with German VAT. According to a notice from Amazon, quoted word for word on the website steuerberaten.de, the Amazon EU branch in Germany has issued the invoices for sellers based in Germany since 1 August 2024, and German VAT applies to the fees. The basic rule then applies: you deduct the tax shown as input VAT if you hold the invoice (section 15(1) sentence 1 no. 1 UStG). The invoice must carry the details required by section 14(4) UStG, including the date of supply. Check this on your invoice; more in Invoice: mandatory details under section 14 UStG.

Case 2: invoice without VAT from a business in another EU country. Until July 2024, tax advisers report, Amazon invoiced German sellers' fees through its Luxembourg branch under the reverse charge procedure, so with no tax on the invoice. Invoices from that period, and possibly individual invoices today, can still look like this. In that case you owe the tax as the recipient of the service (section 13b(1) and (5) UStG) and can deduct it as input VAT at the same time (section 15(1) sentence 1 no. 4 UStG). The two cancel out, provided you are entitled to deduct input VAT. More on the procedure in Reverse charge under section 13b UStG.

Small business scheme (Kleinunternehmer). If you use the small business scheme, your supplies are exempt (section 19(1) UStG). The tax contained in purchases used for those supplies is excluded from the input VAT deduction (section 15(2) sentence 1 no. 1 UStG). The VAT on the Amazon invoice stays part of your cost and reduces your profit in full. If, as a small business, you receive an invoice without tax from an EU business (case 2), you still owe the tax under section 13b(5) UStG: you declare it in a VAT return (section 18(4a) UStG) and pay it, without deducting it as input VAT.

How do the fees get into the EÜR and the VAT return?

In the EÜR (the income surplus statement) you enter the fees as business expenses in the year you pay them (section 11(2) EStG). On the 2025 Anlage EÜR, ELSTER names commissions explicitly under "Bezogene Leistungen" (line 29); items that fit none of lines 24 to 59 go into line 60, "Übrige unbeschränkt abziehbare Betriebsausgaben". Input VAT contained in invoices goes into line 57. The line numbers come from the 2025 form; check them on the form for the year you file. More in EÜR: booking VAT and input VAT and EÜR business expenses: the list.

In the VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) you enter:

Case	VAT return
Invoice with German VAT	Input VAT from invoices of other businesses in Kz 66 (line 38)
Reverse-charge invoice from an EU business	Tax base in Kz 46 and tax in Kz 47 (line 30), deductible input VAT in Kz 67 (line 41)

For the EÜR with reverse charge: according to ELSTER, invoices for services under section 13b UStG contain no input VAT amounts.

Example with numbers

The numbers are invented. A fee invoice shows 100.00 euros net and 19.00 euros VAT (19 percent, the standard rate under section 12(1) UStG). The 100.00 euros are business expenses, the 19.00 euros deductible input VAT in Kz 66. If the same invoice arrives without tax from another EU country, you enter 100.00 euros in Kz 46 and 19.00 euros in Kz 47 and deduct 19.00 euros again in Kz 67. The expense stays 100.00 euros.

Common mistakes

Deducting input VAT without an invoice. Only the fee invoice counts, not the overview of deducted amounts.
Missing the reverse charge. If no tax is shown, check whether you owe it under section 13b UStG instead of leaving the amount as net.
Deducting input VAT as a small business. It is excluded as long as you use the scheme.
Mixing private and business items. Only fees caused by the business are business expenses.

How VAT GPT helps

When you upload the Amazon VAT Transactions Report to VAT GPT, it saves the fee rows (AMAZON_FEE) as expenses; you see them on the Expenses page. You can also upload your own invoices: the AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates, and you check and confirm. With VAT GPT Pro you send the EÜR and the VAT return through ELSTER. 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 Amazon fees business expenses? Yes, they are caused by the business (section 4(4) EStG).

Can I deduct the input VAT on Amazon fees? Yes, if you are VAT-registered under the regular scheme and hold an invoice with German VAT (section 15(1) sentence 1 no. 1 UStG). For an invoice without tax from an EU business you owe the tax yourself and deduct it under section 15(1) sentence 1 no. 4 UStG.

Where do I find the fee invoices? According to Amazon's AVTR help page, individual fee invoices remain available in the tax documents.

Does the settlement report count as an invoice? Only if it carries all the details required by section 14(4) UStG. Use the fee invoice.

Does this apply to advertising costs too? Advertising costs are business expenses. For the input VAT, check on each invoice who issues it and whether tax is shown.