Closing your business as an online seller: the tax steps in Germany

You are stopping selling on Amazon or eBay? Then deregistering at the trade office is only the first step. The last tax returns, the OSS deregistration if you are in it, and closing your seller account follow. Here is the order.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

First: You deregister the business with the competent authority. It is a duty once you give up the business.
Then: the last VAT return (regular taxpayers; small business owners only in exceptional cases) and the last EÜR with the income tax return.
Last: deregister from the OSS, close the account, keep your records.

Where do you deregister the business?

Deregistering is a notice to the competent authority, not to the tax office: if you give up the business, you must report it (section 14(1) sentence 2 no. 3 GewO). The federal administration portal takes you to your office. It first asks you to choose a region, because the procedure depends on where you are. It states: "Dann müssen Sie Ihren Betrieb abmelden" (then you must deregister your business). Portal: Deregister a business at the federal administration portal (in German).

If you do not deregister, the authority can do it itself when the closure is clear and no deregistration was made within a reasonable time (section 14(1) sentence 4 GewO). Do not rely on that: a deregistration by the authority does not replace your duties towards the tax office.

The tax code also knows the notice of closing a business (section 138(1) AO). Entrepreneurs can also meet it electronically with the authority responsible for VAT (section 138(1a) AO). Which way your tax office expects, you ask there.

Which returns follow in the last year?

In the year you close, there are usually three things to settle.

VAT, regular taxpayers only. If you carried on the activity for only part of the calendar year, that part takes the place of the calendar year (section 16(3) UStG). The return for it is due within one month after the end of that shorter period (section 18(3) sentence 2 UStG). The advance returns up to the end remain due (section 18(1) UStG), unless the tax office has exempted you (section 18(2) sentence 3 UStG). As a small business owner these returns do not apply (section 19(1) sentence 2 UStG), unless you owe tax yourself as the recipient of a service, for example under section 13b(5) UStG (section 18(4a) UStG), or the tax office asks you to file (section 149(1) sentence 2 AO).

Income tax. Giving up the business counts as a sale (section 16(3) sentence 1 EStG). The EÜR for the last year and the income tax return go with it; a gain from closing is part of the income from a trade or business (section 16(1) and (2) EStG). What amounts that gives depends on your stock and your business assets.

Trade tax. The same threshold applies as usual: a return is due if trade income exceeded 24,500 euros (section 25(1) no. 1 GewStDV). More: Trade tax return in Germany.

What happens to leftover stock?

If goods are left over, you have two ways: sell them or keep them.

Sell: These are normal sales that you declare as before.
Take them privately: For a regular taxpayer, taking an item out of the business for purposes outside the business counts as a supply for consideration if the item entitled you to input VAT deduction (section 3(1b) no. 1 UStG). It is measured at the purchase price plus incidental costs (section 10(4) no. 1 UStG). If the item did not entitle you to input VAT deduction, for example because you bought it as a small business owner or without VAT, this condition is missing.

That is the rule, not advice for your case. If you hold larger stock, talk to your tax adviser before deregistering.

How do you leave the OSS, and what about the seller account?

OSS. If you stop supplying, you must deregister at the latest on the tenth day of the month after the change. You use the deregistration form in the BZStOnline portal. For the quarters in which you were registered, you still file the OSS return and pay the tax after deregistering. All cases and deadlines: Deregister from the OSS in Germany.

Amazon. Amazon names the conditions and steps for closing a seller account in the Seller Central help. We do not repeat them here so that nothing outdated stays on this page. Download all the reports you need for tax first.

eBay. Before closing, eBay requires: all fees paid, available payouts at zero, no open transactions and all subscriptions cancelled. In general it takes 14 days from the date of the request, up to 60 days if there were transactions, payments, cases or disputes in the last 30 days. Afterwards you lose your ratings and your purchase and sales overview, so pull your reports first. The steps are in the eBay help: closing your account (in German).

What must you still keep after deregistering?

The duty to keep records does not end with the business: accounting vouchers are kept eight years, other documents six, books and records ten (section 147(3) AO). The period does not end while the documents matter for a tax whose assessment period is still running (section 147(3) sentence 5 AO). Records of your OSS sales are kept ten years (section 22(1) UStG). Save your Amazon and eBay reports and invoices before you close the accounts. The periods in detail: Receipt retention periods in Germany.

Common mistakes

Deregistering the business and forgetting the tax. You still owe the last returns.
Closing the seller account before the reports are saved. On eBay the purchase and sales overview is lost.
Missing the OSS deregistration. The deadline is the tenth day of the following month.
Taking leftover stock home unchecked. For a regular taxpayer it can trigger VAT.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: your OSS return first, then every other tax you owe, calculated and filed in one place. For the last round you upload the year's Amazon and eBay reports, VAT GPT breaks the VAT down for Germany and the EU (OSS) and calculates the returns. With VAT GPT Pro you send the VAT return, the OSS return, the EÜR, the trade tax return and the income tax 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

Do I have to deregister the business if I no longer sell? If you give up the business, you must report it (section 14(1) GewO).

Where do I deregister? With the competent authority; the federal administration portal leads you there by region.

Do I still need a VAT return after deregistering? As a regular taxpayer yes, for the part of the year you were active (section 16(3) UStG). As a small business owner as a rule no; the exceptions are the case of section 18(4a) UStG and a request from the tax office.

Do I have to deregister from the OSS? Yes, if you stop supplying; the deadline is the tenth day of the following month.

How long do I keep records? Six, eight or ten years depending on the type (section 147(3) AO), OSS records ten years (section 22(1) UStG).