eBay fees and input VAT: what you can deduct

Paying eBay fees? For sellers in Germany they include German VAT, so the general input VAT rules apply. You deduct it in your advance VAT return if you are taxed under the standard rules, the fees arise for your business and you hold the invoice. Small business owners (Kleinunternehmer) deduct no input VAT.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In short

Input VAT: Invoice under §§ 14 and 14a UStG, fees incurred for your business (§ 15 (1) no. 1 UStG).
Small business owners: No input VAT deduction, because their supplies are VAT-exempt (§ 15 (2) no. 1 UStG).
Payout: The deduction depends on an invoice with all required details, not on the bare payout overview.

Do eBay fees include VAT?

Yes, for sellers from Germany. On its help page on VAT on eBay fees, eBay writes that the fees for all users established in Germany include German VAT. For commercial sellers from Germany who are liable to VAT and had received net invoices until then, eBay states that German VAT has been charged on the fees since 1 May 2018. According to eBay, the general rules for input VAT deduction apply to them.

The eBay seller portal describes which fees eBay charges: essentially a final value fee, an insertion fee and fees for optional upgrades, plus shop subscriptions and promoted listings. The fees are deducted automatically from your sales proceeds.

For sellers from other countries eBay distinguishes. Sellers from other EU states (excluding Germany and the United Kingdom) with a valid VAT identification number on file receive the fees net; those without one are charged the rate of their country. For sellers from the United Kingdom, eBay charges the VAT that applies there; for sellers outside the EU, no EU VAT. This page deals with sellers from Germany.

When can I deduct the input VAT from the fee invoice?

The law ties the deduction to a few conditions (§ 15 (1) no. 1 UStG):

You are a trader and the service is for your business. Fees for commercial sales on eBay meet this. If you also use the same eBay account for private sales, you separate the fees for those.
The tax is legally owed. The deduction covers the tax legally owed for supplies and services from another trader.
You hold an invoice under §§ 14, 14a UStG. Exercising the deduction requires you to hold such an invoice. A payout overview only counts as an invoice if it itself contains all details under § 14 (4) UStG; so use eBay's fee invoice.
You do not use the services for tax-exempt sales. Tax on services used for tax-exempt supplies is excluded from deduction (§ 15 (2) no. 1 UStG).

What the invoice must show. Under § 14 (4) UStG an invoice contains, among other things:

the full name and full address of the supplier and of the recipient,
the tax number or VAT identification number of the supplier,
the date of issue and a sequential invoice number,
the extent and type of the service and the time of the service,
the net amount, the tax rate and the tax amount.

If the name and address on the eBay invoice do not match your business details, first correct your contact details in your eBay account. The law requires the full name and full address of the recipient.

What does this look like in an example?

An eBay invoice for a month shows 100.00 euro of fees net, plus 19.00 euro of VAT, 119.00 euro in total. The 19.00 euro is your deductible input VAT. A tax of 19 percent corresponds to the standard rate (§ 12 (1) UStG); you read off which rate eBay shows on the invoice. In your advance return you deduct the 19.00 euro from your VAT as soon as the conditions are met and the invoice is in your hands.

What applies to small business owners? No input VAT from eBay fees

If you use the small business rule, your sales are VAT-exempt (§ 19 (1) UStG; limits: total turnover in the previous year no more than 25,000 euro and in the current year no more than 100,000 euro). Input VAT on services you use for those sales is then excluded from deduction (§ 15 (2) no. 1 UStG). The VAT in the eBay invoice stays a cost for you. Whether waiving the small business rule pays off depends on your fees and purchases; more in Advance VAT return for small business owners in Germany.

What does the margin scheme change for eBay fees?

If you sell used goods under § 25a UStG, only the margin is taxed. Your input VAT deduction is basically unaffected (Hamburg Chamber of Commerce); for invoices from other traders the general rules apply. More in eBay margin scheme in Germany: VAT only on the margin.

Which mistakes happen often?

Working from the payout overview instead of the invoice. The deduction needs a document with all details under § 14 (4) UStG, that is the fee invoice; an overview of fees deducted without those details is not enough.
Mixing private and commercial fees. Fees for private sales do not belong in the input VAT deduction.
Wrong account details. Name and address on the invoice must match your business.
Deducting input VAT as a small business owner. That is not permitted while you apply the rule.
Forgetting the fees in the advance return. The input VAT from the eBay invoice belongs to the deductible input VAT of your return, not to the sales.

How VAT GPT helps

This is how your eBay sales get into the advance return:

Upload sales: You upload the eBay orders report as CSV. VAT GPT works out net and tax from the total and sorts each row by dispatch and destination country.
Check the result: VAT GPT calculates VAT for Germany and OSS. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro you send the advance VAT return via ELSTER.

The Free plan processes Amazon and eBay reports and calculates VAT for Germany and OSS; sending to ELSTER is part of Pro. There are 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). Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Can I deduct the VAT from eBay fees as input VAT? Yes, if you are taxed under the standard rules and hold an invoice under §§ 14, 14a UStG, and the fees arise for your business (§ 15 (1) no. 1 UStG). eBay itself writes that the general rules for input VAT deduction apply.

Do eBay fees include German VAT? According to eBay's help page, yes, for all users established in Germany.

As a small business owner, do I get input VAT back from eBay fees? No. If your turnover is VAT-exempt under § 19 UStG, the input VAT deduction for the services used for it is excluded (§ 15 (2) no. 1 UStG).

Do I need the invoice or is the payout overview enough? The invoice. The law requires you to hold an invoice issued under §§ 14, 14a UStG; a payout overview is enough only if it itself contains all details under § 14 (4) UStG.

Does the margin scheme change anything about input VAT from the fees? According to the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, the input VAT deduction is basically unaffected by the margin scheme.

Where do I enter the input VAT? In the advance VAT return under deductible input VAT. How to file is in Filing your advance VAT return online.