Is filing the OSS return in Germany difficult?

The form is not. The OSS return is one tax return per quarter for all EU countries together, and the portal leads you through the entry. It gets hard where the numbers come from: you must know which sale belongs to which country, at which rate, for every quarter. Whoever prepares that cleanly has little trouble with the sending. Whoever gathers it on the deadline day makes most of the mistakes.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

In brief

Easy: one return for all countries instead of a registration in each one. The portal loads the rates of the country you pick.
Work: sort the sales by country and rate, convert foreign currencies, account for refunds.
Fixed dates: 30 April, 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, also with zero sales.
Most common mistakes: a missed deadline, payment without the payment reference, a wrong rate, a wrong conversion rate, a correction in the wrong place.
Help: for special cases a tax adviser pays off (without a tax adviser, cost).

What is easy about the OSS return?

One return instead of many. By taking part in the OSS you no longer have to register for VAT in every EU country where you make sales covered by the scheme and file returns there. You meet the duties centrally at the BZSt. Participation applies to all member states alike.

The portal guides you. In the BZStOnline portal you pick a country of consumption. Once you have entered the period, the form loads the tax types and rates valid there. You enter the sales per rate and accept the entry. Corrections for earlier periods have their own section in the form.

The rhythm is fixed. Quarter after quarter the same deadline: the end of the following month. The dates are in OSS VAT return Germany: deadlines per quarter.

Where does the work lie?

The work comes before the form:

Assign each sale to a country. For a distance sale the place of supply is where the goods are at the end of the transport or dispatch (section 3c(1) UStG). That is your customer's country, not yours. Which sales belong in the return at all is in OSS return: which sales do you report?.
Apply the destination country's rate. The portal loads the valid rates, but which one fits your item is your decision. The overview is in OSS VAT rates of the EU countries.
Convert to euros. Amounts in a foreign currency are converted uniformly with the ECB rate of the last day of the tax period; if the ECB set no rate for that day, the rate of the next day applies (section 16(6) UStG).
Account for refunds and credit notes. How negative amounts work is in OSS returns: refunds and negative sales.
Keep records. You must be able to check the return and the payment from your records; the retention period is ten years.

How taxing that is depends on your business:

Your case	Effort
Few countries, few rates, one marketplace report per quarter	manageable
Many countries, several marketplaces, foreign currencies, many returns	a lot of sorting and calculating
Warehouse abroad, B2B and B2C mixed, earlier quarters to correct	often a case for advice

The most common mistakes and how to avoid them

Mistake	What is behind it	How to avoid it
Missed deadline	The return is due by the end of the month after the quarter. Even without sales a nil return is due.	Put the dates in your calendar; do not forget the nil return. What applies when late: OSS return missed the deadline.
Payment without payment reference	The BZSt matches a payment only by the payment reference (Kassenzeichen) and tax period in the reference text. Direct debit is not possible.	Collect the reference from the portal mailbox after the first return and quote it on every transfer (Paying your OSS return).
Wrong rate	The sales must be broken down by the rates that apply in the destination country.	Check the rate per country and type of goods before you enter it.
Wrong conversion rate	The ECB rate of the last day of the quarter applies (if there is none for that day, the next day's rate), not a rate of the order day.	Convert all foreign-currency amounts uniformly with that rate.
Correction in the wrong place	A return already sent is corrected in a later return, in the section for corrections, split by period and country.	Do not try to change the old return (Correct an OSS return).
Registration data not updated	Changes of e-mail, bank account or website must be reported by the tenth day of the following month.	Use the change form in the portal right after a change.
Repeatedly late or missing	That leads to exclusion from the scheme.	Prepare early or get help (How to leave the OSS).

An example of a correction, given by the BZSt: one quarter brings 100 euros of tax for country X and 20 euros for country Y. The same return contains a correction of minus 30 euros for X and minus 80 euros for Y from an earlier quarter. For X that leaves a payment of 70 euros; for Y a refund claim of 60 euros arises against the member state.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: your OSS return first, then VAT, EÜR, trade tax and income tax, calculated and filed in one place. VAT GPT assigns your sales to the countries and calculates the OSS return:

You upload your Amazon and eBay reports as CSV.
VAT GPT breaks the sales down by country and calculates the OSS return for all EU countries; you check the results before you send.
With VAT GPT Pro you send the return to the BZSt, with your ELSTER certificate and your VAT ID.

The registration, the payment reference and the transfer stay with you. If a period has no OSS sales, VAT GPT shows "No OSS transactions for this period". VAT GPT is not tax advice. There is a Free plan and Go with 30 days free and all Pro features. Try it for free now

Frequently asked questions

How often must I file the OSS return? Every quarter, by the end of the following month. If there were no sales, you file a nil return.

Can I change a wrong return? Yes, in a later return. Corrections are possible within three years after the last day of the filing deadline.

What happens if I pay without the payment reference? The BZSt requires the payment reference and the tax period in the reference text so the payment is matched correctly.

Do I have to convert the sales to euros myself? Amounts are given in euros, converted with the ECB rate of the last day of the quarter; if there is none for that day, with the rate of the next day.

Is a marketplace report enough? It supplies the figures; you still have to sort and check them. Amazon OSS shows which report you need.

Do I need a tax adviser? No, but one can make sense in special cases. More in OSS return without a tax adviser.