OSS return for Amazon and eBay with VAT GPT

If you sell through Amazon or eBay to private customers in other EU countries and take part in the OSS scheme, you file an OSS return with the BZSt every quarter. With VAT GPT you upload the reports, check the totals by country and send the return. Here are the four steps and the deadlines.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

In brief

Four steps: get the reports, upload them, check the totals by country, send and pay.
Deadline: the end of the month after the quarter; the payment must reach the federal cash office by then too.
Pro: sending from VAT GPT is a Pro function; checking the numbers stays with you.

What are the OSS deadlines?

The BZSt requires the return by the end of the month after the quarter, electronically through the BZStOnline portal.

Quarter	File and pay by
Q1 (January to March)	April 30
Q2 (April to June)	July 31
Q3 (July to September)	October 31
Q4 (October to December)	January 31 of the following year

You file even if you had no sales in the quarter (a so-called nil return). More on the duty and the process: OSS VAT return Germany: deadlines per quarter, steps and OSS return: how often and by when? Quarterly dates.

Steps 1 and 2: Which reports do I upload?

From Amazon you take the VAT transactions report, from eBay the order list, each for the whole quarter. Uploading under "Einnahmen & OSS" is described in Upload Amazon and eBay reports to VAT GPT. Rows with UNION-OSS in the Amazon report belong in the OSS return.

Step 3: What do I check before sending?

VAT GPT puts your OSS sales together by country: country, net amount, tax rate and tax amount. Then you check:

Are the quarter's refunds and cancellations included? Background: OSS returns: how to report refunds and negative sales.
Do countries and rates match your sales? The rates are in OSS VAT rates of the EU countries at a glance.
Are the tax number and VAT ID in your personal details correct?

If you sell in a currency other than euro, section 16 (6) UStG says to use the European Central Bank rate of the last day of the quarter.

You fix a mistake not in the old return but in a later one: Correct an OSS return: deadline, negative amounts.

Step 4: How do I send and pay?

On the "Steuern" page you see each quarter with its deadline under "OSS-USt-Meldungen". "Überprüfen & Senden" opens a window where you see all details once more. To send, you log in to the BZStOnline portal with your ELSTER certificate. You transfer the payment yourself to the federal cash office.

When you transfer, you give your Kassenzeichen (payment reference) and the tax period in the payment reference field; direct debit is not possible. After your first submission VAT GPT shows the payment steps, including where to find the Kassenzeichen in the BZStOnline mailbox. More: Paying your OSS return in Germany: where, how, by when.

What do you do outside VAT GPT?

You apply for the OSS scheme with the BZSt, see OSS registration in Germany: step by step.

How VAT GPT helps

You upload the Amazon report and the eBay order list for the quarter.
VAT GPT sorts the sales by country and tax rate and shows them in the table "OSS-Umsatzsteuer nach Land" (OSS VAT by country).
You check and confirm; with VAT GPT Pro you send the return to the BZSt.

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 file Amazon and eBay separately? No. You file one OSS return per quarter for all sales, see OSS for Amazon and eBay: one return for both.

What if I sold nothing in the quarter? Then you file a nil return.

Where do I see the deadlines in VAT GPT? On the "Steuern" page, each return shows its due date.