Trade tax return for Amazon and eBay sellers with VAT GPT
If you determine your profit with the EÜR, the trade tax return starts from that profit. In VAT GPT it appears as "Profit from trade or business (from your EÜR)" in the overview, and VAT GPT calculates the tax base amount from it. With VAT GPT Pro you send the return through ELSTER. Whether you must file depends, among other things, on whether your trade income exceeded 24,500 euros.
Last updated: October 27, 2026
In brief
- Starting figure: the profit from your EÜR, which you create in VAT GPT first.
- Calculation: trade income, rounded down to full 100 euros, minus the allowance, times 3.5 percent gives the tax base amount (Steuermessbetrag); with your municipality's multiplier (Hebesatz) it becomes the tax.
- Sending: on the "Taxes" page in the "Trade Tax Return (Gewerbesteuererklärung)" area through "Review & Submit", with VAT GPT Pro through ELSTER.
What are the steps in VAT GPT?
- Create the EÜR: You upload your reports under "Income & OSS" and your invoices under "Expenses". How the EÜR arises from them is in Amazon EÜR: booking income and expenses correctly.
- Enter your legal form: First enter your legal form under "Personal details". Without it VAT GPT cannot prepare the trade tax return.
- Open the area: On the "Taxes" page you find the area "Trade Tax Return (Gewerbesteuererklärung)". You choose the year; VAT GPT offers the return for completed years, so for 2026 from January 2027.
- Check: "Review & Submit" opens the overview. At the top is your profit. Below it you answer with Yes or No the questions on add-backs, deductions and loss carry-forwards, for example whether there were amounts that must be added back to the profit for trade tax.
- Send: "Preview report" shows the report, "Submit to Finanzamt" transmits the return through ELSTER. Both are Pro functions. Afterwards the overview says "Successfully submitted".
What does the overview show?
The rows follow the way from profit to tax. The right column says what the statute says about each.
| Row in VAT GPT | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Profit from trade or business (from your EÜR) | Starting figure: the profit of your EÜR |
| Add-backs under section 8 GewStG, deductions under section 9 GewStG | appear when such amounts exist; they turn the profit into the trade income |
| Trade income (rounded down to full 100 €) | Trade income is rounded down to full 100 euros |
| Allowance | 24,500 euros for natural persons and partnerships |
| Assessment base | the part of the trade income above the allowance |
| Tax base amount (Steuermessbetrag) | the assessment base times 3.5 percent |
| Trade tax multiplier and Trade tax (expected) | tax base amount times multiplier, when you enter your municipality's multiplier |
Your municipality determines the multiplier. In VAT GPT it serves to display the expected trade tax; the municipality sets the tax.
From profit to trade income: what does the statute say?
Trade income is the profit from the business, increased and reduced by certain amounts (section 7 GewStG). Amounts under section 8 are added, amounts under section 9 are deducted. A calculation example with figures is in Trade tax return: who has to file it?.
Trade income is rounded down to full 100 euros and, for natural persons and partnerships, reduced by an allowance of 24,500 euros (section 11 (1) GewStG). A tax measure number of 3.5 percent applies to the rest (section 11 (2) GewStG). The municipality sets the tax with its multiplier (section 16 (1) GewStG).
Do you have to file the return?
You transmit the return electronically; on application the tax authority can waive this to avoid undue hardship (section 14a GewStG). The form is called GewSt 1 A in ELSTER. As a sole trader or partnership you file if
- your trade income in the assessment period exceeded 24,500 euros,
- carry-forward losses were separately determined at the end of the previous assessment period, or
- the tax office specifically requests the return (section 25 (1) GewStDV).
Without a tax adviser the deadline is seven months after the end of the calendar year (section 149 (2) AO). For 2026 that would be July 31, 2027, a Saturday; the deadline then ends on Monday, August 2, 2027 (section 108 (3) AO). When Amazon and eBay sellers pay is in Amazon trade tax: when sellers have to pay and eBay trade tax: when sellers have to pay.
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. For the trade tax return that means:
- You create your EÜR from your reports and invoices.
- On the "Taxes" page you open the trade tax return, answer the questions and check trade income, allowance and tax base amount.
- With VAT GPT Pro you send the return through ELSTER.
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Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file even if I pay no trade tax? As a sole trader or partnership it depends on the three cases from section 25 (1) GewStDV named above. A GmbH files the return unless it is exempt from trade tax (section 25 (1) no. 2 GewStDV). When in doubt, ask your tax office.
Where does VAT GPT take the profit from? The overview shows it as "Profit from trade or business (from your EÜR)". You can check it there before you send.
Do I need the multiplier to send? The multiplier serves to display the expected trade tax. You find it at your municipality.
Can I create the return for the current year? VAT GPT offers it for completed years. In 2026 you choose 2025 on the "Taxes" page.