Trade tax in Germany for Amazon sellers: when you pay

As an Amazon seller in Germany you pay trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) once your trade income for the year is above 24,500 euros. Only the part above that is taxed. Below it you pay nothing, as a small business and under the regular VAT scheme alike.

Only VAT GPT sends all three returns itself. Of the tools we compare, according to the providers' own pages (checked 3 November 2026), only VAT GPT submits the OSS return itself to the BZSt, plus the VAT advance return and the annual VAT return via ELSTER to the tax office, calculated from your Amazon and eBay reports. You do not have to go into Mein ELSTER or the BZStOnline portal yourself. With the others, you upload the OSS file in the BZStOnline portal yourself, or a tax adviser or the provider's service files it for you. Sending needs Pro. OSS software compared

Last updated: 29 October 2026

In brief

Allowance: sole traders and partnerships have 24,500 euros of trade income free (section 11 (1) GewStG).
Calculation: (trade income minus allowance) times 3.5 percent times your municipality's multiplier (Hebesatz).
Small business rule: it exempts you from VAT only, not from trade tax.

Which number you enter at Amazon is explained in Amazon tax ID (TIN).

Is my Amazon business a trade?

Every permanent trade in Germany is subject to trade tax (section 2 (1) GewStG). A trade is an independent, sustained activity with the intention to make a profit, by which you take part in general economic activity (section 15 (2) EStG). If you sell goods on Amazon on a lasting basis to earn money, you will usually meet these features. In the end the tax office decides on the individual case. If Amazon blocks the account over tax data, see an Amazon account blocked over tax data.

The municipality in which you have a business premises collects the tax (section 4 (1) GewStG). The place of management is a business premises too (section 12 AO). For online sellers this is usually the municipality from which they run the business, often their home town.

What this means for you: A permanent, independent activity with the intention to make a profit makes your Amazon business subject to trade tax.

How do I calculate my trade tax?

You start with the profit from your trade. Trade income is this profit, plus additions and minus reductions (section 7 GewStG). It is rounded down to full 100 euros, then you deduct the 24,500 euro allowance (section 11 (1) GewStG). The remainder is multiplied by the 3.5 percent base rate (section 11 (2) GewStG). The result is the base amount (Steuermessbetrag). Only with your municipality's multiplier does it become the trade tax (section 16 (1) GewStG).

This is how much trade tax arises at three profit levels (invented multiplier of 400 percent, sole proprietor, without additions and reductions):

Trade income (rounded down)	Above the allowance	Base amount (3.5%)	Trade tax at 400%
18,000 euros	0 euros	0 euros	0 euros
30,000 euros	5,500 euros	192.50 euros	770.00 euros
52,300 euros	27,800 euros	973.00 euros	3,892.00 euros

We work through the third row step by step, with a profit of 52,340 euros:

Step	Example
Profit from the trade	52,340 euros
Trade income, rounded down to full 100 euros	52,300 euros
Allowance	minus 24,500 euros
Remainder	27,800 euros
Base amount (3.5 percent)	973 euros
Trade tax at a multiplier of 400 percent	3,892 euros

Your actual multiplier is set by your municipality. It is in principle the same for all businesses there (section 16 (4) GewStG). Profit here means the result of your income surplus statement (EÜR); Amazon fees and other business expenses have already reduced it. More in EÜR software for online sellers.

What this means for you: 24,500 euros of allowance come off the trade income, the remainder is multiplied by 3.5 percent, and then comes your municipality's multiplier.

What do I actually end up paying?

Trade tax itself is not a business expense (section 4 (5b) EStG). In return it reduces your income tax: income tax is reduced by four times the base amount, but at most by the trade tax actually due (section 35 (1) EStG). In the example that is 4 times 973 euros, so 3,892 euros. Sellers who ship to Austria should also read about the Austrian parcel tax.

If your municipality's multiplier is higher, a remainder stays with you. At 450 percent the trade tax would be 4,378.50 euros. At most 3,892 euros are credited, so 486.50 euros stay with you. How much you can credit also depends on the maximum reduction amount (section 35 (1) sentence 2 EStG). The tax office works that out in your income tax return.

What this means for you: Trade tax is not a business expense, but it reduces your income tax.

Does the small business rule also apply to trade tax?

No. The small business rule exempts certain sales from VAT: if your total turnover in the previous year did not exceed 25,000 euros and does not exceed 100,000 euros in the current year (section 19 (1) UStG). In the year you start, only the 25,000 euro limit applies (section 19.1 (3) UStAE). Trade tax, however, depends on the trade and on the trade income. So even as a small business the 24,500 euro allowance applies, and a trade tax return can still be due. Where the turnover limits are is explained in Small business rule 2026: limits.

What this means for you: The small business rule does not apply to trade tax: the allowance of 24,500 euros does.

When do I file the trade tax return?

You send the return for the base amount electronically (section 14a GewStG), in ELSTER with the form GewSt 1 A. You must file if

your trade income has exceeded 24,500 euros,
loss carry-forwards were assessed at the end of the previous year, or
the tax office specifically asks for it (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 therefore ends on Monday, August 2, 2027 (section 108 (3) AO). With a tax adviser it is the last day of February of the second following year (section 149 (3) AO), so end of February 2028 for 2026. If you file late or not at all, the tax office may set a late-filing surcharge (section 152 (1) AO).

You pay trade tax in advance payments on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15, if the municipality sets them. Each one is in principle a quarter of the tax of the last assessment (section 19 GewStG). The details of the return are in Trade tax return: who has to file?.

What this means for you: File the base-amount return electronically in ELSTER when you are obliged to; trade income above 24,500 euros is one such case.

What if I have premises in several municipalities?

Then the base amount is split between the municipalities (section 28 (1) GewStG), and you also file an apportionment return (section 14a GewStG). How the split works is explained in Trade tax return: who has to file? in the section on apportionment.

What this means for you: With premises in several municipalities the base amount is split and you also file an apportionment return.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for online sellers, freelancers and small businesses in Germany. It calculates and files in one place, in this order:

your OSS return
VAT
EÜR
trade tax
income tax

The trade tax return needs your profit. It comes from your Amazon figures.

Upload: You upload your Amazon report and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: You check and confirm. Create your EÜR in the same account: the trade tax return takes the profit from the EÜR and shows you trade income, allowance and base amount. If you enter your municipality's multiplier, VAT GPT also shows you the trade tax. VAT GPT does not send the multiplier to the tax office; it is for display only.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro you send the return via ELSTER.

There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro. Try for free now

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay trade tax as an Amazon seller? If your trade income is above 24,500 euros, yes. Below it the base amount is zero.

Does the allowance also apply to a GmbH? No. The 24,500 euros apply to natural persons and partnerships (section 11 (1) GewStG).

Do I have to file the trade tax return although I pay nothing? Only in the cases of section 25 (1) GewStDV: trade income above 24,500 euros, assessed loss carry-forwards or a request from the tax office. If in doubt, ask your tax office.

Can I deduct trade tax? Not as a business expense (section 4 (5b) EStG), but through the credit against income tax (section 35 EStG).

How high is the municipal multiplier (Hebesatz)? Your municipality decides, and it is the same for all businesses there. If it sets none higher, it is 200 percent up to 2026 and 280 percent from the 2027 assessment period (section 16 (4) and section 36 (5b) GewStG).

Do I pay trade tax if I make a loss? As a rule, no: trade income builds on your profit (section 7 GewStG), and add-backs for items such as interest and rent only apply above an allowance of 200,000 euros (section 8 no. 1 GewStG). A loss also reduces trade income of later years, in full up to 1 million euros and at 60 percent above that (section 10a GewStG). Its amount is determined separately.

Does the allowance apply if I only sell on Amazon on the side? The allowance applies to natural persons and partnerships, whether you sell full-time or on the side (section 11 (1) GewStG). Whether your side income is a trade is covered in the first section above.