Amazon VAT refund in Germany: how to book returns and refunds

When Amazon refunds your customer, your consideration and the VAT you owe on that sale go down (§ 17 (1) sentence 1 UStG). You correct it in the period of the refund, not of the sale (§ 17 (1) sentence 8 UStG). If you declared the sale in the OSS, you correct its quarter in a later OSS return.

Last updated: 29 October 2026

In short

Return: If a supply is cancelled, the same applies accordingly (§ 17 (2) no. 3 UStG).
Advance return: The correction goes there (§ 18 (1) sentence 3 UStG); OSS sales go into an OSS return.
Fee credits: If Amazon credits you fees, you also correct your input VAT deduction (§ 17 (1) sentence 2 UStG).

What does a "refund" mean for tax purposes?

In everyday use the word covers three different cases:

Case	What happens	Rule
The customer returns the goods and Amazon refunds the price	The supply is cancelled	§ 17 (2) no. 3 UStG
Partial refund: the customer keeps the goods, you refund part of the price	The consideration and thus the tax base go down	§ 17 (1) sentence 1 UStG
Amazon credits you fees	Your input VAT deduction from the fee invoice goes down	§ 17 (1) sentence 2 UStG

In the first two cases it is about the VAT you owe to the tax office. In the third it is about the input VAT you deducted from Amazon's fee invoices.

What this means for you: Work out which of the three cases applies, because each is booked differently.

How do I correct VAT for a return or a partial refund?

If the tax base for a taxable supply has changed, the business that made the supply has to correct the tax owed on it (§ 17 (1) sentence 1 UStG). Paragraph 1 applies accordingly if a taxable supply is cancelled (§ 17 (2) no. 3 UStG). So you treat both cases the same way: you reduce the VAT by the amount that related to the refunded consideration.

An example at the rate of 19 percent (§ 12 (1) UStG). Your customer paid €119.00 gross, of which €100.00 net and €19.00 VAT.

Full return: You refund €119.00. Net, your sales go down by €100.00 and the VAT owed by €19.00.
Partial refund of €11.90 gross: Net, your sales go down by €10.00 and the VAT owed by €1.90.

The calculation is for sales at 19 percent. At another rate, you use that rate.

What this means for you: For a return or a partial refund, reduce your sales and the VAT owed by the refunded net amount and its VAT.

Which advance return does the refund belong in?

You make the correction for the tax period in which the change in the tax base occurred (§ 17 (1) sentence 8 UStG). If the customer was refunded in December although they bought in November, you reduce the VAT in December. The advance return itself has to be transmitted by the tenth day after the end of the return period, or one month later with a permanent extension (§ 46 UStDV); § 16 (1) and (2) and § 17 UStG apply accordingly (§ 18 (1) UStG). How to prepare the return with Amazon data: VAT return with Amazon.

What this means for you: Book the correction in the period of the refund, not the period of the sale.

What happens to input VAT on Amazon fees and credit notes?

The fees Amazon charges you are services supplied to you. If you deducted input VAT from them and Amazon credits you something, the input VAT deduction has to be corrected too (§ 17 (1) sentence 2 UStG). You get less input VAT because the fee is lower. To deduct the VAT Amazon charges you, you need an invoice issued under §§ 14, 14a UStG (§ 15 (1) sentence 1 no. 1 UStG); if you owe the tax on the fee yourself (reverse charge, § 13b UStG), you deduct it under § 15 (1) sentence 1 no. 4 UStG. The figures for refunds can be read from the Amazon VAT report CSV.

What this means for you: If Amazon credits you something on its fees, correct the input VAT you deducted as well.

What applies to sales to other EU countries and OSS?

If you declared the sale in another EU country through OSS, you do not correct the refund in the advance return but in a later OSS return for the quarter in which you declared the sale (European Commission, OSS guide). How it works: The OSS return with returns and negative sales and Correcting an OSS return.

What this means for you: For sales declared in the OSS, correct them in a later OSS return, not in the advance return.

Small business owners: do I need to correct anything?

The correction under § 17 (1) UStG concerns the tax base of a taxable supply. If you are a small business owner, your sales are VAT-exempt as long as total turnover did not exceed €25,000 in the previous calendar year and does not exceed €100,000 in the current calendar year (§ 19 (1) UStG); in the year you start, only the €25,000 limit applies (section 19.1 (3) UStAE). Then there is no VAT you would have to reduce because of a refund. More: VAT return for a small business in Germany.

What this means for you: If you are a small business owner within the limits, a refund does not change any VAT you owe.

Which mistakes happen often?

Booking the refund in the wrong period. In the advance return, what counts is the period in which the change occurred, not that of the sale (§ 17 (1) sentence 8 UStG). For OSS sales it is the other way round: you correct the quarter in which you declared the sale.
Reducing by the gross amount. You correct the tax share of the refunded amount, not the whole amount.
Forgetting the partial refund. Even if the customer keeps the goods, the consideration and the tax go down.
Overlooking fee credit notes. They reduce your input VAT deduction (§ 17 (1) sentence 2 UStG).
Overlooking refunds on OSS sales. They belong to the OSS return (see above).

If a buyer VAT ID is invalid, see an invalid buyer VAT ID on Amazon.

What this means for you: Book refunds in the advance return in the period of the refund, but correct OSS sales through the OSS.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT reads your Amazon reports as a CSV file. In three steps:

Upload the file: You upload the Amazon report in your browser. VAT GPT recognises it by its header row.
Check the result: VAT GPT calculates VAT for Germany and for OSS. Amazon's fee invoices and credit notes from the report are saved as expenses. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro you send the advance VAT return and the OSS return through ELSTER.

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

Upload your Amazon report

Frequently asked questions

Do I get the VAT back when Amazon refunds my customer? You owe the tax office less: you correct the VAT for that sale in the advance return for the period of the refund (§ 17 (1) UStG). If you declared the sale through OSS, you correct it in a later OSS return instead.

Which month do I book the refund in? In the tax period in which the change in the tax base occurred (§ 17 (1) sentence 8 UStG). For sales you declared through OSS, you correct the quarter in which you declared the sale, in a later OSS return.

Can I get VAT back from the tax office? Yes, if the deductible input VAT in a period is higher than your VAT: input VAT is deducted from the tax (§ 16 (2) UStG). If the return results in a tax refund, it takes effect only when the tax office agrees (§ 168 sentence 2 AO).

Do I have to correct anything as a small business owner? Your sales are VAT-exempt (§ 19 (1) UStG); there is no VAT owed.