Correct an OSS return: amending earlier quarters

You correct a sent OSS return in a later OSS return, up to three years after the filing deadline of the wrong quarter, not by filing the old one again. A credit is first offset against the tax you declared for that country; the EU country concerned refunds the rest.

Last updated: 2 November 2026

Current deadlines (as of 2 November 2026)

Last chance for corrections: three years from the last day of the filing deadline of the wrong quarter (ELSTER help on the OSS). For Q3 2023 (deadline 31 October 2023) that ended on 31 October 2026, for Q4 2023 (deadline 31 January 2024) it ends on 31 January 2027.
OSS return, Q3 2026: the deadline (filing and payment) was Saturday, 31 October 2026; it did not move to Monday (§ 18j UStG). If you missed it, Missed the OSS deadline says what to do now.
OSS return, Q4 2026: due on Sunday, 31 January 2027; the last working day before it is Friday, 29 January 2027. Q1 2027 follows on Friday, 30 April 2027.

What this means for you: Check first whether an error from Q4 2023 still fits into the return due on 31 January 2027; younger quarters have more time.

In short

Where: BZStOnline Portal, page “List of sales and corrections”, sub-page “Correction of earlier or later taxable periods”.
Amounts: for each EU country, the previously declared and the corrected tax amount; a negative amount means a refund.
Special case: After ending your participation and filing the last return, you declare corrections directly with the EU countries.

Which form and which quarter do I open for the correction?

Form: The correction is part of the OSS tax return form. You find it in the BZStOnline Portal under “Forms”; it has a special section for corrections, broken down by taxable period and EU country.
Quarter: You open the return for the quarter you file next, not the quarter with the error. You name the wrong quarter in the correction itself.
What the portal shows: The page “List of sales and corrections” has one row per EU country you have already entered; you add another country via “Add further data”. With the edit symbol in the country’s row you add or change an entry. The portal calculates the amount “Declared or refundable tax amount of the stated quarter” itself.

What this means for you: Do not look for the old return to reopen; start the return for your next quarter and put the correction into it.

How do I correct an OSS return in the BZStOnline Portal?

Today this usually means: you hunt for the error in your Excel sheet and enter the correction by hand in the portal. The login steps are described in BZSt Online Portal login.

An OSS return that has already been sent can generally be corrected only in connection with a subsequent return. The return is organised by quarter: the taxable period is the calendar quarter. This is how you proceed:

Clarify the error and the correct amounts: Establish, for each EU country and quarter, what you had declared and what would have been correct.
Start a subsequent return: In the BZStOnline Portal, open the tax return for a later quarter, for example for the quarter you file next.
Create the correction: On the page “List of sales and corrections” (“Liste der Umsätze und Berichtigungen”), click “Add further data” (“Weitere Daten hinzufügen”), select the country of consumption and enter the details on the sub-page “Correction of earlier or later taxable periods” (“Berichtigung früherer oder späterer Besteuerungszeiträume”). The entry is adopted with “Adopt entry” (“Eintrag übernehmen”).
Repeat for further quarters and countries: With “Add further data” you add corrections for other taxable periods. For another country, you start again at step 3.
Submit the return: You submit the return for the quarter by the end of the month after the quarter. If a payment results, you pay it with this return.

What this means for you: One correction means one entry per country and quarter inside your next return, and you submit that return on time.

Do sales before my OSS registration belong in the correction?

No. You take part in the OSS from the start of the quarter you named in your notification; the notification must be made before that quarter (§ 18j(1) sentence 4 UStG). Sales from earlier quarters therefore as a rule do not belong in the OSS return or in its correction. The OSS guidelines of the EU Commission name one exception: if you notify the BZSt of the start by the tenth day of the month after your first supply at the latest, the scheme applies from that first supply. If the earlier sales were below the €10,000 threshold and you did not opt out of it, they are German sales for your advance VAT return (§ 3c(4) UStG). If instead the VAT was due in the country of destination, you declare it there according to the guidelines, with a registration in that country.

What this means for you: The correction in the BZStOnline Portal covers only quarters in which you already took part in the OSS.

How long can I correct an OSS return?

Tax returns can be corrected within three years, counted from the last day of their filing deadline (§ 18j (4) UStG). The deadline for filing an OSS return is the last day of the month after the quarter:

Quarter	Filing deadline	Correctable until (3 years later)
Q1	30 April	30 April, three years on
Q2	31 July	31 July, three years on
Q3	31 October	31 October, three years on
Q4	31 January of the next year	31 January, three years on

Example: for Q1 2025 the deadline is 30 April 2025, so a correction is possible until 30 April 2028.

Since the 3rd quarter of 2023, you can also correct in a return quarters that fall after the quarter of the return. The example from the ELSTER help: correction for 4/2024 when filing the return for 3/2024. This only works if the return you are correcting already exists.

After the three years, the picture changes. According to the European Commission, the Member State of consumption may still accept a correction under its national rules, but such a correction falls outside the One Stop Shop.

What this means for you: Note the filing deadline of each quarter; three years after it, the OSS route for correcting that quarter closes.

What do I enter for the correction?

For each EU country and each corrected quarter, you state two amounts: the previously declared and the corrected tax amount. Depending on the case, you enter:

Case	“Previously declared tax amount” (“Bisher erklärter Steuerbetrag”)	“Corrected tax amount” (“Berichtigter Steuerbetrag”)
The declared amount was wrong	the amount you had declared	the correct amount
Nothing had been declared for the country	0.00	the amount declared subsequently
The declared amount no longer applies	the amount you had declared	0.00

You give details only for the EU countries for which you want to declare corrected tax amounts in the quarter concerned. The portal calculates the amount under “Declared or refundable tax amount of the quarter concerned” (“Erklärter bzw. zu erstattender Steuerbetrag des angegebenen Quartals”) automatically. A negative amount in this column means a refund.

What this means for you: You type only the two amounts per country; the portal does the subtraction and shows a minus sign where you get money back.

Can an OSS return be negative?

Yes, parts of it can. Negative amounts appear in two places:

The correction amount: it can be negative. In the BZSt example, country X has a correction of -30 euros and country Y one of -80 euros.
The column “Declared or refundable tax amount of the stated quarter”: the portal calculates it automatically. A negative amount in this column means a refund (ELSTER help).

A credit is first offset against the tax declared for the same country; what remains is refunded by the respective EU country, not by the BZSt. On its OSS page the BZSt names no separate rule for cancellations or returns (checked on 26 October 2026). The route it describes for correction amounts is the correction in a subsequent return. For your individual case, a tax advisor can help.

What this means for you: A negative correction lowers the tax you owe for that country; any surplus is claimed from that country, not from Germany.

How are additional payment and refund offset?

A credit resulting from corrections is first offset within the tax return against the declared tax amount for the EU country concerned. What is left afterwards must be refunded to you by the EU countries concerned. The BZSt illustrates it as follows (simplified):

Country	Declared tax in the quarter	Correction for the previous quarter	Result
Country X	€100	-€30	€100 minus €30 = €70 tax
Country Y	€20	-€80	€20 minus €80 = -€60, i.e. a refund claim

On the basis of the tax return, you pay €70 in this example and have a refund claim of €60 against country Y.

Two further points from the European Commission’s OSS guidance: overpayments and underpayments in different Member States cannot be offset against each other, and the Commission recommends that overpayments be reimbursed to the taxable person within 30 days of the tax administration’s decision.

The tax from the return is due on the last day of the month after the quarter. You transfer it to the Federal Treasury (Bundeskasse), with the reference number (Kassenzeichen) and the quarter in the payment reference.

What this means for you: Country X’s tax is reduced by your correction; country Y’s surplus is not netted against X, so you wait for Y to refund it.

What if I no longer take part in the OSS?

If you have ended your participation in the OSS and have already filed the return for the last quarter for which you were registered, there is no subsequent return any more. You must then declare necessary corrections directly with the tax authorities of the EU countries concerned. For marketplace sellers, see also the Etsy OSS return from Germany.

What this means for you: Once you have left the OSS and filed your last return, you write to each EU country’s tax authority yourself.

How does VAT GPT help with an OSS correction?

VAT GPT works in three steps: Upload – check – send.

Upload: You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV report and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: VAT GPT calculates the OSS return for all EU countries. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the OSS return goes directly to the BZSt. Afterwards VAT GPT points out that corrections can be taken into account in the next quarterly declaration.

There is Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro. Try for Free Now

What this means for you: You upload the corrected data, check the figures, and send the next return with the correction included.

Which mistakes happen often?

Wanting to file the return again. A return that has been sent is generally corrected only together with a subsequent return.
Not stating the quarter being corrected. The law requires the taxable period to be corrected to be stated.
Exceeding the three years. Corrections are provided for within three years after the last day of the filing deadline.
Not entering 0.00 as the previously declared tax amount for a country for which you had declared nothing. That is what the ELSTER help says.
Still expecting an OSS return after participation has ended. Then the corrections go directly to the tax authorities of the EU countries.
Expecting a credit from the BZSt. The remaining credit is refunded by the EU countries concerned.

Before you file, checking your OSS return before filing helps you avoid corrections.

What this means for you: Check the quarter, the country and the three-year limit before you send the correction.

Frequently asked questions

Can I submit an OSS return again? Generally not. A return that has already been sent can be corrected only in connection with a subsequent return.

Until when can I correct an OSS return? Within three years, counted from the last day of the filing deadline of the return (ELSTER help; § 18j (4) sentence 5 UStG).

Can an OSS return show a negative amount? Yes. If a correction amount exceeds the tax declared for a country, the result is a negative amount, that is, a refund claim against that country. BZSt example: 20 euros minus 80 euros = -60 euros for country Y.

Where do I enter the correction? In the BZStOnline Portal on the page “List of sales and corrections” (“Liste der Umsätze und Berichtigungen”). There you create a correction entry via “Add further data” (“Weitere Daten hinzufügen”), with the details on the sub-page “Correction of earlier or later taxable periods” (“Berichtigung früherer oder späterer Besteuerungszeiträume”).

What happens if the correction results in a credit? The credit is first offset within the return against the declared tax amount for the EU country concerned. The EU countries concerned must refund the rest.

What applies if I no longer take part in the OSS? If you have already filed the return for the last quarter for which you were registered, you declare necessary corrections directly with the tax authorities of the EU countries concerned.

Can I make up an OSS return I did not file? It depends on what is missing. If a filed return only lacks an amount, you correct it in your next return; for a country where you have declared nothing so far, you enter 0.00 as the tax amount declared so far. If you did not file a whole quarter at all, that is not a correction but a late return. What applies then is in OSS return deadline missed: what now.

Can I also correct a later quarter? Yes, since the 3rd quarter of 2023, but only if the return you are correcting already exists.

Can I correct an OSS return after the three years? Not within the OSS. The European Commission states that the Member State of consumption may accept the correction under its national rules; such corrections fall outside the One Stop Shop.