EU OSS threshold of €10,000: when it applies, examples

From the sale that takes you over €10,000 net, the VAT of the destination country applies, and that is where the OSS comes in. If you were already above it last year, it applies from the first sale of the year. Until then German VAT applies, if you are established in only one EU country and have not waived the threshold. Distance sales to private customers in other EU countries count, plus certain digital services. The threshold must not have been exceeded in the previous year or in the current year (§ 3c (4) UStG).

Last updated: 29 October 2026

In short

Two years: it must not have been exceeded in the previous year and must not be exceeded this year.
What counts: goods distance sales to consumers plus telecom, broadcasting, TV and e-services to them, net, EU-wide.
Optional and EU-wide: the OSS itself is optional; the €10,000 is one EU-wide total excluding VAT and replaced the former country thresholds on 1 July 2021 (§ 3c (4) UStG).
Waiver: you can waive the threshold; this binds you for at least two calendar years.

What is the €10,000 OSS threshold?

If you sell goods from Germany to private customers in another EU country, the supply is in principle made where the goods arrive. The place of supply is in the destination country (§ 3c (1) UStG), and that country's VAT applies. Small sellers get an exception. It applies if the total of your payments for such distance sales and the services treated alike did not exceed €10,000 in the previous calendar year. The total must not exceed €10,000 in the current calendar year either. Then the place of supply stays in Germany (§ 3c (4) sentence 1 UStG). The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) calls this the exception for businesses with small and medium turnover.

Three conditions must be met together:

You are established in only one EU member state.
The supplies are intra-Community distance sales, or telecommunications, broadcasting, television and electronically supplied services, to private persons in other EU countries.
The total of these supplies – excluding VAT – does not exceed €10,000 in the current calendar year and did not in the previous calendar year.

If you are exactly at €10,000, you have not exceeded the threshold: the law requires that the amount is not exceeded.

What this means for you: watch your net EU-wide distance sales and services to private customers against €10,000, this year and last.

How to calculate: five examples

All amounts are net turnover, all sales go to private customers, and dispatch starts in Germany. To calculate your own figure:

Add up the net amount of your distance sales of goods and your electronic services to private customers in other EU countries.
Do the same for last year.
Compare both totals with €10,000.

Example 1: you stay below the threshold. In the current year you sell goods for €4,200 to France, €3,100 to Austria and €1,800 to the Netherlands. Total: 4,200 + 3,100 + 1,800 = €9,100. Last year it was €6,500. Both years are below €10,000: you charge German VAT and declare the sales in your German VAT return.

Example 2: you pass the threshold during the year. Last year you had €7,800. This year you reached €9,600 by the end of August. On 12 September a customer in Italy orders goods for €850. The total rises to 9,600 + 850 = €10,450. This sale is already subject to Italian VAT, and so are all further sales to EU countries this year. The earlier sales stay under German VAT. Because you passed the threshold in September, you can register for the OSS until 10 October and take part from the day you passed it.

Example 3: last year was already above the threshold. Last year you had €12,300, this year so far €3,000. The threshold must not have been exceeded in the previous year either. So it does not apply to you from the start of the year: from the first sale of the year the VAT of the destination country is decisive.

Example 4: goods and digital services are added together. You sell goods for €8,400 to private customers in the EU. You also supply electronic services for €1,900 to private customers in Spain and Italy. Total: 8,400 + 1,900 = €10,300. The threshold is exceeded even though neither area reaches €10,000 alone. Training and other services do not count, because the threshold covers only telecommunications, broadcasting, television and electronically supplied services.

Example 5: you dispatch from two countries. You are established in France and also dispatch from your own warehouse in Germany to customers in Poland (€3,800) and Belgium (€4,100). The total of €7,900 is below €10,000, yet the threshold does not apply because the goods are dispatched from two EU countries. The European Commission answers this kind of case with "no": the threshold is not applicable.

What this means for you: add up your own figures net and compare them with €10,000 in both years.

What happens when you pass the threshold?

The sale that takes you over the threshold, and all following sales, are subject to the VAT of the destination country. For goods, the country where the goods arrive when transport ends (destination principle). The BZSt puts it this way: only the sale that exceeds the threshold means that foreign VAT has to be invoiced from that sale on. The trade-offs are in pros and cons of the OSS below 10,000 euros.

You then have two ways to report and pay the tax:

OSS: a registration with the BZSt and one return per quarter for all EU countries. You apply for the registration yourself in the BZStOnline portal. How it works: OSS registration in Germany: step by step.
Registration in each destination country: you report the tax in that country's national VAT return.

If you pass the threshold within a quarter and are not yet registered, you can register until the tenth day of the following month. In the form you choose "erstmalige Leistungserbringung" (first supply) and enter the day you passed the threshold. After that, retroactive registration is no longer possible.

What this means for you: from the sale that crosses €10,000 the destination country's VAT applies, so register for the OSS in time or in each country.

Can I waive the threshold?

You do not have to use the threshold. You can declare to the tax office that you waive it (§ 3c (4) sentence 2 UStG). The declaration binds you for at least two calendar years. The result: you tax your distance sales in the destination country from the start. The BZSt treats the registration notice for the OSS as an implied waiver; registration generally takes effect only at the start of the following calendar quarter. Record duties are in OSS record keeping.

What this means for you: you may waive the threshold, but that binds you for at least two calendar years.

When does the threshold not apply?

The threshold works only within this frame. According to the European Commission it does not apply, for example:

if you are established in more than one EU country or have a fixed establishment in another country;
if your goods are dispatched from more than one EU country;
for businesses established outside the EU;
for services other than telecommunications, broadcasting, television and electronically supplied services;
for imports of goods from non-EU countries.

In addition, the distance-sales rules do not cover the supply of new vehicles, goods supplied assembled or installed, and goods sold under the margin scheme (§ 3c (5) UStG).

What this means for you: check first whether the threshold applies to you at all: multiple establishments or dispatch countries rule it out.

Which mistakes come up most often?

Calculating the threshold per country. The €10,000 applies to all EU countries together. The former country thresholds of €35,000 and €100,000 no longer exist since 1 July 2021.
Calculating gross instead of net. The amount excluding VAT counts.
Looking at the current year only. The previous year must not have exceeded the threshold either.
Forgetting digital services. Electronically supplied services are added to goods.
Dispatching from two countries and still applying the threshold. Then it does not apply.
Waiting after passing it. The deadline for retroactive registration ends on the tenth day of the following month.

The start of registration is explained in how long OSS registration takes.

What this means for you: count net, include digital services and register within ten days of the month after passing the threshold.

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

When you create an invoice for a private customer in another EU country, VAT GPT works out from your recorded turnover (previous year, current year and the invoice you are creating) whether the threshold has been exceeded. If it has, or if that cannot be established with certainty, VAT GPT offers the VAT rates of the destination country. The OSS return in three steps:

Upload: You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: VAT GPT breaks down the VAT for Germany and the EU (OSS) and calculates the OSS return for all EU countries. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the OSS return goes directly to the Federal Central Tax Office.

Try VAT GPT

Frequently asked questions

From when do I have to use the OSS? The OSS is optional. From the sale that takes you over the threshold, you owe the VAT of the destination country. If you were already above it last year, this applies from the first sale of the year. You can report it through the OSS or by registering in the destination country. Registration generally starts on the first day of the quarter after you apply. If you pass the threshold in the middle of a quarter, you can register by the tenth day of the following month and give the day you passed it as the first supply.

How high is the VAT OSS threshold (the limit)? €10,000 net per calendar year for all other EU countries together, counted for the previous and the current year, if you are established only in Germany (§ 3c (4) UStG; BZSt).

Must I register for the OSS if I stay below €10,000? No. Taking part is then not mandatory; you charge German VAT and declare the sales to your tax office.

Does the threshold apply per country? No. All distance sales and equally treated services to other EU countries are added together.

Do services count? Only telecommunications, broadcasting, television and electronically supplied services. Other services, for example training, do not count.

What if I was above it last year? Then the threshold does not apply in the current year. You tax in the destination country.

Do marketplace sales count? The European Commission confirms for a seller established in Germany who sells only through electronic interfaces (marketplaces) that the threshold applies to them. You should be able to document these sales.

Does the threshold apply to small businesses (Kleinunternehmer)? Yes. The €10,000 threshold is a different one from the small business limit. More: OSS for small businesses: does the 10,000-euro threshold apply?.

How is the VAT calculated for the OSS? Once the destination country's VAT applies, you take the net amount of each sale to a private customer there and apply that country's VAT rate. You declare the result per country in the OSS return. The rates are in EU VAT rates under OSS; the five examples above show where the threshold is crossed.