OSS for Amazon and eBay: one return for both

You sell on Amazon and on eBay and wonder whether you need two OSS returns. You do not: you file one per quarter, with the sales of all channels together. The 10,000 euro threshold also counts across all channels. Here is how to combine the two reports.

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

One return: taking part in the OSS scheme applies uniformly to all sales, not per platform.
One threshold: the 10,000 euros add up all distance sales into other EU countries.
No double counting: each sale appears in one report only; use each report once.

Why only one return for both platforms?

The law allows taking part in the special scheme only uniformly for all EU member states and all sales of this kind. So you cannot put Amazon through OSS and treat eBay differently. You file one tax return per quarter with the BZSt; deadlines and process are in OSS return for Amazon and eBay with VAT GPT.

What this means for you: register once for the OSS and report the sales of both platforms in the same return.

From when does taking part cover both platforms?

You apply for taking part once, electronically through the BZStOnline portal, under your VAT identification number. According to the BZSt, registration starts in principle on the first day of the calendar quarter that follows the application. If you apply in August, taking part starts in principle on October 1, for Amazon and eBay at the same time. You do not register a platform separately.

What this means for you: apply once, under your VAT identification number; the participation then covers both platforms.

How does the 10,000 euro threshold work with two platforms?

The threshold concerns the total, without VAT, of all distance sales to private customers in other EU countries; electronic, telecom and broadcasting services to private customers there count too. If you are established only in Germany and do not exceed 10,000 euros in the previous and the current calendar year, a sale you ship from Germany is a German sale (section 3c (4) UStG); you can waive this rule with the tax office. If you sold 6,000 euros on Amazon and 5,000 euros on eBay, that is 11,000 euros and the threshold is exceeded. More in EU VAT OSS threshold of 10,000 euros: examples.

What this means for you: count the sales of both platforms together against the 10,000 euro threshold.

How do I combine the two reports without counting twice?

Each sale is in exactly one report: Amazon orders in the Amazon report (AVTR), eBay orders in the eBay list. You count twice only if you use the same file twice or if two reports of the same channel overlap, for example two downloads with overlapping periods.

Here is how:

Download the reports for the whole quarter for each platform; for eBay these are often two, because an order report covers at most 90 days.
Check the start and end dates of the reports: together they should cover exactly your quarter, without overlap.
Add up the net totals of both platforms per country and tax rate.

Example with invented numbers, France at 20 % and Italy at 22 %:

Country	Amazon net	eBay net	Together net	Rate	Tax
France	€700.00	€300.00	€1,000.00	20 %	€200.00
Italy	€400.00	€100.00	€500.00	22 %	€110.00
Total	€1,100.00	€400.00	€1,500.00		€310.00

The OSS return has one line per country with the total of both platforms: here two lines and €310.00 tax together. In this example the quarter is the second one (April to June): the return and the payment are due by July 31.

What this means for you: take each sale from exactly one report so that nothing is counted twice.

What about refunds and different dates?

Amazon lists each goods transaction in the AVTR by its completion date, not by order or payment date; for a sale that is the shipping date. An order placed on March 31 and shipped on April 1 therefore appears in the second quarter. For eBay, check yourself which date you use to evaluate the list, and keep the quarter boundary the same for both. Refunds reduce the sales of the quarter in which they occur: OSS returns: how to report refunds and negative sales.

What this means for you: check which date each platform uses so that a sale lands in the right quarter.

How do I file and pay the total?

All forms in the OSS scheme go electronically to the BZSt. You transfer the tax yourself: according to the BZSt a direct debit is not possible, and the payment must have arrived at the Bundeskasse by the end of the following month. As the payment reference you give the Kassenzeichen (payment reference number) and the tax period. The BZSt assigns the Kassenzeichen after your first tax return and tells you through the inbox in the BZStOnline portal. If a filing is refused, see OSS Return Rejected: Error Messages and Causes; how often you file is in OSS return: how often and by when? Quarterly dates. If you want an adviser to file, see OSS return filed by a tax adviser: power of attorney.

You must file even without sales. If you sold neither on Amazon nor on eBay into other EU countries in a quarter, a nil return is due. If you had sales on one platform only, you do not need a file from the other; it is still one return.

You keep the records of the sales, including your two reports, for ten years. On request you make them available to the BZSt electronically.

What this means for you: file the return electronically with the BZSt and transfer the tax yourself.

How do I upload both reports to VAT GPT?

Open "Income & OSS" in the menu.
In the "CSV Upload" box, drop both files on the field "Drop your CSV tables here" or pick them together with "Select Files".
VAT GPT recognises each file from its header row: the Amazon file by the column TAXABLE_JURISDICTION, the eBay file by the column "Verkaufsprotokollnummer". Both end up in the same country lines.
Check the "Country Breakdown": your domestic sales are in the row for Germany, the OSS countries follow under "EU Countries (OSS)".

VAT GPT takes the year and quarter of a file from the earliest transaction date in the file. So upload only files whose period lies within your quarter, and cover the whole quarter with them; for eBay this often takes two order reports. VAT GPT rejects a file that was already uploaded as a duplicate, and it skips transactions that already exist from another file, with a note. The steps are in Upload Amazon and eBay reports to VAT GPT.

How VAT GPT helps

Upload: You upload the Amazon report and the eBay order list for the quarter.
Check: VAT GPT combines the OSS sales of both platforms by country and tax rate. On the "Taxes" page, under "OSS VAT Submissions", the quarter appears with its deadline ("Due:"). You check the table "OSS VAT by country" with net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount per country and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro you send the return with "Submit to OSS". After the first submission VAT GPT shows the payment steps with the bank details of the Bundeskasse; for later payments you get your Kassenzeichen from the inbox of the BZStOnline portal.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate OSS registration for eBay? No. Taking part applies uniformly to all sales.

What if only Amazon exceeds the threshold? The threshold adds up all channels, not each platform.

Do I report both platforms in the same quarter? Yes. The return is for each calendar quarter and covers all sales that fall under the special scheme, whichever platform they come from.

What if I sold nothing into other EU countries in a quarter? Then you file a nil return. The BZSt requires it by the same deadlines.

Where do I declare sales if I stay below the threshold? If you ship from Germany, the sale is German and goes into the advance VAT return, unless you waived the rule.