OSS return for Amazon and eBay with VAT GPT

VAT GPT (our own product) prepares the OSS return for Amazon and eBay sellers from the uploaded reports and sends it directly to the BZSt with VAT GPT Pro. You sell through Amazon or eBay to private customers in other EU countries, take part in the OSS scheme and therefore file the OSS return with the BZSt every quarter. With VAT GPT you upload the reports, check the totals by country and send the return. Here are the four steps, the deadlines and an example with numbers.

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: 30 October 2026

In brief

Four steps: get the reports, upload them, check the totals by country, send and pay.
Deadline: the end of the month after the quarter; the payment must be with the Bundeskasse by then too.
One return: Amazon and eBay go into the same return; the figures are given per EU country.
Pro: sending from VAT GPT is a Pro function; checking the numbers stays with you.

Which deadlines apply to the OSS return?

The BZSt requires the tax return by the end of the month after the quarter, electronically through the BZStOnline portal.

Quarter	Filing and payment by
Q1 (January to March)	April 30
Q2 (April to June)	July 31
Q3 (July to September)	October 31
Q4 (October to December)	January 31 of the following year

You also file a return when you had no sales in the quarter (a so-called nil return). More on duty and procedure: File the OSS return: deadlines per quarter, steps, threshold and OSS return: how often and by when? Quarter and dates.

What this means for you: File and pay by the last day of the month after each quarter, so plan the reports a few days earlier.

What is in the OSS return?

According to the BZSt the tax return contains the identification details (VAT ID and tax period), the details of the sales under the special scheme and corrections of earlier periods. You state the sales separately for each EU Member State where you supplied private customers. All amounts are in euro.

What this means for you: Your return needs your VAT ID, the period and one line per EU country, in euro.

Which reports do I upload for the quarter?

From Amazon you take the VAT Transactions Report, from eBay the order list, each for the whole quarter. Uploading under "Einnahmen & OSS" (Income & OSS) is described in Upload Amazon and eBay reports to VAT GPT. The rows with UNION-OSS in the Amazon report belong in the OSS return. For the Amazon shipping settings, see Amazon shipping settings: EU countries and OSS.

How many files that is depends on the days: an Amazon report covers up to 93 days, an eBay order list 1 to 90 days. The third quarter has 92 days, so it is one Amazon report and two eBay lists. The Amazon report for September is available from October 3. Until the deadline on October 31 that leaves you 28 days.

What this means for you: Download the Amazon VAT Transactions Report and the eBay order list for the whole quarter, then upload both to VAT GPT.

Example: Amazon and eBay in one return

The numbers are invented. A seller sells in the third quarter through Amazon and eBay to private customers in France and Italy. The table shows how both platforms come together in one line per country:

Country	Net Amazon	Net eBay	Net reported	Tax rate	Tax amount
France	€800.00	€200.00	€1,000.00	20%	€200.00
Italy	€300.00	€200.00	€500.00	22%	€110.00
Total	€1,100.00	€400.00	€1,500.00		€310.00

The rates are the standard rates of the EU list (as of July 1, 2026). The totals per country are reported, not per platform. A detailed calculation with a foreign currency is in Calculate Amazon OSS: a worked example.

What this means for you: Amazon and eBay figures are added up per country, so one return covers both platforms.

Step 3: what do I check before sending?

VAT GPT puts the OSS sales together by country, with net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount. Then you check yourself:

Are returns and cancellations of the quarter included? Background: OSS return: how to report returns and negative sales.
Do countries and tax rates fit your sales? The rates are in OSS VAT rates: EU country overview.
Are the tax number and VAT ID in your personal details correct? The review window shows name, street, postcode, city, tax number and VAT ID; without a valid VAT ID VAT GPT asks you to enter one first.

If you calculate in a currency other than euro, section 16 (6) UStG applies the rate of the European Central Bank of the last day of the quarter.

You do not correct a mistake in the old return but in a later one: Correct an OSS return: deadline, negative amounts, portal. After sending, the review window also points out that corrections can be taken into account in the next quarterly declaration.

What this means for you: Compare the totals by country with your reports before you send; the check stays with you.

Step 4: how do I send and pay?

On the page "Steuern" (Taxes), "OSS-USt-Meldungen" (OSS VAT returns) lists each quarter with its deadline ("Fällig:", due). "Überprüfen & Senden" (review and send) opens a window where you see all details once more:

The personal details, including the VAT ID.
The table "OSS-Umsatzsteuer nach Land" (OSS VAT by country) with a row "Gesamt" (total). With the pencil icon you change values, with "Land hinzufügen" (add country) you add a country.
The block "Einwilligung" (consent) with two checkboxes: you confirm that you have checked the data and accept the terms for automated transmission.
The "BOP-Portal Anmeldung" (BOP portal login): you choose your ELSTER certificate and enter the password. The BZSt requires a certificate for the login; you can use an existing certificate for the BZStOnline portal or the ELSTER portal.
The button "An OSS übermitteln" (submit to OSS); the "Übermittlungsfortschritt" (transmission progress) appears in the window.

You transfer the payment yourself to the Bundeskasse. In the payment reference you give the Kassenzeichen and the tax period; a direct debit is not possible. After the first transmission VAT GPT shows you the payment steps, including the way to the Kassenzeichen in the mailbox of the BZStOnline portal. More: Pay the OSS return: where to transfer, Kassenzeichen, deadline.

What this means for you: Review the details in the window, send with VAT GPT Pro and pay the amount by the deadline.

How long do I keep the records?

The BZSt requires records of the sales under the special scheme from which the tax return and the payments can be checked. The retention period is ten years. On request you make the records available electronically to the BZSt, the tax office or the authorities of the other EU Member States. The uploaded reports and the return therefore belong in your files.

What this means for you: Keep the uploaded reports and the return in your files for the full retention period.

What do you do outside VAT GPT?

You apply for the OSS registration with the BZSt, see OSS registration with the BZSt: step by step. The BZSt communicates in the OSS scheme through the BZStOnline portal, including reminders and replies; it recommends activating the notification function in the portal. For your annual VAT return, see Annual VAT return for Amazon and eBay sellers. For your profit calculation, see EÜR for Amazon and eBay sellers with VAT GPT.

How VAT GPT helps

Upload: You upload the Amazon report and the eBay order list for the quarter.
Check: VAT GPT sorts the sales by country and tax rate and shows them in the table "OSS-Umsatzsteuer nach Land". You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro you send the return to the BZSt.

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

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to report Amazon and eBay separately? No. You file one OSS return per quarter for all sales, see OSS with Amazon and eBay at the same time: one return for both.

What if I sold nothing in the quarter? Then you file a nil return. The review window then says "Keine OSS-Umsätze in diesem Zeitraum." (no OSS sales in this period).

Where do I see the deadlines in VAT GPT? On the page "Steuern" each return shows its due date.

What happens if I miss a deadline? The BZSt excludes businesses from the scheme that repeatedly fail to meet their obligations or fail to meet them on time.

Can I pay by direct debit? No, the BZSt does not allow a direct debit. You transfer to the Bundeskasse.

Where do I find the payment steps? VAT GPT shows them after the transmission in the review window, with the way to the Kassenzeichen in the mailbox of the BZStOnline portal. Later you open them on the page "Steuern" (Taxes) under "OSS-USt-Meldungen" at the quarter you sent, with the euro icon ("Zahlungsanweisung", payment instructions).