OSS return in ELSTER? No, file it in the BZSt portal

OSS return in ELSTER? No: you file it in the BZStOnline-Portal of the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), not in your advance VAT return at the tax office. The portal touches ELSTER in two places: an existing ElsterOnline certificate is enough for the login, and the address is elster.de/bportal. The form is called "Steuererklärung für die OSS EU-Regelung".

Last updated: 30 October 2026

In short

Where: BZStOnline-Portal, form "Steuererklärung für die OSS EU-Regelung" (from Q3 2021); domestic sales stay with the tax office.
Prerequisite: You are registered for the OSS; you apply for that in the BZStOnline-Portal as well.
When, how: By the end of the month after the quarter, nil returns too; by hand or CSV import.

ELSTER or BOP: where is the OSS return?

The OSS return is the One-Stop-Shop return for EU sales to consumers; the BZStOnline-Portal is often shortened to BOP, and the form is called "Steuererklärung für die OSS EU-Regelung" (tax return for the OSS EU scheme). Your advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) goes to the tax office. The BZSt states that all forms of the One-Stop-Shop procedure must be sent to the BZSt electronically. In the BZStOnline-Portal registered businesses find the registration form, the form for changes, the deregistration form and the tax return. By law you transmit the return in the officially prescribed data format through the officially designated interface to the tax authority. For a registration in Germany, that is the BZSt (§ 18j (1) and (4) UStG).

Many people search for "OSS return ELSTER" because the portal uses the same certificates as ELSTER. The BZSt says expressly that existing certificates for the BZStOnline-Portal or the ElsterOnline-Portal can be used to log in. It adds that the easiest way to get a certificate is to register in the ElsterOnline-Portal.

What this means for you: File the OSS return in the BZStOnline portal, not in ELSTER; a certificate from ELSTER can be used to log in.

What goes to the BZSt, what goes to the tax office?

The BZSt clarifies: services to private individuals living in Germany belong in the OSS return only if they were supplied under the special scheme, for example domestic sales through electronic interfaces. Otherwise domestic sales are declared, as before, to the competent tax office in the general taxation procedure.

	OSS return	Advance VAT return
Recipient	BZSt, in the BZStOnline-Portal	Tax office, through the officially designated interface (ELSTER)
What you declare	Distance sales to consumers in other EU countries, by country and tax rate	your other sales and input VAT
Period	always the calendar quarter (§ 16 (1d) UStG)	generally the calendar quarter; calendar month if the previous year's tax was more than €9,000 (§ 18 (2) UStG); exceptions in § 18 (2) and (2a) UStG
Deadline	end of the month after the quarter, no permanent extension	tenth day after the end of the period (§ 18 (1) UStG), one month later with a permanent extension (Dauerfristverlängerung, § 46 UStDV)

More on the advance return: German advance VAT return: filing online and ELSTER VAT return: a step-by-step guide.

What this means for you: Send the OSS sales to the BZSt and keep reporting the domestic sales to the tax office as before.

Getting into the portal

Get a certificate: if you already have one for ELSTER or the BZStOnline-Portal, use it. Otherwise the registration in the ElsterOnline-Portal is the easiest way.
Register for the OSS: you apply electronically in the BZStOnline-Portal and state your VAT identification number. Registration generally starts on the first day of the calendar quarter after your application. The steps are in OSS registration in Germany.
Switch on notifications: the BZSt communicates in this procedure only through the portal and recommends activating the notification function.

The login is covered in BZSt Online Portal Login: Certificate, Activation, Help; if the activation letter does not arrive, see ELSTER activation letter not received: what to do.

What this means for you: Get a certificate first, then register for the OSS in the BZStOnline portal.

Filing the OSS return in the portal

Choose the form: under "Formulare und Leistungen" open the "Steuererklärung für die OSS EU-Regelung".
State the tax period: on the start page of the form.
Pick the country of consumption: the portal then loads the tax types and rates valid there.
Enter your sales: per country of consumption and tax rate; sales of goods dispatched from Germany go on the page for supplies of goods.
Add more countries: through "Liste der Umsätze und Berichtigungen" and "Weitere Daten hinzufügen".
Send: amounts are in euro. You calculate the tax yourself (§ 18j (4) UStG).
Pay: by bank transfer to the federal cash office (Bundeskasse); direct debit is not possible. The reference must show your payment reference number (Kassenzeichen) and the tax period. The BZSt sends you the Kassenzeichen after your first return, in the portal mailbox.

A calculation with numbers is in OSS return worked example. For an overview of the effort, see Is the OSS return difficult? What is easy, what is not.

What this means for you: Work through the form step by step: period, country, amounts, then send.

Can you import instead of typing?

Yes, the form optionally offers an import function. The BZSt names these rules in the import help:

Rule	Requirement
Character encoding	UTF-8
Size	at most 6,000 data rows per CSV file
Decimal separator	a point, no comma
Liability	use of the import function at your own risk

Check the imported values before you send.

What this means for you: Prepare your CSV according to the import help: UTF-8, a point as the decimal separator, at most 6,000 rows.

Which mistakes come up most often?

Mixing up the OSS return and the advance return. They have their own deadlines, recipients and portals. Domestic sales stay with the tax office.
Trying to file without registering. Businesses registered for the OSS transmit the returns. Register first.
Getting the certificate too late. Without a login you cannot send anything. Get it well before the deadline.
Planning to pay by direct debit. The procedure only knows transfers to the federal cash office.
Filing a corrected return from scratch. A return that has been sent is generally corrected in a later return. More: Correcting an OSS return.

What this means for you: Keep the OSS return and the advance return apart, register before you file, and correct mistakes in a later return.

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

The VAT GPT method has three steps:

Upload: You upload your sales reports (for example Amazon or eBay CSV files) and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: VAT GPT calculates your returns from this data and flags invoices with low confidence for manual review. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the VAT returns and the other returns go through ELSTER to the tax office, the OSS return directly to the BZSt.

For the OSS return that means:

Read the reports, calculate the OSS return: VAT GPT adds up the figures from your Amazon and eBay reports by country and rate and calculates the OSS return for all EU countries. You check and confirm, and with VAT GPT Pro it goes directly to the BZSt. Where the reports come from: Amazon VAT report columns explained and download the eBay transaction report; the upload: Upload Amazon and eBay reports to VAT GPT.
AI invoice processing, several at once: On top of the reports: You upload invoices, several files in one go and Amazon invoices too. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates; for Amazon invoices it uses the individual line items to put the cost in a category, for example advertising. You check and confirm. More: AI invoice processing: scan receipts and read invoices.
E-invoices: VAT GPT creates e-invoices in the ZUGFeRD and XRechnung formats and reads incoming invoices in those two formats. More: Receive and read e-invoices.
All taxes in one place: In the same account you also create the advance VAT return (monthly or quarterly) and the annual VAT return, the EÜR, and the trade tax and income tax returns. For a sole proprietorship you also fill in the questionnaire for tax registration there, to get a tax number. Sending is a VAT GPT Pro function: the VAT returns and the other returns go through ELSTER to the tax office, the OSS return directly to the BZSt. What belongs to it: All taxes for Amazon and eBay sellers in one place.

You still apply for the OSS registration in the BZStOnline portal. Try VAT GPT

Frequently asked questions

Can I file the OSS return in ELSTER? The form "Steuererklärung für die OSS EU-Regelung" is in the BZStOnline-Portal of the BZSt. To log in you need a certificate; an existing ElsterOnline certificate can be used.

Do I need a separate certificate for the BZSt portal? A certificate is required for the login. Existing certificates for the BZStOnline-Portal or the ElsterOnline-Portal can be used.

Where do I register for the OSS? In the BZStOnline-Portal, with the registration form for the OSS EU scheme. The application must be submitted through this portal.

Do I file one return per country? No. You file one return for the quarter, in which the figures are given separately for each EU member state and broken down by tax rate.

Do I have to file when I had no sales? Yes. Even if you made no sales in the quarter, a nil return (Nullmeldung) is due on the dates.

Where do I declare my domestic sales? To the competent tax office in the general taxation procedure, that is, in your advance VAT returns and your annual VAT return.

Which decimal separator applies to the CSV import? A point; the file must also be UTF-8 encoded and may have at most 6,000 data rows.

Where do I find the OSS return in ELSTER? You do not: the form "Steuererklärung für die OSS EU-Regelung" is in the BZStOnline-Portal of the BZSt at elster.de/bportal. An existing ElsterOnline certificate can be used for the login.

Is the BZStOnline-Portal the same as ELSTER? No. The BOP is a separate portal of the BZSt, but it uses the same certificate system as ELSTER.

Do I file the OSS return or the advance VAT return in ELSTER? In ELSTER you file the advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) for your domestic sales. The OSS return for distance sales to private customers in other EU countries is a separate return in the BZStOnline-Portal.