Which software can file the OSS return?

In short

• VAT GPT (our own product): With VAT GPT Pro the OSS return, calculated from your Amazon and eBay reports, goes directly to the BZSt, and the BZSt portal returns a transfer ticket.
• Two routes: All forms go to the BZSt electronically; enter the return in the portal, optionally by import (BZSt).
• CSV import: current version 2.0, UTF-8 encoding, at most 6000 data lines per file (BZStOnline portal, import help).
• Your responsibility: The import is used at your own risk (BZStOnline portal, import help).

Which software sends the OSS return itself, and which only produces a file? The rows come from our OSS software comparison: statements about other providers from their websites, retrieved on 29 October 2026 (quotes translated from German); statements about VAT GPT from us, it is our own product.

• If you send through the BZStOnline portal yourself, you enter the values in the form or upload a CSV file; your software then has to produce a file that meets the BZSt rules.
• If you want to upload Amazon or eBay reports and send the return directly, you need a tool that does both; in the table, VAT GPT with Pro states this.
• If you want bookkeeping and OSS in one monthly close, Taxdoo describes this on its website.

What should you look for in OSS software?

Look at the function, not the name:

• Sends the return itself. The program calculates the OSS amounts and transmits them to the BZSt for you. For this it needs your certificate, for example your ELSTER certificate. VAT GPT works this way: with VAT GPT Pro the OSS return goes directly to the BZSt, and the BZSt portal returns a transfer ticket.
• Only gives you figures or a file. The program sorts your sales by country and VAT rate and gives you values to type in or a CSV file in the BZSt layout. You upload and send it yourself in the BZStOnline portal.

Both routes are allowed, because the BZSt accepts the return either by form or with an import function. Without a certificate you cannot get into the portal in either case. Whether a program sends the return itself is stated in its feature description; check it there before you rely on it. If you are late with the registration, see OSS registration too late: can you register retroactively?.

What this means for you: Choose software by what it does: calculate, import into the portal, or send the return itself.

How is the OSS return submitted?

The BZSt requires all forms in the procedure to be submitted electronically. In the BZStOnline portal you find the registration notice, the form to change your details, the form to deregister and the tax return, which you can fill in optionally with an import function. Login works with a certificate. An existing certificate for the BZStOnline portal or the ELSTER portal can be used. More: OSS return: BZSt portal, not ELSTER.

Route 1, form: you enter net sales and tax per country and VAT rate by hand. This pays off with few countries.

Route 2, CSV import: you upload a finished file. This pays off once you sell into many countries and rates. The file must follow the layout the BZSt prescribes.

What this means for you: Pick the form or the CSV import in the portal, depending on how many countries and rates you have.

What does the BZSt require of the CSV file?

The import help of the BZStOnline portal gives these key points:

• Version 2.0: since this version the file must be encoded in UTF-8. The earlier encoding ISO-8859-15 is no longer supported. Zero values are no longer allowed for tax bases and deviating VAT amounts.
• At most 6000 data lines per CSV file.
• Record types: record type 1 defines one country of consumption each; every country may appear only once. Further record types exist by kind of sale, for example services (type 2), goods supplied from Germany (type 3), goods supplied from other member states (type 5) and corrections (type 6).
• Fields per sales line: country of consumption, type of VAT rate (STANDARD or REDUCED), VAT rate, net amount, tax amount. The decimal separator is the point.
• Tax amount: the calculated amount may deviate by at most 5.00 euro.

The BZSt shows a sample file in the import help. For goods supplied from Germany a line there looks like this: 3,BG,STANDARD,20.00,5.00,1.00 (record type, country, rate type, rate, net amount, tax amount). Which record type fits you depends on the kind of your sales: goods from Germany, goods from a warehouse in another EU country and services each have their own record type. On the 10-year retention, see OSS record keeping: 10 years, which data, audits.

What this means for you: Make sure your file follows the BZSt layout: UTF-8, version 2.0, valid record types.

Checklist: what should OSS return software do?

1. Break sales down by country and VAT rate. The BZSt requires the details separately for each EU member state and by tax rates.
2. Show net amounts and tax in euro. Foreign currency is converted at the ECB rate of the last day of the tax period.
3. Separate domestic sales from OSS. Domestic sales belong in the advance return, not in the OSS return (see which sales go into the OSS return).
4. Create a file in the BZSt layout or give you figures to type in. Check the file yourself before importing it.
5. Keep screen and file consistent. What you see should be what is in the file.
6. Know corrections. A submitted return is in principle corrected only together with a later return (see correcting an OSS return).
7. Keep records ready. The records must be available electronically to the BZSt on request, and the retention period is ten years.
8. Do not hide the nil return. Even without OSS sales in a quarter the return is due. The software should show you a quarter without OSS sales instead of skipping it (see OSS nil return).
9. Supply the payment reference. You pay the federal treasury by bank transfer, with the Kassenzeichen and the tax period in the payment reference; direct debit is not possible. The BZSt assigns the Kassenzeichen only after your first return. The tax must have arrived by the end of the following month (see paying the OSS VAT).

What this means for you: Test software against this checklist before you rely on it for a return.

Which mistakes come up most often?

• Importing a file unchecked. The BZSt is not liable for errors caused by the import function.
• Wrong encoding. Since version 2.0 the file must be UTF-8.
• Listing a country more than once under record type 1. Every country may appear only once.
• Importing gross amounts. The tax base is the net amount.
• More than 6000 lines in one file. Split the file.
• Forgetting the nil return. Even without sales the return is due.

If you account on a cash basis, see OSS return with cash-basis VAT: which quarter?.

What this means for you: Avoid these mistakes by checking the file and its encoding before every import.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT calculates the OSS return from your sales data and creates the OSS file from it. In three steps:

1. Upload: You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates. VAT GPT flags invoices with low confidence for manual review.
2. Check: VAT GPT separates German VAT from OSS VAT and shows you the OSS amounts per country. You check and confirm.
3. Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the OSS return goes directly to the BZSt, using your ELSTER certificate. For a tax amount above zero, VAT GPT creates a PDF confirmation after the submission for your records.

The amounts on screen and the lines of the file come from the same data. There is Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro. Try for Free Now

Example: from the Amazon report to the portal

This is how a quarter runs in VAT GPT: you upload the Amazon report as CSV and see net amount, tax rate and tax amount for each EU country in the review dialog. If you had no OSS sales in the quarter, it says "No OSS transactions for this period." To send with VAT GPT Pro you confirm the review, enter your USt-IdNr. and upload your ELSTER certificate with its password. If the tax amount is above zero, VAT GPT then shows the payment instructions with the payment reference and explains where to find the Kassenzeichen in your portal inbox. You make the bank transfer yourself.

What this means for you: See how a quarter runs in VAT GPT, and pay the amount yourself after sending.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to use software for the OSS return? No. You can fill in the form in the BZStOnline portal by hand. The import function is optional (BZSt).

How do I report OSS sales to the BZSt? Electronically in the BZStOnline portal, by form or CSV import (BZSt).

Do I need a certificate? Yes, for the login to the portal. An existing certificate of the ELSTER portal can be used (BZSt).

Which CSV version applies? Version 2.0, UTF-8 encoding, at most 6000 data lines (BZStOnline portal, import help).

How long must I keep the records? Ten years (BZSt).

Is the BZSt liable for errors in the import? No. The import function is used at your own risk (BZStOnline portal, import help).

Is there a DATEV interface? DATEV describes its own export. More in the article OSS return and the DATEV export.

Further reading

• OSS return for online sellers: a guide
• OSS return: BZSt portal, not ELSTER
• Paying the OSS VAT to the BZSt
• Correcting an OSS return
• OSS Software Compared: Which Tools Can File the OSS Return
• Taxdoo Alternative for Amazon and eBay Sellers
• Taxdoo vs hellotax vs countX: OSS Providers Compared
• Wrong OSS return: who is liable and what to do?

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

Sources

• BZSt: One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme (in German)
• BZSt: Electronic filing and data transmission (in German)
• BZStOnline portal: help on importing sales (in German)
• BZStOnline portal: help on the tax return (in German)
• § 18j UStG (in German)
• § 22 UStG (in German)

More articles

• OSS and B2B: do sales to businesses belong in the OSS return?
• Intra-Community supply to businesses (B2B) from Germany: conditions and proofs
• DAC7 reporting: what platforms report about sellers to the BZSt