Shipping costs in the OSS return: which VAT rate?
You ship goods to consumers in other EU countries and charge for shipping? Then the shipping charge belongs to the sales you report in the OSS. Under the German tax administration's view it is taxed like the goods, so in the OSS at the rate of the destination country. The example below shows what that looks like.
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
- Destination: In the OSS the rate of the country the goods go to applies.
- Shipping: Shipping you charge shares the goods' rate and is part of the taxable amount.
- Open: For parcels with goods at different rates we found no fixed splitting rule.
Which sale do shipping costs belong to?
To the sale of the goods. The German VAT application decree (UStAE) says ancillary supplies share the VAT fate of the main supply, even if a separate fee is charged for the ancillary supply (section 3.10 (5) UStAE). That fits its statement on the taxable amount: transport costs the supplier charges the customer count as consideration for the supply (section 10.1 (3) UStAE).
A single economic transaction must also not be split into several supplies, even if the customer agrees (section 3.10 (3) UStAE). For you this means: you do not apply a separate, lower rate to shipping.
What this means for you: Treat shipping as part of the sale of the goods, so you do not apply a separate, lower rate to it.
Which rate applies to shipping in the OSS?
The rate of the country where the goods arrive. The BZSt describes this as the destination principle: for distance sales the place of supply is where the goods are at the end of transport or dispatch. You find the country rates in OSS VAT rates of the EU countries. For the invoice, see Invoices for OSS sales: which VAT rate to show.
A word on classification: the UStAE passages above are the view of the German tax administration. The OSS applies the law of the country of destination. If you are unsure whether shipping is treated differently there in a particular case, ask your tax adviser.
What this means for you: Apply the destination country's rate to goods and shipping together.
What does a worked example look like?
Two orders in the quarter, amounts without VAT:
| Country | Goods | Shipping | Net total | Rate | Tax | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | €80.00 | €6.00 | €86.00 | 20% | €17.20 | €103.20 |
| Italy | €50.00 | €5.00 | €55.00 | 22% | €12.10 | €67.10 |
In the OSS return, each country shows its net amount of €86.00 and €55.00 and its tax of €17.20 and €12.10. You pay €29.30 in total. Shipping is not a separate line; it sits inside the country's net amount. The rates come from the European Commission's database (TEDB), as of 21 October 2026. Rate changes are logged in EU VAT rate changes 2024 to 2026: a dated log.
What this means for you: Use the worked example to check your own calculation: net total times the destination rate.
What if a parcel contains goods at different rates?
We found no fixed splitting rule for the shipping charge in the official sources we opened, so we do not invent one. If you ship such mixed parcels, have your tax adviser confirm how to split shipping, and apply the method the same way to all orders.
What this means for you: If a parcel mixes rates, ask your tax adviser how to split shipping and apply that method to all orders.
Where is shipping in the Amazon and eBay reports?
In its documentation of the tax report (VAT Transactions Report), Amazon lists separate shipping columns, for example for the amount without tax, the tax rate, the tax amount and the amount with tax. The page lists only the names and does not explain them. The best way to see what they mean is in the report itself: Amazon VAT report columns explained. How long to keep the data is in OSS record keeping: 10 years, which data, audits.
On eBay the order list has a column "Verpackung und Versand" (packaging and shipping). More on the eBay columns: eBay report columns explained.
What this means for you: Find the shipping amount in the report columns before you calculate, and compare it with your orders.
How VAT GPT helps
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.
- You upload your Amazon and eBay reports.
- VAT GPT reads the amounts from the reports and builds the OSS breakdown by country.
- For Amazon, the amounts come from the total activity value columns of the report.
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Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply 0% to shipping? The sources do not support that. Under the administration's view, shipping shares the rate of the goods.
Does shipping count toward the 10,000 euro threshold? It is part of the consideration for the supply. How the threshold is calculated is in EU threshold of 10,000 euro. The threshold applies only if your business is established only in Germany (§ 3c (4) UStG).
What about returns and refunded shipping? See Returns in the OSS.