OSS VAT bookkeeping in Germany: what your books must supply

Which accounts you use for the OSS in SKR03 or SKR04 depends on how your accounting software is set up. For the return itself you need four things from your books. They are sales by EU country and rate, in euro at the European Central Bank rate of the quarter's last day. You also need the tax paid with Kassenzeichen and quarter, and ten years of records.

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 short

Corrections: Corrections for earlier quarters go into a later return, broken down by quarter and country.
Records: They must allow the return and the payments to be checked.
Account numbers: We print none because we have not verified them against an official source.

What does the OSS return need from your books?

The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) lists as content of the OSS return, among other things, the goods supplied from Germany and the corrections of earlier tax periods. You state the sales separately for every EU member state in which you supplied non-business customers. You break them down by the applicable rates. Amounts are stated in euro.

For your bookkeeping that means: for every sale you need the country the goods arrive in, the rate applied there and the net amount. Without that split the return cannot be completed. You find the rates per country in OSS VAT rates of the EU countries.

Detail	Where it comes from
EU country of consumption	the country the goods arrive in (distance sale)
VAT rate	the rate that applies in that country
Amount	in euro; other currencies at the ECB rate of the last day of the quarter
Quarter	the tax period of the OSS return

What this means for you: Keep your books so that they show sales per EU country, per VAT rate and per quarter, in euro.

How do you convert other currencies into euro?

If you sell in another currency, such as Swedish krona or Polish zloty, you convert uniformly. You use the rate the European Central Bank fixed for the last day of the tax period. If no rate was fixed for that day, you use the rate of the next day. This applies to the OSS return; how you convert in the rest of your books is not regulated on this BZSt page.

What this means for you: Convert other currencies at the ECB rate of the last day of the quarter, the same way every time.

Records: what you must document

You have to keep records of the OSS sales that allow the return and the payments to be checked for accuracy. On request you make them available electronically to the BZSt, the tax office or the competent authorities of the other EU countries. The retention period is ten years.

The European Commission's guide describes what the records contain, with a reference to Article 63c of Implementing Regulation 282/2011. They include the member state of consumption, the type of supply and the date. They also include the VAT payable and payments on account. Finally they include the information used to determine where the customer is established or resides. The guide counts the ten years from the end of the year in which the transaction was made.

The duty is also backed by law. If you repeatedly fail to meet your duties, or fail in time, the tax authority excludes you from the OSS (§ 18j (6) UStG). This covers the duties under the OSS return and § 22 (1) UStG.

What this means for you: Keep the records that let the return and payments be checked, and make them available on request.

How do you match the payment?

You pay the tax by bank transfer to the Bundeskasse. The reference must contain the Kassenzeichen and the tax period; the BZSt tells you the Kassenzeichen after your first return in the BZStOnline portal. That is the key for your books: with Kassenzeichen and quarter on the bank statement you can match the payment to the right OSS return. All details on recipient, deadline and reference are in Paying your OSS VAT return in Germany.

What this means for you: Write the Kassenzeichen and the quarter on the transfer so you can match the payment to the return.

Refunds and corrections

If you correct an earlier quarter, you enter the correction in a later return, broken down by tax period and EU member state. If a country shows a credit, the BZSt first offsets it against the tax declared for the same country. Any remainder must be refunded to you by the member state concerned. For your books that means a refund comes from the EU country, not from the BZSt. More in OSS returns and negative sales and Correcting an OSS return. If an old error comes to light, see VAT back payment in Germany: how many years back?.

What this means for you: Book corrections in a later return by period and country, and expect refunds from the EU country, not from the BZSt.

Domestic sales do not belong in the OSS return

According to the BZSt, sales to private persons resident in Germany belong in the OSS return only if you made them under the special scheme. An example is domestic sales through electronic interfaces. Otherwise you declare domestic sales to the competent tax office as before. Your books must therefore be able to tell domestic sales and OSS sales apart. How the OSS sales show up in the advance VAT return is explained in OSS return in Germany.

What this means for you: Keep domestic sales and OSS sales apart in your books.

SKR03 and SKR04: what we say and what we do not

SKR03 and SKR04 are standard charts of accounts. An accounting program or your tax adviser maps revenue by EU country, tax codes and the OSS liability onto accounts. Which accounts these are depends on what has been set up there. We do not print a fixed account number. We have not verified one against an official source, and a wrong number is worse than none.

Here is how to get on anyway:

Ask your software or tax adviser which accounts and tax codes are set up for the OSS.
If you use DATEV, your adviser can look in the DATEV help centre. DATEV points there to a page on how the OSS procedure is implemented in its accounting programs: "OSS-Verfahren: Umsetzung in den DATEV-Rechnungswesen-Programmen".
Check that the report behind your OSS return gives you country, VAT rate and net amount per quarter, and that the payment is traceable via Kassenzeichen and quarter.

What this means for you: Ask your accounting program or tax adviser to map the accounts; the chart does not decide the OSS rules.

Which mistakes come up most often?

Mixing countries and rates. The return requires the split by member state and rate.
Converting without a uniform rate. The ECB rate of the last day of the quarter applies.
Putting domestic sales in the OSS return. They go to the tax office, unless made under the OSS scheme.
Not being able to match the payment. Kassenzeichen and quarter in the reference are mandatory.
Deleting records too early. The retention period is ten years.
Expecting refunds from the BZSt. The EU country concerned refunds a credit.

What this means for you: Avoid these mistakes by splitting by country and rate, converting uniformly and keeping records for ten years.

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

It supplies the figures your books need for the OSS return: sales per EU country and VAT rate.

Upload: You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: VAT GPT breaks down the VAT for Germany and the EU (OSS) and calculates the OSS return for all EU countries. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the OSS return goes directly to the BZSt.

You register for the OSS in the BZStOnline portal. Try VAT GPT

Frequently asked questions

Which accounts do I need for the OSS in SKR03 or SKR04? That depends on your setup in your accounting software and on your tax adviser. This page prints no account numbers because we have not verified them against an official source.

What do I have to record per sale for the OSS return? The EU country the goods were delivered to, the rate that applies there and the amount in euro. The return requires the split by member state and rate.

Which exchange rate do I use? The rate fixed by the European Central Bank for the last day of the tax period. If none was fixed for that day, use the rate of the next day.

How long do I keep OSS records? Ten years.

How do I match the OSS payment? Through the Kassenzeichen and the tax period you state in the payment reference.

Who refunds a credit from the OSS? The EU country concerned. The BZSt first offsets it against the tax declared for the same country; any remainder is refunded by the member state.