OSS return worked example: calculation step by step

How does the figure get into the OSS return? Convert each gross price into net sales, group them by EU country and tax rate, calculate the tax per country and transfer the total. The example has three countries and €940 of VAT in total for one quarter. The numbers are invented; the rules come from the BZSt and the law.

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

Basis: Tax on the consideration without VAT, at the rate of the country in which the sale is taxable.
Sum per country and rate: add up the net sales for each country and rate, then apply that rate; standard rates range from 17 to 27 per cent.
Return: In euro, separate by EU country and tax rate; you work out the tax for the tax period yourself.
Payment, corrections: To the federal cash office by month-end after the quarter (Q3: 31 October); corrections in a later return.

The starting point

You are an online seller based in Germany and registered for the OSS. In the 3rd quarter (July to September) you ship goods from Germany to private customers in France, Italy and the Netherlands. Your shop prices include the VAT of the respective country. All articles sold are at the standard rate. These are the gross sales for the quarter:

Country	Gross sales in the quarter
France	€2,400.00
Italy	€1,830.00
Netherlands	€1,210.00

The supply is treated as made where the goods are when the transport ends (§ 3c (1) UStG). Whether and from when that applies to you depends on the €10,000 threshold; see The EU OSS threshold of 10,000 euros: examples. The threshold applies only if your business is established only in Germany (§ 3c (4) UStG).

What this means for you: Use the example as a template and replace the invented numbers with your own countries, goods and prices.

Step 1: The tax rates of the countries

The destination country decides which rate applies. The BZSt writes that the sales are subject to the VAT rate that applies in the member state in which the sale is taxable. The EU portal "Your Europe" keeps a table of rates, last checked on 13 July 2026. For our example it gives:

Country	Standard rate	Reduced rates per the table
France	20%	5.5% and 10%
Italy	22%	5% and 10%
Netherlands	21%	9%

Check the rates for the date of your supply yourself. An overview with more countries is in OSS VAT rates of the EU countries.

What this means for you: Look up the destination country's rate for your date of supply.

Step 2: Convert gross to net

VAT is calculated on the consideration, and the consideration is what the customer pays, less the VAT legally owed on the supply (§ 10 (1) UStG). From a gross price you get the net by dividing by 1 plus the tax rate:

France: 2,400.00 / 1.20 = €2,000.00
Italy: 1,830.00 / 1.22 = €1,500.00
Netherlands: 1,210.00 / 1.21 = €1,000.00

What this means for you: Divide the gross price by 1 plus the rate to get the net.

Step 3: Calculate the tax per country

In the return you work out the tax for the tax period yourself (§ 18j (4) UStG). It is the net amount times the tax rate:

Country	Net	Rate	Tax
France	€2,000.00	20%	€400.00
Italy	€1,500.00	22%	€330.00
Netherlands	€1,000.00	21%	€210.00
Total	€4,500.00		€940.00

If several rates apply in one country, you separate the sales by rate: the BZSt requires a breakdown by the applicable tax rates. So if in the same quarter you sold goods at the standard rate and at the reduced rate to France, two rows appear for France.

What this means for you: Multiply the net by the rate for every country, and use a separate row for each rate.

Step 4: Enter, file, pay

In the form "Steuererklärung für die OSS EU-Regelung" in the BZStOnline-Portal you choose the tax period and then each country of consumption. The portal loads the tax rates valid there, and you enter the sales. How to proceed there is in OSS return: BZSt portal or ELSTER?. For a view of the effort, see Is the OSS return difficult? What is easy, what is not.

The return for the 3rd quarter must be transmitted electronically by 31 October. The €940 must have reached the federal cash office by then. The payment reference shows your Kassenzeichen and the tax period; direct debit is not possible. More in Paying the OSS VAT to the BZSt.

What this means for you: Choose the tax period, enter each country, send, and pay with the Kassenzeichen and tax period as reference.

Foreign currency and amounts in euro

You state all amounts in euro. If you have sales in another currency, for example Swedish kronor, you convert them uniformly at the European Central Bank exchange rate of the last day of the tax period. If there is no rate for that day, you take the rate of the next day.

What this means for you: Convert foreign currency at the ECB rate of the last day of the tax period.

An example with a correction

If you declared wrongly in an earlier quarter, you correct in the next return. The BZSt works it out with an example of its own: a business declares tax of €100 for member state X and €20 for member state Y for the 4th quarter. In the same return it corrects the 3rd quarter by minus €30 for X and minus €80 for Y. For X a tax of €70 remains (100 minus 30). For Y there is a refund claim of €60 (20 minus 80 equals minus 60). So the business pays €70 and receives €60 back from member state Y. If you had no EU sales in a quarter, see OSS nil return: file even without EU sales?.

According to the BOP help, a minus amount in the column "Erklärter bzw. zu erstattender Steuerbetrag des angegebenen Quartals" means a refund amount. More on corrections: Correcting an OSS return and Returns and negative sales in the OSS return.

What this means for you: Correct earlier errors in the next return and follow the BZSt example for the sign of the amounts.

Which mistakes come up most often?

Calculating on the gross amount. You calculate the tax on the consideration without VAT, not on the gross price.
Using the German rate. For OSS sales the rate of the destination country applies.
Mixing all rates of a country in one row. The figures must be broken down by tax rate.
Choosing the wrong exchange rate. What counts is the ECB rate of the last day of the quarter.
Including domestic sales. You declare your domestic sales to the tax office as before.

If an adviser files for you, see OSS return filed by a tax adviser: power of attorney.

What this means for you: Calculate on the net amount with the destination rate, and keep domestic sales out of the OSS.

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.

VAT GPT does the arithmetic of this example from your CSV reports and invoices: it breaks the sales down 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. Try VAT GPT

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate the VAT for the OSS return? On the consideration without VAT, with the tax rate of the country in which the sale is taxable, separately by country and tax rate.

How do I convert a gross price to net? You divide by 1 plus the tax rate, so by 1.20 at 20 percent.

In which currency do I file? In euro. You convert foreign currency at the ECB rate of the last day of the quarter.

By when do I pay? The payment must have reached the federal cash office by the end of the month after the quarter.

How do I correct an error from an earlier quarter? In a following return. The form has its own section for corrections, separated by quarter and member state.