Trade tax prepayments for online sellers in Germany

If your municipality has set trade tax prepayments, you pay them four times a year: on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 (section 19 (1) GewStG). Each prepayment is in principle a quarter of the tax from the last assessment (section 19 (2) GewStG). Your municipality can adjust them to the tax expected.

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: October 27, 2026

In brief

Dates: February 15, May 15, August 15, November 15.
Amount: in principle a quarter of the tax from the last assessment, rounded down to full euros; a prepayment is set only if it is at least 50 euros.
Adjustment: The municipality can adjust the prepayments to the expected tax, until the end of the 15th calendar month after the assessment period.

When do you have to prepay trade tax?

The taxpayer pays prepayments on four dates: February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 (section 19 (1) GewStG). Whether you pay trade tax at all depends on your trade income; the allowance of 24,500 euros and the calculation are in Trade tax return: who has to file it?.

What this means for you: Put 15 February, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November in your calendar for trade tax prepayments.

How do you calculate the prepayment?

Each prepayment is in principle a quarter of the tax from the last assessment (section 19 (2) GewStG). The tax itself is the tax base amount times your municipality's multiplier (section 16 (1) GewStG).

A calculation example with invented figures:

Step	Calculation	Result
Trade income	rounded down to full 100 euros	€41,700
After allowance	€41,700 minus €24,500	€17,200
Tax base amount	€17,200 times 3.5 percent	€602
Trade tax	€602 times multiplier 380 percent	€2,287.60
One prepayment	a quarter, rounded down to full euros (section 19 (5) GewStG)	€571

The multiplier of 380 percent is invented; your municipality determines yours. Four prepayments of 571 euros make 2,284 euros. The difference to the tax of 2,287.60 euros is settled at the assessment.

What this means for you: Expect each prepayment to be a quarter of the tax of the last assessment, and use the example to check your figures.

Can you have the prepayments reduced?

The municipality can adjust the prepayments to the tax expected for the assessment period (section 19 (3) GewStG). This is possible until the end of the 15th calendar month following the assessment period; for 2026 that is the end of March 2028. The tax office can, until the same date, set the expected tax base amount, and the municipality is bound by it when it adjusts. For a later increase you pay the additional amount within one month of notice.

If you know your year, you can send your profit estimate to the municipality or the tax office. The statute provides that the municipality can adjust; it names no entitlement here.

For a newly founded business, section 19 (3) GewStG applies accordingly to the first setting of prepayments (section 19 (4) GewStG).

Income tax prepayments are a separate item with their own dates. How to adjust them is in Adjust your income tax prepayments.

What this means for you: Ask your municipality to adjust the prepayments if you expect a different tax, within the period the law sets.

How do you put the money aside?

Plan for the dates and set money aside for trade tax and income tax on an ongoing basis. How to organize this as an online seller is in Setting aside money for taxes as an online seller. All tax dates are in the tax calendar for online sellers.

What this means for you: Set money aside on an ongoing basis for trade tax and income tax.

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 trade tax that means:

VAT GPT carries the profit from your EÜR into the trade tax return.
The overview shows trade income, allowance, tax base amount and, with your multiplier, the expected trade tax. Under section 19 (2) GewStG each prepayment is in principle a quarter of the tax from the last assessment; the municipality has to set it.
With VAT GPT Pro you send the trade tax return through ELSTER.

There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro. Try for free now

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

Frequently asked questions

Do I prepay in the year I start? For the first setting, section 19 (3) GewStG applies accordingly (section 19 (4) GewStG). The municipality can then set them according to the expected tax.

What applies below 50 euros? A single prepayment is set if it is at least 50 euros (section 19 (5) GewStG).

What is my municipality's multiplier? Your municipality determines it (section 16 (1) GewStG). You find it there.