Vouchers and discounts in online selling: VAT

You give discounts or sell gift vouchers in your shop? A discount lowers the consideration on which you calculate VAT (section 10(1) UStG). A voucher, by contrast, is taxed according to its type: the single-purpose voucher on issue, the multi-purpose voucher on redemption (section 3(14) and (15) UStG). An instrument that merely entitles the holder to a price reduction is not a voucher.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

Discount: The tax is calculated on the consideration after the discount; if the discount is granted after the sale, you correct the tax (section 17(1) UStG).
Single-purpose voucher: Place and tax are known on issue; if you transfer it in your own name, the transfer itself counts as the supply.
Multi-purpose voucher: The tax arises on the actual supply; the earlier transfer is not taxable.

How does a discount affect VAT?

By law, consideration is everything that forms the value of what you receive for the supply from the customer or from someone else, less the VAT legally owed on it (section 10(1) sentence 2 UStG). If you give the discount at the time of sale, the amount paid is the basis.

An example: an item costs 119.00 euros gross at 19 percent VAT. You give 10 percent off, and the customer pays 107.10 euros. The consideration is 107.10 divided by 1.19, which is 90.00 euros; the VAT is 17.10 euros. Without the discount it would be 100.00 euros of consideration and 19.00 euros of VAT.

If you grant the reduction after the sale, the tax base has changed and you correct the tax: the trader who made the supply has to correct the tax owed on it (section 17(1) sentence 1 UStG).

What this means for you: Calculate VAT on the consideration after the discount, and correct the tax if the discount comes later.

What is a voucher in the sense of the law?

A voucher is an instrument that must be accepted as full or partial consideration for a supply, and the goods or services or the identity of the supplier are stated on the instrument or in its terms of use (section 3(13) sentence 1 UStG). Instruments that merely entitle the holder to a price reduction are not vouchers (section 3(13) sentence 2 UStG). The decree adds that the rule does not apply to instruments that merely entitle the holder to a price reduction or a price refund but give no right to actually receive the goods (section 3.17(1) UStAE).

What this means for you: Check the terms of an instrument to see whether it is a voucher in the legal sense.

Single-purpose and multi-purpose vouchers

Single-purpose voucher. A voucher where the place of the supply and the tax owed on it are known when the voucher is issued is a single-purpose voucher. If you transfer it in your own name, the transfer counts as the supply of the item it refers to (section 3(14) UStG). Example: you sell a 50 euro voucher redeemable only for one specific product at 19 percent, and under the voucher terms you deliver only within Germany. Then place and tax are known on issue, and the tax arises with the sale of the voucher if you pay VAT on agreed consideration (section 3.17(2) UStAE).

Multi-purpose voucher. A voucher that is not a single-purpose voucher is a multi-purpose voucher. The actual supply is subject to VAT, whereas each earlier transfer of the voucher is not (section 3(15) UStG). Example: your shop voucher covers the whole range, including goods at 7 and at 19 percent VAT. The decree says that a voucher redeemable for goods at the reduced rate and at the standard rate is a multi-purpose voucher (section 3.17(9) UStAE). The tax arises when the customer redeems it.

What this means for you: Tell single-purpose from multi-purpose vouchers: a known place and rate of supply decides.

Amazon coupons and promotions: where do they show in the VAT report?

Whether a coupon or promotion is a voucher in the legal sense is decided by its terms, not its name. If it merely entitles to a price reduction, it is not a voucher under section 3(13) UStG, and the discount rule applies.

In Amazon's help page on the VAT Transactions Report (AVTR), Amazon lists sales, refunds, returns and other transaction types; the page does not list coupons or discounts as a type of their own. Which column shows a reduction in your report, you see in Amazon's column definitions and in Amazon VAT report columns explained.

What this means for you: Read the terms of an Amazon coupon, not its name, to decide whether it is a voucher.

Vouchers and OSS: which country, which rate?

Whether a voucher is a single-purpose voucher also depends on the place of supply being known on issue (section 3(14) sentence 1 UStG). If it is not known, the voucher is not a single-purpose voucher and therefore a multi-purpose voucher (section 3(15) sentence 1 UStG). The VAT rates of the EU countries are in OSS VAT rates of the EU countries.

What this means for you: Check whether the place of supply is known on issue before you treat a voucher as single-purpose.

Common mistakes

Treating every coupon as a voucher. An instrument that merely entitles to a price reduction is not one.
Not deducting the discount from the tax base. You calculate the tax on the consideration after the discount.
Treating a shop voucher as single-purpose although it covers goods at 7 and 19 percent. Then it is a multi-purpose voucher.

What this means for you: Avoid these mistakes: treating every coupon as a voucher and not deducting the discount from the tax base.

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.

You upload your Amazon and eBay CSV reports, and VAT GPT breaks the VAT down for Germany and the EU (OSS).
From the figures, VAT GPT prepares the VAT return (monthly or quarterly).
You prepare the income surplus statement (EÜR) in the same account.

With VAT GPT Pro you send the VAT return and the EÜR through ELSTER and the OSS return to the BZSt. There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro. Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Is a discount a voucher for VAT purposes? No, if the instrument merely entitles to a price reduction (section 3(13) UStG).

When do I pay VAT on a voucher? For a single-purpose voucher on issue, for a multi-purpose voucher on the actual supply (section 3(14) and (15) UStG).

What is a single-purpose voucher? One where place and tax are known when it is issued.

How do I calculate the tax on a 10 percent discount? On the price after the discount: at 107.10 euros gross and 19 percent it is 17.10 euros.

Where is a coupon in the Amazon report? Amazon's help page on the AVTR names no transaction type of its own for it; read the column definitions.