The German Tax Authority has high standards. So do we.

Q: What is VAT in German?

There are three German words for Value Added Tax (VAT): Mehrwersteuer (MwSt), Umsatzsteuer (USt), and Vorsteuer (VSt).

Getting VAT in Germany right is all about the details. Get German VAT registrations and returns right first time, every time with SimplyVAT.

...had a really tricky situation with the German Vat Authorities Ulla got to the bottom of it for us.

Yvonne, Denmark

Germany

Currency	Euro EUR, €
Languages	German
Largest Marketplace	Amazon.de
Most Popular Product Category	Fashion
Tax Authority	Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) / Federal Central Tax Office
VAT Rates	Standard – 19%
	Reduced – 7%
	Zero Rate – 0%

In German, Value Added Tax (VAT) is colloquially called Mehrwersteuer (MwSt). However, the correct technical terms would be Umsatzsteuer (USt) or Vorsteuer (VSt). Which word you use depends on your perspective on a transaction.

For example, you’re selling to consumers in Germany and charging them USt. When your customer talks about their purchase they will say they paid Mehrwertsteuer (MwSt). If you speak to the tax authorities and want to reclaim VAT paid on purchases, you would need to ask for a reclaim of your Vorsteuer.

Do I need to register for VAT in Germany?

Whether you need a VAT number in Germany or not depends on your business:

Where you’re based

Who your customers are
(B2C or B2B)

What you’re selling
(goods or services)

Where you’re selling it (on your website or an online marketplace)

And if you’re selling goods, where they are when they’re sold

Sometimes, the easiest way to find out, is to ask. Book a call and talk to a member of our team about your business. They’ll help you work out whether you need to register for VAT in Germany.

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My B2C business is based outside the EU

Whether you need to register for VAT in Germany will depend on where your goods are, and where you’re selling them.

Selling goods on your website

If you store goods in the EU, you’ll need to register for VAT in the country where they’re stored. So, if that’s Germany, you’ll need to register there. If your goods are stored elsewhere in the EU and your customers are in Germany, you have two options:

Which would be better for you will depend on your business. OSS allows you to collect and remit VAT on sales across the EU on one return but doesn’t cover the sale of services.

Not sure which you need? You can ask us (for free).

Book a call

Importing Goods to Germany

Are your goods outside the EU when your customer buys them? You have three options to sell to Germany compliantly:

Ship your goods to Germany Delivered at Place (DAP)

An IOSS registration allows you to import goods with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less to customers all over the EU – not just Germany. If your average order from Germany has an intrinsic value over EUR 150 you might want to consider registering for VAT there. You can also ship your goods to Germany DAP. Shipping DAP puts the responsibility for Import fees, duties and VAT on your customer. We really only recommend doing this if you have one-off or really infrequent high-value sales to Germany. Shipping DAP is generally a worse experience for your customers.

Not sure which is the best option? Talk to us about your business and we’ll help you work it out.

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Get registered for IOSS in as little as 3 working days

Get your goods through German customs quickly with an IOSS registration. Get through IOSS registration even quicker with SimplyVAT.

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Selling goods on a marketplace

Since 2021 online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay have been responsible for collecting and remitting the VAT on certain sales on their platforms.

Marketplaces are responsible for the VAT when:

You, the seller, are based outside the EU

The sale is B2C

The goods are shipped from outside the EU in shipments with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less

Or the goods are in the EU at the point of sale

For example, you’re an Amazon seller based in the USA. Your stock is in your warehouse in Huntington, WV. Your customer in Germany orders a EUR100 coat from you. Amazon will charge your customer German VAT and remit it to BZSt.

Storing your goods in an EU country will require you to register for VAT there, even though the marketplace collects and remits the VAT. Orders from Germany with an intrinsic value over EUR 150 will require you register for VAT in Germany, or ship it DAP.

Amazon Pan-EU FBA VAT
(that’s a lot of acronyms)

So you speak the language of ecommerce. Do you know the language of VAT? Selling via Amazon’s Pan-EU program comes with a complicated set of VAT obligations. Registrations and returns. Intra-community, zero-rated supplies.
Let us handle it for you - we’re here to make it simple.

Make FBA Easy

Selling services to German Consumers

Everything that’s not a physical object is considered a service in the EU. Digital services are a category of services that are defined by being “electronically supplied”. That covers things like eBooks, PDFs of sewing patterns, on-demand video courses and tickets to livestreams.

To sell digital services to customers in Germany you can either register for VAT in Germany or for Non-Union OSS. Like OSS, Non-Union OSS covers sales to every EU state.

Determining whether your services are “electronically supplied” can be complicated and has big consequences – if they’re not, you don’t need to register for VAT. We recommend you talk to an expert if you’re selling digital services just to make sure they’re considered electronically supplied.

Book a call

My B2C business is based in the EU

The following information assumes you’re not based in Germany.

Selling Goods

Being based in the EU, you can make up to 10,000 EUR in sales to other EU countries before you have to register for anything, depending on where your goods are when they’re sold. All registrations require you to charge your German customers their local VAT rate, then report and remit that amount to the tax authorities.

My Goods are in Germany

Storing goods in Germany creates a “taxable supply”. You’ll need to register for VAT in Germany or for One Stop Shop (OSS) in the country where you’re based.

My Goods are in the EU, but not in Germany

Essentially, you have a VAT obligation in every country where you hold stock or have customers. If you hold stock in the country where you’re based you can choose to either register for VAT in Germany, or for OSS. Storing goods in a third country creates another VAT obligation. You can register for VAT there as well or skip the individual registrations and just register for One Stop Shop.

My goods are outside the EU

You have three options when your goods are outside the EU at the point of sale:

Register for VAT in Germany
Register for Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)
Make your customer the Importer of Record
Making your customer the Importer of Record will mean their order gets hold at customs until they’ve paid any duty and VAT due. If they don’t pay in time, the order will get sent back to you.

Get your refund started

You have three options when your goods are outside the EU at the point of sale:

Make your customer the Importer of Record

Making your customer the Importer of Record will mean their order gets held at customs until they’ve paid any duty and VAT due. If they don’t pay on time, the order gets sent back to you.

Selling Services from the EU to Germany

In the EU, anything that’s not a physical object is considered a service (for VAT purposes). It covers everything from catering services to digital downloads. Selling services to consumers in other EU countries requires you to register for OSS.

You can register for OSS with your local tax authority.

Feeling Confused? Take the EU VAT Quiz

Find out in less than a minute if you need to register in the EU and what for – IOSS, OSS, Non-Union OSS or VAT.

Take our QUiz

VAT on Sales to German Businesses

When your customers are other businesses, your VAT responsibilities in Germany change. You may still need to register for VAT (if you store goods there, for example) but in many cases it’s your customer’s obligation.

I’m based outside the EU and selling B2B to Germany

If you’re based outside the EU and your customer is VAT registered, the reverse charge mechanism often applies. You include “reverse charge mechanism” on the invoice, and they account for it on their VAT return.

I’m based in the EU and selling B2B to Germany

Generally, B2B sales between EU states are zero-rated if both you and your customer are VAT registered. Selling to a business in Germany from another EU country doesn’t necessarily require you to be VAT registered in Germany. However you do have to:

Be VAT registered where you’re based

Add the transaction to your EC Sales List

Verify your buyer’s VAT number on VIES

Make B2B simpler with expert advice

Business-to-business transactions that cross international borders are simple in theory. In practice they’re often messy. Tax authorities interpret rules differently, documents go missing (or are never issued), you might be one business in a chain – it gets complicated quick.

Make it easier with some expert advice.

Book a call

How do I register for VAT in Germany?

Before you can register for VAT in Germany, you’ll need to register with a tax office in a specific German state. Which state depends on where you’re based. For example, US sellers will need to register with Bonn City Centre Tax Office.

Once you’re registered locally, the tax office will give you a Steurnummer – a local tax number. You need this number for:

Filing VAT returns

Talking to the tax authorities

Any audits you might have to deal with

Once you’re registered at a local level, you can register for VAT. A lot of this process happens exclusively in German. There are no translations available for a lot of the forms.

You’ll need to gather some documents for your registration, including:

A copy of your business’ articles of association

A trade register extract from the country where your business is based

Evidence that you’re registered for tax in the country where your business is based

Proof that you’re doing business in Germany – this could be invoices or a contract, for example

Proof of your Identity, and proof of your business’ address

How long does VAT registration take in Germany?

Once they’ve received your paperwork, it takes 8-12 weeks on average for BZSt to process your application and issue a VAT number. BZSt are incredibly thorough, so it’s likely that they’ll have questions about you and your application. If you’re slow to answer your registration will take longer. If you can’t answer satisfactorily, your registration will be denied.

VAT Essentials: Germany

Get all the information you need to start selling compliantly in Germany in one place.

Download the guide

German VAT Returns

In Germany, VAT returns are usually filed monthly. Quarterly and annual filings are available but on if the VAT you owed in the previous year was less than EUR 9000 and EUR 2000 respectively. If you’re filing monthly or quarterly, you’ll also have to file an annual summary at the end of the year.

The payment and filing deadline for monthly German VAT returns is the 10th of the month following the reporting period. So, if you’re filing for March, you have until the 10th of April to do so.

Intrastat Thresholds Germany

Intrastat is a statistical report used by the EU to collect and analyse data on the movement of goods between EU Member States. The threshold for filing an Intrastat report in Germany is EUR 3,000,000 in arrivals and EUR 1,000,000 in dispatches.
Intrastat reports are really different to VAT returns. They’re transactional, reported by SKU and they require so much extra data - weight, commodity codes, net sales value, how the goods were shipped. Don’t stress about getting them done. Just get us to do them for you.

Intrastat Support

Issuing Invoices in Germany

Germany requires you to keep a record of invoices you’ve issued and received for 10 years. This is very important as BZSt frequently audits businesses, especially those not based in Germany.

In general, German invoices follow the EU VAT Directive structure. Some of the things they need to include are:

The date (if the transaction date is different to the date the invoice was issued, include that too)

A unique invoice number (they need to be issued in order)

Your VAT number

The full address of both you and your customer

A full description of the goods or services

The quantity and unit price, if they apply

Details of any discounts you may have applied

The net taxable value, and the gross amount of the invoice

The VAT rate you applied and the amount of VAT

Depending on the kind of transaction VAT invoices often require additional information or notation.

VAT Refunds in Germany

If you buy something from a German supplier, or import goods into Germany, you’ll be charged input VAT. You can claim input VAT back on your German VAT return. When you have more input VAT than output VAT, you can have the difference refunded.

The general rule is that you should claim the VAT refund in the same period you were invoiced. If you discover the VAT later, you should submit a corrective VAT return for the period. If you’ve submitted your annual return, you can just amend it to reflect the VAT refund.

Excess input VAT won’t be carried forward automatically in Germany, so if you miss the reclaim period, you should contact the tax authority to ensure you get it refunded properly.

Refunds when you’re not VAT registered in Germany

If you’re not registered for VAT in Germany, you can still get a VAT refund. How you do it depends on whether you’re based in the EU or not.

Businesses based in the EU can use their national tax authority’s online portal to use the EU Refund Directive. Once the claim has been processed, BZSt will refund you the money.

If you’re not based in the EU, you’ll need to use the 13th Directive.

13th Directive VAT Refunds in Germany

You don’t need a fiscal representative to apply, but the country where you’re based must have a reciprocity agreement with Germany.

The minimum period you can claim for is three months, and the max is a year. If you’re claiming for less than a year, the minimum amount you can claim is EUR 1000. If you claim for the whole year, the minimum decreases to EUR 500. You have until the 30th of June the year following the refund period to make your claim. For example, the deadline to refund VAT paid in April 2024 is June 2025.

VAT refunds for non-EU companies are admin-intensive and can take a long time. If you’d like a refund but don’t want to spend time chasing it, we can handle it for you.

Get your refund started

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Germany VAT FAQs

How do I get an EORI number?

We can get you an EORI number and help you decide which country you should register in. We’ll need some details about your business, so book a call and we’ll get things started.

How do I get an EORI number

What’s the cost of an EORI number?

EORI number processing time:

We can get you an EORI number and help you decide which country you should register in. We’ll need some details about your business, so book a call and we’ll get things started.

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