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60-second check
Not sure if you need German VAT yet? Find out before you read on.
A guest post from the FLEX. network: how one German stock pool serves FBA replenishment, merchant-fulfilled orders, a webshop and B2B, and the rules that stop two channels selling the same unit.
A guest post from emerald green: seven mistakes international brands make on Amazon.de after their VAT registration, from listings to PPC to patience.
A foreign company must register for French VAT once it holds stock in France, including an Amazon Pan-EU FBA warehouse, imports into France, or supplies from French stock. When you must register, whether you need a fiscal representative, the monthly CA3 return and its deadlines, how France reverse-charges import VAT, and where OSS fits.
The EU ViDA package extends One-Stop-Shop to local supplies and makes the foreign reverse charge mandatory on 1 July 2028. It does not abolish German VAT registration: five situations still require one, the call-off stock simplification disappears, and a monthly transfer return replaces it.
The filing that sits beside your UStVA: which B2B sales and Amazon stock transfers go on the ZM, the 25th-day deadline that gets no Dauerfrist extension, why VIES-valid VAT IDs protect your zero-rating, and how Vaytax builds it from your uploaded sales report.
The exact sentences from real Finanzamt letters (Schätzbescheid, Mahnung, Anhörung, Vollstreckung), each decoded: plain-English meaning, the deadline it implies, and what to do next.
Ending a German VAT registration cleanly: the notification the Finanzamt expects, the final returns, the annual return still due afterwards, and the costly mistakes.
Dauerfristverlängerung gives foreign companies a one-month extension on every German VAT deadline. How it works, the Sondervorauszahlung, and when it pays off.
Germany assigns your VAT filing rhythm from last year’s liability, not your preference. The €2,000 and €9,000 thresholds, what annual-only status means, why new registrations start monthly, and where the annual return fits.
The 7% restaurant rate, the end of the EU’s €150 customs exemption on 1 July, the e-invoicing phase-in, and what stays unchanged: every 2026 German VAT change that matters to foreign sellers, verified.
A GB EORI is for UK customs only and is not valid in the EU after Brexit. On the EU side the declaration is normally filed by your forwarder on its own EORI, so most UK sellers need none of their own. How the two differ, who actually needs one, import VAT recovery, and how it fits your German VAT registration.
Three different identifiers from two different authorities. The EORI is a customs ID from German customs (Zoll), the Steuernummer is your tax number from the Finanzamt, and the USt-IdNr is your EU VAT ID. When you need each, and the common do-I-need-all-of-them answer.
You buy from a supplier in Spain and ship straight to a German Amazon FBA warehouse. That is an intra-community movement, not an import: with your German VAT ID the supplier zero-rates and you self-report the intra-community acquisition on your German return. No German import VAT, usually no Spanish VAT registration, but still a German registration for the stock.
The EU GPSR has applied since 13 December 2024: non-EU sellers need an EU Responsible Person for products sold to EU consumers, and Amazon enforces it. What GPSR is, who needs a Responsible Person, and how it sits alongside your German VAT obligation.
The German Packaging Act makes every seller register in the LUCID packaging register before selling. LUCID is free and direct with the ZSVR; the dual-system licence is a separate paid obligation. Why Amazon asks for your LUCID number, why it is not part of VAT registration, and why Vaytax flags but does not file it.
An EORI number is free, valid across the whole EU, and one per company. How a non-EU or UK seller gets an EU EORI for Germany, why a GB EORI stopped working after Brexit, and how the EORI differs from German VAT registration and import VAT recovery.
VAT Services on Amazon shut down on October 31, 2024, and no in-house Amazon replacement has appeared. What the programme covered, how to choose its successor, and the step-by-step checklist for switching providers without missing a German deadline.
eBay collects German VAT as the deemed supplier on some sales (low-value imports, non-EU sellers from EU stock), but storing stock in Germany still triggers your own registration. Where the line falls under §3 Abs. 3a / §25e UStG.
German stock (a 3PL, Amazon FBA, or consignment) triggers VAT registration from the first unit, with no turnover threshold. Import VAT and EORI, the €10,000 EU-wide OSS line, and how marketplace vs own-store changes what you owe.
An Umsatzsteuer-Sonderprüfung is a German VAT special audit. Foreign Amazon FBA sellers get them most often, triggered by warehouse stock and marketplace data under §22f and §25e UStG. What gets checked, and how to respond.
Received a Prüfungsanordnung announcing an Umsatzsteuer-Sonderprüfung? How to recognise the notice, what the Finanzamt requests, the deadlines, and the calm step-by-step response.
Foreign sellers get one of five Finanzamt letter types: Aufforderung (14d), Mahnung (14d), Anhörung (14d), Schätzbescheid (30d), or Amazon §25e. Side-by-side comparison: deadlines, cost if ignored, legal basis, response action.
An Anhörung is the §91 AO notice that an adverse decision is being prepared. Foreign sellers have 14-21 days to respond before the binding Bescheid lands. Here's the four-element response template and what each path costs.
A Mahnung is the first formal reminder. The window to respond is short (7-14 days) but the cost of acting is small. Here's what each Mahnung type means and how to keep it from becoming a Schätzbescheid.
German VAT on hotels, taxis, and trade fair stands is reclaimable through your monthly UStVA. Other-EU VAT needs a 13th Directive refund. Two paths, two procedures, which one applies to you.
Taxdoo exited VAT compliance on 30 April. The full handover plan: engagement letter in 24h, power of attorney (Vollmacht) filed, May UStVA by us by 10 June. 5 steps, no Steuernummer change.
Amazon Pan-EU FBA now requires VAT in 5 countries, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, and Spain. What changed, who’s affected, and how to fix it.
Alle deutschen USt-Fristen 2026 für ausländische Unternehmen: monatliche und quartalsweise UStVA (Standard und Dauerfrist), ZM, OSS und Jahreserklärung 2025.
The complete 2026 filing calendar: monthly Voranmeldung due dates, Dauerfristverlängerung deadlines, ZM deadlines, annual declaration, and what happens when you file late.
A 9-minute walkthrough of your first UStVA through the Vaytax dashboard: what to gather, how Kz codes work, what happens after submit, and how SEPA payment works.
On 21 April 2026 we rebranded from VATdesk.io to Vaytax.com. Same licensed tax advisor, same Finanzamt filing; here’s what changed and what didn’t.
Late filing triggers automatic penalties from day one. late-filing penalty (Verspätungszuschlag), late-payment surcharge (Säumniszuschlag), Zwangsgeld, every penalty type explained with exact amounts and how to avoid them.
Two German tax numbers, two different purposes. Clear comparison of Steuernummer and Umsatzsteuer-ID, format, who issues them, and which goes on which document.
Auf Deutsch: welche Nummer das Finanzamt vergibt, welche das BZSt, wofür Sie beide brauchen und wie Sie eine USt-IdNr über VIES prüfen.
SEPA Direct Debit, credit transfer, or international wire? Payment methods, grace periods, and how to avoid Säumniszuschlag when paying the Finanzamt from outside Germany.
Brexit made the UK a third country for EU VAT. No OSS, no distance-selling threshold, mandatory German registration. Here's exactly what UK sellers need to do.
Kompletter Leitfaden auf Deutsch: zuständiges Finanzamt, Unterlagen, Ablauf und laufende Pflichten für ausländische Unternehmen. Für Steuerberater und deren Mandanten.
One-Stop Shop or full German registration? A decision guide for Amazon FBA sellers, drop-shippers, and UK sellers post-Brexit.
The German tax registration form explained section by section. No official English version exists, this guide fills the gap.
Timeline by Finanzamt, what causes delays, and how to avoid delays. Direct answers based on real registration experience.
Distance selling thresholds, Kleinunternehmer rules, FBA warehouse obligations, a clear breakdown of every threshold that matters.
Why filings prepared and signed by a licensed German Steuerberater carry weight with the Finanzamt, and how foreign companies should think about it.
After Amazon ended its free VAT Services in October 2024, every seller needs an alternative. Here's what changed and how to stay compliant.
Auf Deutsch: wann deutsche Amazon-Lager eine Registrierungspflicht auslösen, welche Nummern Amazon verlangt und wie die Registrierung abläuft.
