Everything you need to figure out
German & French VAT.
Free tools that give you a quick answer. Guides written for sellers from your country. Honest comparisons of every German VAT provider. And deep reading when you need it. Start with the tool that fits your question, or jump straight to the lane you need.
Already have a German tax letter to deal with? Get urgent help with a Finanzamt letter →
Germany
German VAT from registration to monthly and annual filings. Everything from here down to the France shelf covers Germany: the free tools, the references, and the guides for sellers from your country.
Get a straight answer in under two minutes.
Free, interactive tools. Drop in a number or answer a few questions and get a result on screen. No email gate, no signup.
Finanzamt letter reader
Photograph a letter from the German tax office and get a free instant read in English: the letter type, a translation, and every deadline and euro amount it names. It says so when a scan is too poor to read rather than guessing, and it names the fake-register scams for what they are.
Read my letter →Finanzamt lookup
Pick your home country, get the German tax office you’ll be assigned to plus the official payment IBAN and BIC. The UStZustV routing data nobody else publishes.
Find your Finanzamt →Do I need German or French VAT?
A few questions tell you whether you must register in Germany or France, can use OSS, or need nothing at all, and what to do next. You see the verdict on screen, no email required.
Take the check →Amazon VAT calculator
Drop your Amazon VAT Transactions Report or easybill export. We read it on your device (nothing uploaded) and show your German VAT by line, reconciled to your file.
Read your report →Registration document checklist
The exact documents the Finanzamt needs by country: company document, apostille, translation, and your assigned tax office.
Invoice requirements + clauses
The 10 mandatory invoice items and the exact reverse-charge clauses in German and English, ready to copy.
German VAT calculator
Estimate your monthly net VAT due from your real sales channels: Amazon DE, Shopify, marketplace fees, and import VAT.
Finanzamt deadline calculator
Enter your letter date and get the exact working-days countdown for your reply or appeal window.
VAT penalty calculator
Estimate the late-filing penalty (Verspätungszuschlag), late-payment surcharge (Säumniszuschlag), and interest on a late or estimated German VAT assessment.
Look it up, read it up.
Not tools, honest reference: worked scenarios, the glossary, the rates, the calendar, and the numbers. Written by a licensed German tax advisor, not a content farm.
A German tax letter has a deadline. Don't let it run out.
Forward us the letter and we tell you what it means, what is due, and what to do next. A licensed German tax advisor reads it, in plain English. Letter handling from €200 net.
Questions, answered.
Six of the most common questions before signing up: German address, Finanzamt letters, registration timing, pricing, cancellation, and how this differs from online VAT platforms.
Pick your home country.
Each guide explains what changes for sellers from your jurisdiction, registration timing, fiscal representation, and which paperwork the German tax office actually expects.
Honest, side-by-side comparisons.
We tell you where Vaytax wins, where the competition wins, and which type of seller each option fits best.
Deeper reading.
Topic pillars and recent blog posts. Written by a licensed German tax advisor, not a content farm.
Fiscal representation in Germany
When non-EU sellers actually need a fiscal rep, and the common myth that wastes thousands.
Read pillar →Authorized recipient (Empfangsbevollmächtigter)
Only companies seated outside the EU and EEA can be asked to name one, and only when the Finanzamt asks.
Read pillar →Consignment stock (Konsignationslager)
Call-off stock under § 6b UStG runs EU to EU only, so a UK company cannot use it after Brexit.
Read pillar →Permanent establishment (Betriebsstätte)
Storing stock in a German FBA or 3PL warehouse normally does not create one, so German corporate tax normally does not follow.
Read pillar →German import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer)
Recoverable once you are registered, and not recoverable at all on imports made before that. Why the order matters.
Read pillar →Late-filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag)
The 0.25 percent formula everyone quotes does not apply to a late monthly VAT return. What decides the amount instead.
Read pillar →Liability notice (Haftungsbescheid)
When a company's unpaid tax is addressed to its managing director personally, and the fault standard that has to be met.
Read pillar →VAT registration in Germany
The full timeline, documents, and what to expect from the German tax office.
Read pillar →German VAT glossary
Plain-English definitions for every German tax term you'll encounter.
Read pillar →2026 deadlines explained
How monthly, quarterly, and annual cadence works, and when each kicks in.
Read pillar →The annual VAT return
What the Umsatzsteuererklärung is, who must file it, how it differs from monthly, and the deadlines.
Read pillar →Monthly, quarterly or annual?
The €2,000 and €9,000 thresholds that decide your filing rhythm, and what annual-only status means.
Read pillar →Recent from the blog
All posts →
Storing stock in a German warehouse: when VAT registration is triggered
German stock means a VAT obligation from the first unit, with no threshold.
Amazon VAT Services ended: what FBA sellers do now
With Amazon's in-house VAT filing gone, every FBA seller needs an alternative.
The EORI number, explained for non-EU and UK sellers
What it is, why most sellers never need one of their own, and when German customs is competent to issue you one.
France
French VAT for foreign companies: registration with the French tax office for non-residents (SIEE) and monthly VAT returns (CA3), run through the same English dashboard as the German service.
EU-wide: OSS, EORI, thresholds
The rules that span the whole EU: the Union One-Stop-Shop (OSS), the EORI number for imports, the EU-wide €10,000 distance-selling threshold, and VIES VAT-number checks.
Do I need EU OSS?
Whether you need Union OSS for cross-border B2C sales, if Germany is your filing country, and what it costs. Union OSS, not iOSS.
Do you need an EORI?
Whether you need an EU EORI number as importer of record, and where OSS applies instead. Four outcomes, plain answer.
Amazon FBA: which VAT registrations?
Pick your fulfilment program for the exact EU countries you need to register in, and where OSS covers you instead. 2026 rules.
EU VAT ID validator
Verify any EU VAT number against the official VIES database in seconds. Returns the registered company name and address.
Bulk EU VAT validator
Validate a whole list of EU VAT numbers at once against VIES. Valid or invalid plus company name per row, with CSV export.
Not sure where to start?
Find the lane that fits your situation.
Two minutes tells you whether you need to register in Germany, can use Union OSS, or don't need anything yet. From there, registration is €1,499/year all-in, or €99/month if you already hold a German tax number.
No email gate on the check. Cancel registration anytime.