German VAT for US Companies: When You Must Register and What You Owe

Vaytax Editorial Team

Licensed tax advisor · files with the Finanzamt

Vaytax is operated by FRADECO GmbH tax advisory firm, a Franco-German tax advisory firm specialising in cross-border German VAT compliance for international businesses. The firm holds both German tax advisor and French Expert-Comptable qualifications and files via the Finanzamt.

About the team →

You run a US company, you have no office or staff in Europe, and a German VAT bill is the last thing you expected. Yet a US e-commerce brand selling through Amazon's German warehouses, or shipping enough product to German consumers, or licensing certain services into Germany, can be on the hook for German VAT from its very first qualifying transaction. This guide explains exactly when that happens, what you owe, and the mechanics that trip up first-timers: EORI and import VAT, the fiscal-representation myth, how marketplaces collect VAT on some of your sales but not all, and how the One-Stop Shop fits a US seller with German stock.

When must a US company register for German VAT?

Short answer: the moment you make a taxable supply in Germany. German VAT (Umsatzsteuer) attaches to activity inside Germany, and your country of incorporation is irrelevant to whether the obligation exists. Three triggers cover the overwhelming majority of US companies.

1. You store inventory in a German warehouse. The instant your goods sit in German stock, ready to be sold from there, you have a taxable presence. For Amazon sellers this means Amazon FBA in Germany: the moment your units land in a German fulfilment centre (or Pan-EU FBA moves them into Germany), the obligation is live. This is from the first unit, with no minimum.
2. You make B2C distance sales of goods that arrive in Germany. If you sell physical goods to German private consumers and those goods are dispatched to Germany, that is a German-taxable supply. Where the goods ship from changes the mechanics (covered in the OSS section below), but the German VAT exposure is real.
3. You supply certain services with a German place of supply. Some services are taxed where the customer is. Digital services, downloads, streaming, and online courses sold to German consumers are the common case for US software businesses.

What is an EORI number, and what is import VAT?

If your goods physically enter Germany from outside the EU, they pass through customs, and two things happen at the border.

First, customs needs to know who is importing. That identifier is the EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification). A US company acting as the importer of record needs an EU EORI number to clear its goods. You apply for it once, and it follows your shipments thereafter.

Second, the goods are charged import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer), calculated on the customs value of the consignment. This is German VAT collected at the point of entry rather than on a sale. The good news for a registered business: import VAT is generally reclaimable as input VAT (Vorsteuer) on your USt-Voranmeldung (preliminary VAT return). So once you hold a German VAT registration, import VAT is usually a cash-flow timing cost, money out at the border, recovered on the return, rather than a permanent cost. The catch is that you have to be registered and filing to recover it, which is one more reason registration comes first, not last.

Do US companies need a fiscal representative in Germany?

No. This is the single most expensive myth aimed at US sellers, so it is worth stating plainly: Germany does not require a fiscal representative for a US company (or any non-EU business) to register for and file German VAT.

The confusion comes from other EU countries. A handful of member states do require non-EU businesses to appoint a fiscal representative, a local entity that becomes jointly and personally liable for the foreign company's VAT. Germany is not one of them for standard registration and filing. In Germany, a licensed tax advisor (Steuerberater) acting as your tax agent is sufficient, and crucially, the tax advisor does not assume your VAT liability the way a fiscal representative does. You remain the taxpayer.

Despite this, some providers still print a "fiscal representation" line on quotes to US sellers, often 1,000 to 3,000 euros per year, for a service German law does not require. If you see that line item, ask for the legal basis. There isn't one for ordinary German VAT compliance. We cover the distinction in full in our guide on whether you need a fiscal representative in Germany.

If a marketplace collects VAT, am I off the hook?

Mostly no, and this surprises sellers who assume Amazon's tax collection covers everything. Under the German rules implementing the EU marketplace provisions (sections 3 paragraph 3a and 25e of the German VAT Act, UStG), a marketplace such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or TikTok Shop is in some cases treated as the deemed supplier. In those cases the platform is legally treated as if it bought from you and resold to the consumer, and it collects and remits the VAT.

The deemed-supplier rule applies to specific situations involving non-EU sellers, for example:

• Goods imported into the EU in consignments with a value up to 150 euros and sold to a consumer through the marketplace; and
• Goods that are already located in the EU (your German FBA stock, say) and sold by a non-EU seller to a consumer through the marketplace.

So the platform may well collect VAT on your B2C marketplace sales. But that does not make your German registration optional, for several reasons:

• It does not cover every sale. B2B sales, sales outside the marketplace's scope, and movements of your own stock are not swept up by the deemed-supplier rule.
• You still hold the stock. If your inventory sits in Germany you remain the party that must be registered, that must reclaim import VAT, and that the Finanzamt expects to file. The platform's collection sits on top of your obligations, it does not replace them.
• Amazon enforces it. Because section 25e can make a marketplace jointly liable for a seller's unpaid VAT, platforms police valid German VAT numbers aggressively and can suspend listings without one.

How does Union OSS work for a US seller with German stock?

This is where US sellers get the most tangled, so here is the clean version. The Union One-Stop Shop (OSS) lets you report B2C distance sales of goods that ship from inside the EU to consumers in other EU countries on a single quarterly return, instead of registering in every destination country.

A US company can use Union OSS, with one condition: the goods must dispatch from within the EU. If you hold stock in a German warehouse and sell B2C across the EU from that stock, you qualify. And because your stock sits in Germany, Germany becomes your Member State of Identification. In plain terms, you register for Union OSS through Germany and file one quarterly OSS return covering your cross-border B2C sales to consumers in the other EU member states.

Two things to keep straight:

• OSS does not replace your local German registration. You still need a normal German VAT number for the German stock itself and for your domestic German sales. The OSS return sits alongside it, it handles only the cross-border B2C piece.
• OSS is not the import scheme. The separate Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) is for low-value consignments up to 150 euros imported into the EU from outside, a different mechanism for goods sent direct from the US to EU consumers. Vaytax does not file IOSS, we focus on German VAT and Union OSS for sellers with German stock.

What does ongoing compliance actually look like?

Once you have your German tax number (Steuernummer), the monthly rhythm is light on your side:

1. You enter your sales figures into the Vaytax dashboard each month, totals per VAT rate, any reverse-charge B2B, any intra-community movements.
2. A licensed German tax advisor reviews the figures, prepares the USt-Voranmeldung (preliminary VAT return), and files it with the Finanzamt (the German tax office).
3. The Finanzamt processes the filing and, where VAT is owed, debits the account on your SEPA mandate.
4. You get a filing confirmation in the dashboard and by email.

For the first two years of registration, monthly filing is the default. The annual VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Jahreserklarung) is filed once a year. Vaytax is software plus a licensed German tax advisor who does the actual submission, not a do-it-yourself form and not a generic call centre.

Frequently asked questions

When must a US company register for German VAT?

The moment it makes a taxable supply in Germany. The common triggers are storing inventory in a German warehouse (Amazon FBA in Germany counts from the first unit), B2C distance sales of goods arriving in Germany, and certain services with a German place of supply. There is no threshold for foreign sellers, the 22,000 euro Kleinunternehmer small-business exemption is not available without a German establishment, so you register from the first taxable transaction.

Does a US company need a fiscal representative to register for German VAT?

No. Germany does not require a fiscal representative for a US company or any non-EU business for standard registration and filing. A licensed German tax advisor as your tax agent is sufficient, and unlike a fiscal representative the advisor does not take on your VAT liability. Be wary of any provider charging a separate fiscal-representation surcharge, see our fiscal representation guide.

What is an EORI number and do US companies need one to import into Germany?

An EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number is the identifier EU customs use for importers. A US company importing goods into Germany as the importer of record needs an EU EORI number to clear customs. Import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer) is charged at the border on the customs value, and once you hold a German registration it is generally reclaimable as input VAT on your return.

If Amazon collects VAT on my sales, do I still need a German VAT number?

Usually yes. Under sections 3 paragraph 3a and 25e UStG, marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok Shop) act as deemed supplier and collect VAT on certain non-EU-seller sales, such as low-value imports up to 150 euros or goods already in the EU sold to consumers. That does not cover B2B sales or your underlying obligations, and if you hold German stock you remain the party that must register, reclaim import VAT, and file.

Can a US company use Union OSS for its German and EU sales?

Yes, when goods ship from inside the EU. A US company with stock in a German warehouse selling B2C across the EU can use Union OSS, with Germany as its Member State of Identification, filing one quarterly OSS return for cross-border B2C. You still need a normal German registration for the German stock and domestic sales. The separate IOSS scheme covers low-value imports up to 150 euros and is not something Vaytax files.

What does Vaytax charge a US company for German VAT compliance?

If you still need to register, 1,199 euros per year all-in, bundling the German VAT registration with the first twelve months of monthly USt-Voranmeldung and the annual return, charged at signup. If you already hold a German VAT number, 79 euros per month, or 853 euros per year billed annually. An optional OSS add-on is 250 euros one-time plus 150 euros per quarter. No fiscal-representation surcharges, filing is by software plus a licensed German tax advisor.