# EU VAT on digital sales: the €10,000 rule and OSS

Once your sales to consumers in other EU countries pass €10,000 a year, you charge VAT at the buyer's country rate, not your own. E-books, online courses, software and downloads count as electronic services, so a buyer in Germany pays German VAT. The One Stop Shop (OSS) lets you declare all of it in one quarterly return in your home country instead of registering in each country. Your tax office then passes the VAT on to the countries where your buyers live.

## Who

You need this if you sell digital products or ship goods to consumers in another EU country. The €10,000 threshold covers all those cross-border sales together, without VAT, in the current and the previous calendar year. Sales to VAT-registered businesses follow the reverse charge instead. Sellers based outside the EU, including in the UK, can use the non-Union OSS scheme for services.

## Dates

- 2015-01: The mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) starts for telecom, broadcasting and electronic services sold to EU consumers.
- 2021-07-01: OSS replaces MOSS, adds distance sales of goods and brings in the EU-wide €10,000 threshold.
- 2026-10-31: Deadline for the OSS return and payment for July to September 2026.

## Tools

- Paddle: yes. Sells as merchant of record and files and pays EU VAT on digital products for you. (https://www.paddle.com/help/sell/tax/how-paddle-handles-vat-on-your-behalf, 2026-10-05)
- Lemon Squeezy: yes. Acts as merchant of record and collects and remits VAT on your sales. (https://docs.lemonsqueezy.com/help/payments/sales-tax-vat, 2026-10-05)
- Payhip: yes. Handles EU VAT on digital products by default, and you can switch it off to do it yourself. (https://help.payhip.com/article/127-digital-eu-vat, 2026-10-05)
- Gumroad: yes. Acts as merchant of record and collects and remits VAT on your sales worldwide. (https://gumroad.com/pricing, 2026-10-05)
- Teachable: yes. Files EU VAT for you on sales through its own payment gateways, but not on custom gateways. (https://www.teachable.com/blog/filing-eu-vat-for-transactions-on-native-teachable-gateways, 2026-10-05)
- Stripe: partial. Stripe Tax tracks the €10,000 threshold and charges the right rate, but you file the OSS return. (https://docs.stripe.com/tax/supported-countries/european-union, 2026-10-05)
- Shopify: partial. Charges VAT at checkout, but you file and pay it yourself. (https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/taxes/eu/eu-digital-products, 2026-10-05)
- Podia: partial. Charges the right EU VAT at checkout with an OSS jurisdiction, but you file and pay it yourself. (https://help.podia.com/en/articles/11370382-collecting-sales-taxes-on-podia, 2026-10-05)
- Kajabi: partial. Kajabi Payments calculates and collects tax with reports to help you file, but does not file or remit it. (https://help.kajabi.com/en/articles/17174634-kajabi-payments-sales-tax-overview, 2026-10-05)
- beehiiv: no. Its terms make you responsible for VAT on your paid subscriptions and content. (https://www.beehiiv.com/tou, 2026-10-05)
- Substack: partial. You handle VAT on paid subscriptions until 1 December 2026, when Substack starts collecting and remitting it for you. (https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/53351588701588-Upcoming-changes-to-tax-on-Substack, 2026-10-05)
- Thinkific: partial. With Thinkific Payments it calculates EU VAT at checkout once you switch it on, but you register and remit the VAT yourself. (https://support.thinkific.com/hc/en-us/articles/13769059862551-TCommerce-Sales-Tax-and-VAT-Solution, 2026-10-05)

## Questions

### Do I charge VAT when I sell an e-book to someone in Germany?

Yes, and the rate depends on your total cross-border sales. Below €10,000 a year across the EU (this year and last), you can charge your own country's VAT. Above it, you charge German VAT because electronic services are taxed in the customer's country. You then declare that VAT through OSS or a German registration.

### Do I need to register for OSS under €10,000?

No. Under the threshold you charge your home VAT rate and report the sales in your normal domestic return. Keep a running total of your EU sales, because the switch can happen in the middle of a year. Once you pass €10,000, the destination rate applies from that sale onwards.

### When is the OSS return due?

OSS returns are quarterly and due by the end of the month after the quarter: 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January. You file a nil return in quarters with no OSS sales. You pay the VAT to your own tax office, which sends each country its share. You can correct a return within three years of its due date.

### What is a merchant of record?

A merchant of record sells your product to the buyer in its own name and you get paid by the platform. Because the platform is the seller for VAT, it charges the right rate, files the returns and pays the VAT. Your sale to the platform is one domestic or B2B transaction. You pay for it in a higher fee per sale.

### How does this work if I'm a Spanish autónomo selling courses?

While your sales to consumers in other EU countries stay under €10,000 a year, you charge Spanish IVA and declare it in your usual modelo 303. Above that, you charge each buyer's country rate and register for OSS with the Agencia Tributaria. A merchant of record platform removes those foreign sales from your OSS return, because the platform sells to the buyer. Ask your gestoría how to record the platform's payouts.

## Sources

- [European Commission: One Stop Shop (OSS)](https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/one-stop-shop_en)
- [European Commission: Declare and pay OSS VAT](https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/one-stop-shop/declare-and-pay-oss_en)
- [Your Europe: Cross-border VAT](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/cross-border-vat/index_en.htm)