Tax trap: margin taxation under Section 25a of the German VAT Act | Seller Lounge

ttd4it · 2026-01-10T10:06:19.668000Z

One or another seller offers their goods for sale “margin-taxed”.The reasons for this can be many and varied. However, there is a catch to the matter. Shipping costs may not be shown as a separate item as “margin-taxed”.These are generally subject to value added tax! As a general rule, the seller must therefore create one invoice for the goods (margin-taxed) and a second one for the shipping costs (subject to value added tax) Only if the shipping costs are included in the sale price may a total invoice be created as “margin-taxed”. I suspect that one or another merchant will have to revise their previous approach. Source: ETRON Softwareentwicklungs- und Vertriebs GmbHLink: https://www.etron.de/blog/wissen/differenzbesteuerung/#Wann_ist_die_Differenzbesteuerung_ausgeschlossen Section: "Margin taxation in online retail" Quote: "Margin taxation also plays an important role in online retail. Many merchants sell their goods not only in-store, but also through their own webshop or platforms such as eBay, (zensiert) or (zensiert). The same rules apply here as in brick-and-mortar retail: final prices must be shown without a separate statement of tax, invoices must include a note on margin taxation according to § 25a UStG, and sales from different channels must not get mixed up. Especially when combining in-store and online sales, it is crucial to keep track of the tax treatment of the goods at all times.open laptop with online shop. Correctly invoicing shipping costs for margin-taxed items When selling goods online under margin taxation, one important basic rule applies: An invoice must not contain margin-taxed items (without shown VAT) and shipping costs with regular VAT at the same time.For practice, this means shipping costs must be handled correctly. There are two options:Include shipping costs in the total price (“free delivery”):No VAT is shown.Invoice shipping costs separately:You issue a separate invoice for the shipping costs, on which the regular VAT is shown.This separation is especially important in online retail, as orders are often processed automatically and invoices are generated automatically. If the shop system does not map the distinction correctly, faulty invoices can arise, which can lead to tax problems."

Discussions

Tax trap: margin taxation under Section 25a of the German VAT Act | Seller Lounge | eBay Germany