VAT and Invoicing

The OSS Return: Filing EU Consumer VAT in One Quarterly Declaration

Updated: 6 October 2026 Holdwise editorial team OSS E-commerce VAT

If you sell to consumers across the EU for more than €10,000 a year, you charge each customer's local VAT rate. With the EU VAT scheme for cross-border sales (OSS), you report these sales in one quarterly return, filed in the Netherlands. At Holdwise, we keep this answer up to date and change it when the rules change.

What goes into the OSS return

For each EU country, you report the consumer sales, the local VAT rate you applied and the VAT due. A German customer pays German VAT and a French customer pays French VAT, and you report both in one Dutch declaration. You can read about registration and setup in OSS registration in the Netherlands.

The filing schedule

You file the OSS return per calendar quarter, by the end of the month after the quarter, and pay the total in one amount. The Dutch tax authority distributes the money to the other member states.

Rates per country

You charge the VAT rate of the customer's country. Keep an up-to-date table of rates per product category, because this is the most important task in OSS selling. You can find the Dutch rates in Dutch VAT rates 2026.

Corrections

You correct an error from an earlier quarter in a later OSS return, and you mark the original period. You can do this up to three years after the original return was due.

Is your company established outside the EU? Then a Dutch fiscal representative files the VAT returns and applies for the Article 23 licence for you. See fiscal representation in the Netherlands for non-EU companies for how it works and how the costs are built up.

The bookkeeping can be handed over while you live abroad. On bookkeeping in the Netherlands you can read what you send, what is filed for you and what you get back.

What stays outside the OSS

You report domestic Dutch sales in the regular Dutch return. For B2B sales, the reverse charge applies. The OSS applies only to EU consumer sales.

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Part of Doing Business in the Netherlands, the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

When is the OSS return due? +

By the end of the month after each calendar quarter: 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January, with the payment alongside.

Do I need the OSS if my EU consumer sales are below €10,000? +

It is optional. Below the threshold, you may charge Dutch VAT on all EU consumer sales and report them in the regular Dutch return. From the threshold upward, you charge the VAT of each customer's country. You can report it through the OSS, or register for VAT in each of those countries.

Sources Belastingdienst · KVK · wetten.overheid.nl Last updated: 6 October 2026