How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Germany

Germany charges import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer) of 19%, or 7% on goods such as food and books, on the customs value plus duty and any excise. An online order from outside the EU worth up to EUR 150 also pays a flat EUR 3 duty per goods category, and since 1 November 2026 every online order pays a EUR 2 fee per category. Anything else up to EUR 150, business shipments included, pays the regular tariff rate.

• Valuation basis: CIF
• Tax base: Customs value plus duties and other charges due on import, plus incidental costs such as transport and insurance to the first place of destination. Under IOSS, VAT is on the sale price at checkout.
• VAT standard rate: 19%. Section 12 of the VAT Act also has a 0% rate for specific supplies.
• Reduced rates: 7%

IOSS: non-EU sellers and marketplaces may register in one member state, through an EU intermediary unless their country has a qualifying recovery agreement, to charge destination VAT on consignments up to EUR 150, excluding excise goods. Without IOSS, Special Arrangements or standard import VAT apply. From 1 November 2026 product identifiers are mandatory on these distance sales.

• BZSt's IOSS role read as an official-domain search excerpt.

Germany's customs IT is ATLAS, and two of its applications matter here.

• ATLAS-IMPOST takes commercial consignments only if they are distance sales. It needs a running payment deferral, and duties are notified with a due date of the 16th of the following month.
• ATLAS-Zollbehandlung takes business-to-business shipments and anything else that isn't a distance sale. Consignments from the Canary Islands, which are in the Union customs territory, also go here.

The flat duty and the handling fee are collected per transaction in both. For an IOSS consignment, only the person using the scheme or their representative can be the declarant: the recipient can't step in. If you're setting up imports for a business, a customs broker will usually run this for you.

Start with what the parcel is, because that picks the duty. For a distance sale to a consumer of up to EUR 150, Zoll takes EUR 3 for each goods category, so four pairs of the same socks count once. Above EUR 150, the tariff rate in the EU tariff applies to the customs value. The EUR 2 Union handling fee is due on distance sales at any value, on top of the duty.

The customs value includes postage where it's invoiced: Zoll adds it to the price. Import VAT then goes on the customs value plus duty and any excise, and under EU law on the handling fee and transport to the first place of destination. If the seller uses IOSS and declares the number, there's no import VAT at the border on goods up to EUR 150, because the VAT is already in the price.

The carrier normally handles clearance, pays the charges to Zoll in advance and collects from the recipient on delivery, with its own service charge on top. Zoll doesn't set that charge and the amount varies by carrier, so ask the carrier or read its terms. For the wider picture of how these costs add up, see landed cost, or run a parcel through the import duty calculator.

1. Find the code: classify the goods to the EU tariff. The HS code classifier gets you a starting point, and HS codes explains the structure.
2. Decide the sale type: a sale to a consumer is a distance sale. A sale to a business is not, and pays the regular tariff rate at any value.
3. Test the value: compare the goods value with EUR 150 for the whole consignment.
4. Set the duty: EUR 3 per goods category for distance sales up to EUR 150. Otherwise, the tariff rate on the customs value, which includes invoiced postage.
5. Add the fee: EUR 2 per goods category on any distance sale since 1 November 2026.
6. Work out import VAT: 19% or 7% on the customs value plus duty, excise and the fee. Skip this step at the border if the seller uses IOSS and the goods are worth up to EUR 150.
7. Add the carrier: allow for the carrier’s service charge, which you pay on delivery.

Bike lock and two identical inner tubes, sold to a consumer without IOSS, two goods categories.

Art books for a consumer, above EUR 150, one category, tariff rate 0% (we’ve assumed 0% for books, so check the code).

Work gloves to a company in Hamburg, through ATLAS-Zollbehandlung, regular tariff rate assumed at 8%.

No flat EUR 3 and no handling fee.

• Paying EUR 3 on a business shipment: the flat duty needs a distance sale. Zoll says other shipments up to EUR 150 pay the regular tariff rate.
• Counting units instead of categories: four pairs of socks pay EUR 3 once. Socks, a plush toy and a charging cable pay three times.
• Leaving out postage: invoiced postage counts towards the customs value.
• Assuming IOSS means no charges at all: IOSS covers VAT. The duty and fee are still due, usually from the declarant, and a declaration is still filed.
• Forgetting excise on small orders: alcohol, tobacco and certain coffees are taxed at any value, and tobacco products need a German tax stamp.

Excise goods. Alcohol, tobacco and substitutes, and certain coffee products are taxed whatever the value. They need a full H1 declaration, and up to EUR 150 they pay the EUR 3 as well. Tobacco and substitutes such as e-cigarette liquids also need a valid German tax stamp.

Preference by post. Zoll doesn't grant preference on post or courier shipments from the USA, Australia, Taiwan or Hong Kong. For non-commercial shipments between private individuals from preference countries other than Turkey, no written certificate is needed if the goods total at most EUR 500. Goods with a trade preference can only claim it in place of the flat duty if IOSS wasn't used and they're declared in H1, according to the Commission's guidance. See country of origin.

Zero rate on solar. Section 12(3) of the VAT Act sets 0% on imports of solar modules and essential components and storage, where the system is on or near homes or public-interest buildings. The conditions are presumed met at 30 kWp or less.

Collection from a customs office. Zoll holds parcels for 9 days and letters for 7 before they go back. Storage of at least EUR 5 applies from day 10.

Dates. The EUR 3 duty runs until 1 July 2028, then normal rates apply to distance sales. Details of the EU rule are in de minimis and IOSS and VAT. This is guidance, not legal advice.