OSS and IOSS returns
Nordlet works out the quarterly OSS return and the monthly IOSS return, country by country and rate by rate, from the invoices you issue.
When a business sells to consumers in other EU countries, the VAT is often due in the buyer's country, at that country's rate. Registering for VAT in every one of those countries would be a lot of work.
The One Stop Shop (OSS) avoids that. The business registers in one EU country and reports the VAT for all the other EU countries on one return. That country passes the money on to the others.
- The Union OSS scheme covers sales of goods sent to consumers in another EU country and services to consumers that are taxed in another EU country. The return is quarterly.
- The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) covers goods imported from outside the EU and sold to EU consumers in consignments worth up to €150. The return is monthly.
Nordlet is OSS VAT return software: it turns the invoices you issue in Nordlet into the figures each return needs.
What Nordlet does
- Lets you mark each sales invoice as Union OSS or IOSS, with the country where the consumer is. That country is required for both schemes.
- Can pick the scheme for you. Choose Automatic and Nordlet decides from the customer's country, the customer's VAT number and whether you sell goods, services or digital services.
- Keeps a reference list of the VAT rates of all 27 EU countries, by date.
- Tracks the €10 000 EU-wide limit for sales to consumers in other EU countries from your own invoices. Below that limit such a sale can stay taxed in your own country. The EU VAT engine guide explains the rule (article 59c of the VAT Directive).
- Works out the OSS return for a quarter: one row per country of consumption and VAT rate, marked as standard or reduced, with the taxable amount and the VAT.
- Works out the IOSS return for a month in the same shape.
- Converts amounts to euro at the official rate of the last day of the period.
Credit notes and corrections
A credit note reduces or cancels an invoice you already issued.
- A credit note for an invoice of the same period is subtracted from that period's rows.
- A credit note for an invoice of an earlier period goes into a separate corrections list. Each row shows the country, the original period and the change in VAT, as the EU return format requires.
- A credit note that is not linked to its original invoice is subtracted from the current period, with a warning so you can link it.
Warnings before you file
The return lists warnings for:
- a rate that is not a legal rate in that country for that period
- lines at 0 % that were left out
- invoices with no country of consumption
- sales taxed in your own country, which belong on your national VAT return and not on the OSS return
How the return goes out
Nordlet shows the OSS and IOSS figures. It does not build a file for them or send them. You enter the figures in the OSS portal of the country where you are registered for the scheme.
Nordlet works out these returns for any company established in the EU. Your national VAT return is separate; see VAT returns.
Frequently asked questions
Which invoices end up on the OSS return?
Only issued invoices and credit notes with the Union OSS scheme. Invoices with the IOSS scheme go on the IOSS return. Every other invoice stays on your national VAT return.
Does Nordlet handle sales through a marketplace?
An invoice can carry the Marketplace (deemed supplier) scheme. That is for a sale through a platform that counts as the seller for VAT. Your sale to the platform then carries no VAT, and the platform reports the VAT on the sale to the consumer. The blog post on OSS, IOSS and the deemed-supplier rule explains it with an example.