New tax rules for online sellers: Everything you need to know about the platform tax transparency law

New tax rules for online sellers: Everything you need to know about the platform tax transparency law

The Platforms Tax Transparency Act (PSTG) has been obliging to report certain data to the Federal Center Office (BZST) since January 2023. This information is then forwarded to the German tax offices and the authorities in other EU countries in which the providers are considered to be based. The reporting obligation concerns both natural and legal persons who sell and arise on platforms such as eBay if either more than 30 sales transactions are carried out per year or the income from sales minus fees, commissions and taxes are at least 2,000 euros.

To ensure that commercial or other relevant sellers are recorded, these threshold values ​​were determined. Although the platform transparency law has been in force since January 2023, the first reports are only submitted for the previous year in March 2024. The Federal Central Tax Office has extended the original deadline until the end of March 2024 so that platform operators and sellers have enough time to prepare for the new regulations and adapt their systems.

The Federal Ministry of Finance published a letter in February 2023 that provides detailed information on the application questions of the Platforms Tax Transparency Act. An important criterion in the law states that providers are exempt if they make fewer than 30 sales and earn less than 2,000 euros. If the message is refrained from the BZST, fines of up to 50,000 euros are threatened. It is therefore crucial for online sellers to check their sales activities in recent years and to ensure that all transactions have been properly taxed.

In the event of uncertainties or missed reports, tax consultants or lawyers should be consulted. The platform transparency law contributes to tax justice, but demands increased attention to the tax recording of your online business from all market participants. This means an additional responsibility for sellers and requires a precise review and, if necessary, correction of your tax information.