When do you need to register for the OSS one-stop shop to sell to other EU countries?
The €10,000 threshold is a single combined figure for the whole EU, not one per country. Many stores cross it without noticing during the Christmas season.
Short answer
- The threshold is €10,000 per year, adding up all distance sales to consumers across the EU.
- Below the threshold you may keep charging Spanish VAT, or opt into the OSS voluntarily.
- Once you exceed it, you charge the buyer's national VAT from the transaction that crosses the limit.
- Registration in the scheme is requested from the Spanish tax agency using form 035.
- The return is quarterly through form 369, and it replaces registering in each country.
How the scheme works
- Add up your distance sales to EU consumers for the current and the previous year.
- If you exceed €10,000, request OSS registration with form 035 before the quarter in which you start using it.
- Configure the VAT rate of each destination country in the store.
- File form 369 each quarter and pay the VAT for every country to the Spanish tax agency.
- Keep the scheme's transaction ledger: it must be retained for ten years.
OSS and IOSS are not the same
Two one-stop shops for two situations
| Scheme | What it covers | Return |
|---|---|---|
| OSS | Distance sales to consumers within the EU | Form 369, quarterly |
| IOSS | Imports of consignments not exceeding €150 | Form 369, monthly |
Practical example
Example: an accessories store invoices €6,500 to France, €2,800 to Italy and €1,200 to Portugal in the same year. The total is €10,500, so the threshold is exceeded even though no single country reaches €10,000. From the order that crosses the limit, French, Italian or Portuguese VAT must be charged by destination and declared in form 369.
Common mistakes
- Believing the threshold is €10,000 per country rather than a combined total.
- Continuing to charge Spanish 21% VAT after crossing the limit.
- Counting sales to VAT-registered businesses towards the threshold, when those are not distance sales.
- Forgetting that the OSS transaction ledger must be kept for ten years.
How 4shopy helps
- You can set VAT rates per destination country instead of a single global rate.
- Orders store the delivery country, the taxable base and the tax amount — exactly what form 369 asks for.
- Exporting by country and quarter is done from the dashboard, with no manual counting.
- Opening a new language and currency for a market is configuration, not development work.