Operators of digital platforms in the European Union, for example online marketplaces such as eBay, are legally obliged to comply with rules from the EU Tax Directive known as DAC7. Because eBay GmbH as your online marketplace provider has its registered office in Germany, the German implementation of the DAC7 Directive, the Platform Tax Transparency Act (PStTG), applies.
If you reach sales volumes or value defined by DAC7 within a calendar year, eBay has to report certain personal and transactional data of its users to the German tax authority once a year.
Your data will be reported if:
- You reside in the EU and
- if in a calendar year,
- the consideration from your sales on eBay equals or exceeds €2,000 after deducting fees and commissions or taxes
or - if you complete 30 or more transactions, i.e. sales on eBay (cancelled transactions are not included in the calculation)
- the consideration from your sales on eBay equals or exceeds €2,000 after deducting fees and commissions or taxes
The total amount of your consideration equals the full amount available for you to receive for your sales transactions, including any shipping costs and taxes that you may receive, such as VAT. Taxes collected and remitted by eBay, taxes charged on fees, and amounts deducted by eBay for fees, coupons, cancelled or deleted orders, and returns are excluded from the calculation.
Reports to the tax authority are made annually in January for the previous year.
DAC7/PStTG does not change your tax obligations. It only addresses the question of whether eBay is obliged to report your data. It does not necessarily mean that you have to pay taxes in connection with the amounts reported. Whether or which taxes are due on your sales on eBay may depend on your overall sales activity, not limited to eBay, and on whether you are acting privately or commercially. We recommend that you consult a tax advisor if you have any questions about your tax obligations.
Providing your Personal Public Service Number or TRN
Due to the PStTG (DAC7 Directive) rules, as part of the reportable data eBay is legally required to collect your TRN or your Personal Public Service Number (PPS No) or place of birth if you are an individual and don't have a PPs No. If your information is not stored in your eBay account yet, you will see a banner in your seller dashboard once you initially reach €2,000 in consideration or complete 30 transactions. You will also receive an email asking you to provide the respective information.
Below you will find information on the format and where to find your Personal Public Service Number (PPS No) or TRN:
| Individuals (includes sole traders) | Legal entities | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Personal Public Service Number (PPS No) | Tax reference number, TRN |
| Format | 9999999L(L) 7 digits + either 1 or 2 letters |
9999999L(L) 7 digits + either 1 or 2 letters |
| Where can I find it | PPSN are not reported on official documents of identification. Taxpayers are informed of their PPSN following registration and they can be found on tax return forms, tax assessments and PAYE Notice of Tax Credits. In addition, the PPSN can be found on: 1) Public Services Card, 2) Social Services Card, 3) Drugs Payment Scheme Card, 4) Medical Card, 4) GP visit card, 5) European Health Insurance Card and 5) Temporary Payment Card. |
TRNs are not reported on official documents of identification. Taxpayers are informed of their TRN following registration and the TRN can be found on the corporation tax return form. |
If for some reason you do not have a PPSN or TRN, you may be able to apply for one. For more information on how to apply for a PPSN or TRN, please reach out to local tax authorities or a tax advisor.
If you are required to provide the respective information but don’t provide it, your account may be subject to payout holds or restrictions on selling privileges.
Tip
Please be aware that the PPSN or TRN are different to the VAT Identification Number. Please refer to the above section as to where you can find your PPSN or TRN.
Reporting data
Under DAC7, a platform operator is obligated to report the information via the tax authority of the platform operator’s Member State of residence. For eBay GmbH, this is the German Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt). eBay will report the respective information to the German tax authorities (BZSt) for all sellers residing in the EU who have relevant activity during the reporting year. If you reside in another EU country, the German tax authorities will share your information with the relevant tax authorities in your Member State of residence.
The following information will be shared with the tax authorities:
| Individual sellers (including sole traders) | Legal entities |
|---|---|
| First and last name | Business/Legal name |
| Primary address | Primary address |
| Member state where seller is resident | Member state where seller is resident |
| Date of birth | Business registration number |
| Personal Public Service Number (PPS No); place of birth if you do not possess a PPS No |
Tax reference number (TRN) |
| VAT identification number, where available | VAT identification number, where available |
|
Total amount paid or credited to the seller during each quarter of the period, excluding*:
|
Total amount paid or credited to the seller during each quarter of the period, excluding*:
|
| Total number of transactions the total amount corresponds to | Total number of transactions the total amount corresponds to |
| Total of fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the platform during each quarter of the period | Total of fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the platform during each quarter of the period |
| Number of the bank account to which sales proceeds are paid or credited | Number of the bank account to which sales proceeds paid or credited |
| Name on the bank account | Name on the bank account |
| Any Permanent Establishment** through which Relevant Activities are carried out in the European Union, where available, indicating each respective Member State, where such a Permanent Establishment is located |
* Consequently, the amount eBay has to report may differ from the total amount of payments you actually received from eBay.
** A Permanent Establishment (PE) is generally a fixed place of business, but the exact definition varies from country to country depending on any tax treaty that may be in place. You should contact your tax advisor to determine if you have a Permanent Establishment in another Member State.
Understand what is reported under DAC7/ PStTG
If we have to report your data under DAC7/PStTG we will provide you with a copy of the data reported to the tax authorities in a PDF file. There will be also a CSV file available, that will contain the transactions we used to calculate the total numbers in the PDF. The data in the CSV file is only being shared with you and not reported to the tax authorities. As soon as the PDF and CSV files are available, you will receive an email and a notification in your eBay account. You can download both reports in Seller Hub or My eBay. Here's how:
- Go to the Payments tab - opens in new window or tab in Seller Hub or Payments - opens in new window or tab in My eBay.
- Select Taxes on the left hand side menu bar.
or go to the Reports and Taxes section and select See all. - Select Generate under Platform Tax Transparency Report and under Annual Report or under Detailed File to generate a PDF or CSV file.
Data protection
We protect your personal data through leading edge technical and organisational security measures to minimise risks associated with data loss, misuse, unauthorised access and unauthorised disclosure and alteration. To this end we use firewalls and data encryption, for example, as well as physical access restrictions for our datacenters and authorisation controls for data access. We also recommend you enable 2-step verification on your eBay account. We’ll give you ongoing visibility into any information we collect and the ability to easily update your preferences at any time. You can find further information on our data security in our User Privacy Notice.
What else sellers should know
Whether you are trading privately or commercially does not depend on reaching the values specified by DAC7/PStTG. The question of whether you are acting commercially or whether tax obligations result from your sales activity depends on your sales activity as a whole. If you are unsure if your selling activity on eBay qualifies as private or commercial or if you have further questions regarding your tax obligations, please contact your tax advisor.