Selling online courses, e-books and templates: VAT and the OSS portal
Written by Ilias Aarrass6 min read · Last reviewed on 
Written by Ilias Aarrass6 min read · Last reviewed on A video course, an e-book, presets, templates or a paid members' area: digital products are a second income stream for ever more freelancers. Once you deliver them automatically to consumers in other EU countries, a VAT rule appears that many sellers discover too late: not the Dutch rate counts, but that of your buyer's country. Sounds like 27 returns, but thanks to the one-stop shop, the OSS, it stays one extra quarterly filing.
When foreign VAT kicks in
For automatically delivered digital services to consumers an EU threshold of € 10,000 revenue per calendar year applies, across all your cross-border digital sales and distance sales combined. Below it you may simply charge Dutch VAT. Cross it and from that moment you charge each buyer's country rate: 19% for a German customer, 25% for a Swedish one. Selling to a business with a valid VAT number, the VAT is reverse-charged as with other B2B services; this story is about consumers.
The OSS: one filing for every country
Without a scheme you would have to register in every customer country. The union scheme of the one-stop shop solves it: you register once through the business tax portal, charge the correct foreign rate per sale and report all that foreign VAT quarterly in one OSS filing. The tax authority distributes the money to the countries. Your ordinary Dutch VAT return continues for domestic revenue and input VAT. Selling via a platform such as a course marketplace? Check who handles the VAT: many platforms do it themselves and pay you as a supplier to the platform.
Practical: rates, evidence and records
It becomes workable mainly with the right tooling and a few habits:
- Have your sales platform or payment provider record the buyer's location and apply the right rate; most checkout systems do this natively.
- Keep per sale the evidence of the buyer's country, such as billing address and payment data; they substantiate your OSS filing.
- Split revenue by country and rate in your records, so the quarterly filing is a sum rather than a search.
- Mind your price display: consumer prices include VAT, so with one fixed price across Europe your margin varies by country.
How this connects to the rest of your VAT
The OSS filing sits beside, not instead of, your regular return. Dutch sales stay in your normal VAT return, as does all input VAT; the OSS filing cannot refund input VAT. Mind the interplay with the small business scheme: that exemption covers only Dutch revenue, so someone under the KOR selling digitally to EU consumers deals with both regimes at once. Selling physical goods across borders too? Also read e-commerce bookkeeping; the same OSS filing covers those distance sales as well.
Frequently asked questions
Does this also cover live online lessons or video coaching?
No. A service with substantial human intervention, like live teaching or personal coaching, is not an automatically delivered digital service; ordinary service rules apply. The test: if the customer can consume it without you doing anything at that moment, it is digital.
I sell through a large course platform. Do I still need OSS?
Often not: many platforms act as the seller to the end customer for VAT and settle the foreign VAT themselves; you effectively invoice the platform. Verify this explicitly in the terms, as it differs per platform and determines your whole VAT treatment.
What about customers outside the EU, such as the US or UK?
For consumers outside the EU no Dutch or EU VAT is due; local rules may apply though, such as the UK registration duty for digital sales to British consumers. At modest volumes the risk is small, but at serious per-country revenue a check of local rules pays.
Can I join the OSS retroactively after passing the threshold?
Registration in principle takes effect from the next quarter, so sign up as soon as you see the threshold approaching. If you charged Dutch VAT too long where foreign was due, repair it with your bookkeeper; the sooner, the smaller the problem.
This article provides general information based on the rules known for 2026 and does not replace personal tax advice. For your specific situation, we're happy to take a look with you.
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Ilias
