What Zollgebühren will I pay on a parcel to Germany?
Three separate amounts can appear on a parcel arriving in Germany: customs duty, Einfuhrumsatzsteuer — German import VAT at 19% — and a service fee from Deutsche Post/DHL or an express courier. Germans lump them together as Zollgebühren, but they are set by different parties and calculated on different bases.
Einfuhrumsatzsteuer: Germany's import VAT at 19%
For a non-IOSS import, German import VAT is 19% of the goods price plus shipping plus any customs duty — not of the sticker price alone. If your seller was IOSS-registered, the same 19% was already in your checkout total, calculated on goods plus shipping, and no VAT is collected again at the border.
What Deutsche Post/DHL does with your parcel
Postal imports are presented to Zoll by Deutsche Post/DHL. When duty or tax is owed and was not prepaid, DHL advances the money and collects it from you at delivery, together with a presentation fee that falls in the €0–€8 range in our data.
Express shipments through DHL Express or UPS clear faster, but the brokerage fee is steeper — expect something in the €5–€20 band. Which service carried your parcel often affects the fee more than the parcel's contents do.
IOSS or not: what actually lands in your Briefkasten
From an IOSS marketplace order, the checkout price already contained German VAT, and the customs side is the flat €3 per distinct HS6 tariff line in the box. From a non-IOSS seller, plan for three additions at once: the product's standard tariff rate, 19% import VAT on the grossed-up base, and DHL's advancement fee. On a cheap order that stack can rival the price of the goods themselves.
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Frequently asked questions
- How much is import VAT in Germany?
- Germany's import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer) is 19%. On a non-IOSS parcel it is charged on the goods value plus shipping plus any customs duty. On an IOSS marketplace order the same rate was applied at checkout on goods plus shipping, so nothing further is due at the border. The rate is set by German law, not by the carrier handling the parcel.
- Why is DHL charging me a fee on top of customs?
- Because DHL advanced the duty and VAT to Zoll on your behalf and charges a service fee for doing so. It is a carrier charge, not a government levy: our seed ranges are €0–€8 on the postal side and €5–€20 for express brokerage. When tax was prepaid through an IOSS checkout there is normally nothing to advance, so no fee arises.
- Do I pay customs on a €20 Temu order to Germany?
- Expect the flat duty rather than a percentage: Temu checkouts are normally IOSS-registered, so German VAT at 19% was in your total already, and customs charges €3 for each distinct HS6 tariff line your order contains. A €20 order with four different product types therefore owes the per-line duty four times, while four variants of one product owe it once.
- Is anything due at delivery when I ordered with IOSS?
- Usually the customs-duty side at most. Your German VAT was settled at checkout, so there is no import VAT to collect on arrival. What remains is the flat per-line duty on consignments up to €150; depending on the marketplace's setup you may see it in the checkout total or on the carrier's payment request. If a courier asks for VAT a second time, query it with the seller.