The one-sentence answer
If the goods are already inside the EU and you're shipping them to a consumer in another EU country, you're in OSS territory — and the €10,000 threshold is your rule. If the goods are being imported from outside the EU and each parcel is worth €150 or less, that's IOSS — and the €10,000 threshold has nothing to do with it.
This is a self-check aid, not tax advice. See the disclaimer at the bottom, and verify anything before you file or invoice.
Side by side
There are actually three "one-stop-shop" schemes; the two that get confused are the Union OSS (for EU-based sellers) and IOSS (for low-value imports). Here's the split:
| Aspect | Union OSS | IOSS (Import OSS) |
|---|---|---|
| Where are the goods? | Already inside the EU, shipped cross-border to a consumer in another EU country | Imported from outside the EU (a "third country") straight to an EU consumer |
| Value limit per parcel | None | Intrinsic value €150 or less per consignment |
| Sales threshold | €10,000 combined EU-wide (below it, charge home-country VAT) | No threshold — destination VAT from the first sale if you opt in |
| What it covers | Cross-border B2C distance sales of goods, plus B2C TBE/other services taxed in the customer's country | Distance sales of imported goods only (≤ €150) |
| Typical seller | An EU shop shipping to consumers in other EU countries (e.g. a Spanish store sending to France) | A seller (often non-EU) sending low-value parcels directly to EU consumers |
| Optional? | Optional below €10,000; the destination-VAT rule is mandatory once you cross it | Optional — the alternative is standard import VAT or the postal "special arrangements" |
Union OSS — where the €10,000 threshold lives
The Union One Stop Shop is for sellers established in the EU making cross-border B2C sales of goods (and certain services) to consumers in other member states. It's a filing convenience: instead of registering for VAT in every country you sell into, you charge each customer their own country's VAT rate and declare it all through a single OSS return in your home country.
The €10,000 figure is a de-minimis simplification that sits under it. While your combined cross-border B2C total (goods + TBE services, EU-wide) for the current and previous calendar year stays at or below €10,000, you can keep charging your home country's VAT rate and skip OSS entirely. The moment your running total crosses €10,000, that transaction — and every one after it — is taxed at the destination country's rate, normally declared through OSS.
That running total is the one moving part — and it's exactly what the calculator tracks. Enter last year's cross-border total and this year's transactions; it tells you line by line whether home- or destination-country VAT applies, and which transaction (if any) crosses €10,000.
Open the €10,000 threshold calculator → · Do I even need OSS? (6-question guide)
IOSS — imports up to €150, and no €10,000 threshold at all
The Import One Stop Shop covers a completely different flow: goods imported from outside the EU in consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less, sold directly to EU consumers. It lets you collect the destination-country VAT at checkout and remit it through one monthly IOSS return, so the parcel clears customs without VAT being charged again to the buyer on delivery.
The critical difference for anyone coming from the OSS side: IOSS has no €10,000 threshold, and in fact no sales threshold of any kind. If you use it, destination-country VAT applies from your very first sale. The only number that gates IOSS is the €150 per-consignment value — above that, IOSS doesn't apply and the goods follow standard import-VAT (and customs) rules instead.
IOSS is also optional. If you don't register for it, low-value imports can still be handled through the "special arrangements" (VAT collected by the postal operator or courier on delivery) or ordinary import VAT — you just lose the collect-at- checkout simplification.
Selling low-value imports into the EU? That's an IOSS question, and the €10,000 calculator on this site won't help you — it tracks the OSS distance-selling threshold, which imports don't have. Talk to a filing service or accountant about IOSS registration (which needs an EU intermediary if you're established outside the EU).
Which one am I? A 10-second test
Ask yourself, for the sale in front of you:
- Are the goods already in the EU when the customer buys? (e.g. in your home warehouse, shipping to another EU country) → Union OSS. Watch the €10,000 threshold.
- Are the goods coming from outside the EU, ≤ €150 per parcel? → IOSS. No €10,000 threshold; the number that matters is €150 per consignment.
- Coming from outside the EU but over €150 per parcel? → neither low-value scheme; standard import VAT and customs rules apply.
- Selling B2C services (not goods) cross-border in the EU? → the Union OSS covers those too, under the same €10,000 threshold for TBE services; non-EU sellers of services use the separate non-Union OSS (no €10,000 threshold).
A single business can genuinely need both — for example, an EU shop that ships domestic stock across the EU (OSS) and also drop-ships low-value parcels from a supplier outside the EU (IOSS). They're not mutually exclusive; they just cover different sales.
What's changing (and what isn't)
Two separate reforms are worth knowing so you don't conflate them:
1 July 2026 — the €150 customs-duty exemption ends
Until 30 June 2026, consignments valued at €150 or less were exempt from customs duty (they were never exempt from VAT — that's what IOSS is for). From 1 July 2026 the EU removes that customs-duty exemption and applies a temporary flat €3 customs duty per item on low-value imports, expected to run until 1 July 2028. Importantly, this is a customs-duty change and applies regardless of which VAT scheme you use (IOSS, special arrangements, or standard) — it does not by itself change the €150 IOSS value limit or the €10,000 OSS threshold.
1 January 2027 — the OSS €10,000 threshold narrows
Separately, under the "VAT in the Digital Age" (ViDA) package, from 1 January 2027 the €10,000 OSS threshold will only count distance sales dispatched from your own home member state. If you dispatch from a single EU country, nothing changes for you. See what changes on 1 January 2027 for the full before/after.
The €150 IOSS value limit itself is under review in later EU reform proposals, but as of now €150 remains the operative figure — check current guidance before relying on any future date.
Next steps
- The €10,000 OSS threshold calculator — enter your cross-border transactions, see exactly where (if anywhere) you cross.
- Do I need to register for OSS? — a 6-question decision guide.
- The SME exemption scheme — a way to skip OSS and VAT collection entirely if you qualify.
- 3 worked examples of how the running total plays out, transaction by transaction.
- What changes on 1 January 2027 — the ViDA threshold change, and who it affects.
- Embed the calculator on your own VAT/tax writeup with one line of HTML.
Disclaimer
This page and the calculator are a self-check aid, not tax advice or a filing system. OSS and IOSS each have detailed eligibility rules, marketplace deemed-supplier provisions, and country-specific registration steps this summary doesn't cover; IOSS registration by a non-EU seller generally requires an EU-established intermediary. The €10,000 threshold applies to the Union OSS scheme only, never to IOSS. Customs-duty and VAT are separate charges with separate rules. Verify anything against the EU Commission's VAT One Stop Shop portal or an accountant before filing or invoicing.