How to Calculate True Profit on Amazon Europe: Fees, VAT, DST & Hidden Costs

You see a product on Amazon.de selling for €19.99. Your supplier offers it at €8.00. Quick mental math: "That's almost €12 profit!" And then reality kicks in.

After Amazon's referral fee, FBA fulfillment fee, storage, VAT adjustments, and that Digital Services Tax nobody told you about, your €12 "profit" is actually closer to €3.50. Maybe less.

Calculating true profit on Amazon Europe is more complicated than most sellers realize. There are at least six layers of costs between the selling price and what lands in your bank account. Miss one and your "profitable" product becomes a money loser.

The Complete Profit Formula

Here's the full formula, expanded to show every deduction:

Net Profit = Selling Price - Referral Fee - FBA Fulfillment Fee - Storage Fee - Cost of Goods - Shipping to FBA - VAT Adjustable Amount - DST

Each of these has nuances. Let's go through them.

1. Referral Fee (Amazon's Cut)

Amazon charges a percentage of the total selling price (including shipping, if any) for every sale. This is the referral fee, and it varies by category.

Most categories: 15%. This covers the majority of what wholesale sellers deal with — home & kitchen, health & personal care, beauty, grocery, sports, pet supplies, office products.

Some categories are lower: electronics and computers are typically 7%. Consumer electronics accessories: 8-15% depending on the price bracket.

Some are higher: jewelry can be 20%. Amazon device accessories: 45% (yes, really).

For a €19.99 product in a standard 15% category, the referral fee is €3.00.

For 2026, Amazon announced some referral fee reductions across European marketplaces, with average savings of 0.1-0.3% on certain categories. Nice, but not game-changing.

2. FBA Fulfillment Fee

This is what Amazon charges to pick, pack, and ship your product to the customer. It's based on the product's size and weight.

For 2026, Amazon restructured their fulfillment tiers in Europe. Instead of the old 12 size categories, there are now 7 streamlined tiers. You're charged a base rate for the first 100 grams, plus an additional rate per 100g after that.

Typical fulfillment fees for standard-size products on amazon.de:

Small envelope (under 80g): around €2.00-2.20
Standard parcel (up to 400g): around €2.80-3.20
Standard parcel (up to 900g): around €3.40-3.80
Large standard (up to 12kg): €4.50-6.00+
Oversize items: €5.80+ plus per-kg surcharges

Amazon reduced FBA fulfillment fees in Europe by an average of €0.32 per unit for 2026 (on top of reductions already made in 2025). That's meaningful when multiplied across thousands of units.

For our €19.99 product weighing 350g, the FBA fee is approximately €3.10.

3. Storage Fees

Amazon charges monthly storage fees based on the volume your inventory occupies in their warehouses. Rates vary by season:

January-September: approximately €15.60-26.00 per cubic meter per month (varies by category and specific fulfillment center).
October-December (peak season): approximately €21.60-36.00 per cubic meter per month.

For a standard-size product, the storage cost per unit per month is usually small — often €0.05-0.20. But it adds up if your inventory sits for months.

The real killer: aged inventory surcharges. Inventory sitting longer than 180 days gets hit with additional fees that escalate the longer it stays. After 271 days, the surcharges increase again. After 365 days, you're paying €170 per cubic meter on top of regular storage.

For our example, assuming 30 days of storage before sale: approximately €0.08.

4. VAT (Value Added Tax)

VAT is where European profit calculations diverge significantly from US ones. Every EU country has its own VAT rate, and it affects your profit differently depending on your VAT registration status.

Standard VAT rates per country (2026):

Germany: 19%
France: 20%
Italy: 22%
Spain: 21%
Netherlands: 21%
Belgium: 21%
Poland: 23%
Sweden: 25%

Here's how VAT works for profit calculation: The selling price on Amazon includes VAT. When you calculate profit, you need to strip out the VAT from the selling price to get the net revenue.

For our €19.99 product on amazon.de (19% VAT): the net selling price is €19.99 / 1.19 = €16.80. That's already €3.19 gone before any Amazon fees.

But here's the part many sellers miss: you also paid VAT on your purchase from the supplier (assuming they're EU-based and charged VAT). That input VAT is reclaimable. So while you owe €3.19 in output VAT, you can deduct the €1.52 input VAT from your €8.00 purchase (€8.00 × 19% = €1.52). Your actual VAT cost is the difference: €3.19 - €1.52 = €1.67.

If you're selling across multiple countries (say, .de, .fr, and .it), the VAT math changes for each marketplace because of different rates. A product that makes good profit on .de at 19% VAT might make less on .it at 22% VAT.

5. Digital Services Tax (DST)

This one surprises a lot of sellers. Several EU countries have implemented a Digital Services Tax that Amazon passes through to sellers as a "Digital Services Fee."

Amazon applies DST based on the seller's country of establishment and the marketplace where the sale happens. The fee is charged as a percentage of your selling fees (referral fees), not of the product price.

DST rates vary: France charges 3%, Italy 3%, Spain 3%, with other countries having different rates or no DST at all. On a practical level, DST adds roughly 0.3-0.5% to your total cost per sale. Not huge, but it's another cut from your margins.

For our example, DST on a German marketplace sale: approximately €0.05-0.10.

6. Hidden Costs Most Sellers Forget

Shipping to FBA. Getting your inventory from your supplier (or your home) to Amazon's warehouse costs money. Depending on weight, distance, and carrier, this can range from €0.10-0.80 per unit for domestic shipments. International shipments from other EU countries can be €0.50-2.00+ per unit. For our example: approximately €0.30.

Returns. Customers return products. Average return rate on Amazon Europe varies by category: electronics 5-15%, clothing 15-25%, health & household 2-5%, home & kitchen 3-8%. Each return costs you the original referral fee (sometimes partially refunded), return processing fee, and often the product can't be resold as "new." Budget 3-5% of revenue for returns on standard wholesale products. For our example product category (health & household), the estimated return cost per unit sold: approximately €0.25.

Currency conversion. If you sell on amazon.fr but your disbursement account is in euros, no conversion needed. But if you sell on amazon.se (Swedish kronor) or amazon.pl (Polish zloty) and withdraw to a euro account, Amazon's currency conversion service charges a spread of about 1.5%. Using a service like Wise or Payoneer can reduce this to 0.5-1%. If selling exclusively in eurozone marketplaces, this cost is zero.

Prep and labeling. If you prep products yourself, the cost is minimal (labels at €0.03-0.05 each, poly bags if needed at €0.02-0.05). If you use a prep center: €0.30-1.00 per unit. For our example: €0.05 (self-prep).

Tools and subscriptions. Amazon Professional account (€39/month), Keepa (€19/month), scanning tool (€30-80/month), repricing tool (€20-30/month). These are fixed costs that need to be spread across your total monthly sales. If you sell 500 units/month and spend €120/month on tools, that's €0.24 per unit.

The Complete Example: €19.99 Product on Amazon.de

Let's put it all together for our €19.99 product with an €8.00 cost:

Selling price: €19.99
Net price (ex. VAT 19%): €16.80
Minus referral fee (15%): -€3.00
Minus FBA fee (350g standard): -€3.10
Minus storage (30 days): -€0.08
Minus cost of goods (ex. VAT): -€6.72
Minus shipping to FBA: -€0.30
Minus DST: -€0.08
Minus returns allocation (3%): -€0.25
Minus prep/labels: -€0.05

Net profit per unit: approximately €3.22

That's a 19.2% margin on the selling price, or about 48% ROI on your cost. Solid — but notice how different it is from the naive "€19.99 minus €8.00 = €11.99 profit" calculation.

Now imagine the Buy Box price drops to €17.99 (common in competitive markets). Run the same calculation and your profit drops to about €1.54 per unit — still profitable, but barely. This is why checking Keepa price history is so critical before buying.

The Same Product on Different Marketplaces

Here's where it gets interesting. The same product selling at roughly equivalent prices on different marketplaces generates different profits because of VAT differences:

Amazon.de (19% VAT): Net profit ~€3.22
Amazon.fr (20% VAT): Net profit ~€3.08 (higher VAT eats into margin)
Amazon.it (22% VAT): Net profit ~€2.78 (highest standard VAT in major EU markets)
Amazon.es (21% VAT): Net profit ~€2.93

The difference between .de and .it is roughly €0.44 per unit. Multiply that by 200 units/month and it's €88/month in lost margin just from VAT differences. This is why marketplace selection matters for profitability, not just for sales volume.

Common Profit Calculation Mistakes

Calculating profit on the gross selling price. The most common mistake. If a product sells for €19.99, your revenue is NOT €19.99 — it's €16.80 (net of 19% VAT on .de). Many sellers compare their cost to the gross price and think they're making 40% margin when they're actually making 20%. Always work with VAT-exclusive numbers.

Forgetting to account for the referral fee minimum. Amazon charges the referral fee percentage OR a minimum amount (typically €0.30), whichever is higher. For very cheap products (under €2-3 selling price), the minimum kicks in and your effective referral fee percentage is much higher than 15%.

Using the wrong FBA fee tier. FBA fees are based on the product's actual dimensions and weight in Amazon's catalog, not what you think the product weighs. Amazon measures your product when it arrives at the fulfillment center, and their measurement might differ from yours. Oversize classifications trigger dramatically higher fees. Always verify the ASIN's fee in Amazon's fee calculator.

Ignoring the closing fee on media products. If you sell books, DVDs, music, or video games, there's an additional closing fee per sale (typically €0.50-1.50) that doesn't apply to other categories. This gets missed frequently.

Not budgeting for customer returns. Returns are a cost of doing business. If you calculate profit assuming zero returns, your actual margins will be lower. Build in 3-5% for most categories, higher for electronics and clothing.

Comparing profit across marketplaces without adjusting for VAT. A product selling for €20 on .de and €20 on .it doesn't generate the same profit. Germany's 19% VAT leaves you with €16.81 net; Italy's 22% leaves you with €16.39. Over hundreds of units, that difference adds up.

How to Track Actual vs. Projected Profit

Your scanning tool gives you projected profit. But projected profit and actual profit can differ, sometimes significantly. After you've been selling for a few months, compare the two.

Download your Amazon settlement reports (Payments > All Statements). These show exactly what Amazon charged you per order: referral fee, FBA fee, any other deductions. Compare the actual fees to what your scanning tool projected. If there's a consistent gap (and there usually is — projections tend to be slightly optimistic), adjust your minimum ROI threshold upward to compensate.

Some sellers add a "buffer" of 3-5 percentage points to their minimum ROI to account for these gaps. So instead of filtering for 20% ROI, they filter for 23-25%. It sounds conservative, but it protects you from edge cases where projected profits evaporate under real-world conditions.

Track your actual profit per product per month in a spreadsheet or accounting tool. After three months, you'll know which products genuinely perform and which ones looked good on paper but underdelivered. This data is what turns a beginner into an experienced seller — and it's data that no scanning tool can provide.

Quick Sanity Check Rules

You don't need to calculate every fee manually for every product (that's what scanning tools do). But keep these rules of thumb in mind:

Amazon's total take is typically 30-40% of the selling price. That includes referral fee (~15%), FBA fee (~15-20% of price for most standard products), and storage. For a rough estimate, take the selling price, multiply by 0.65, and that's approximately what you have left to cover your cost of goods and profit.

VAT reduces your available revenue by 16-20% (the exact impact depends on your input VAT recovery). Factor this in when evaluating margins.

If your cost is more than 35% of the selling price, margins will be very tight. For a €20 product, that means a cost above €7 gets risky. For a €30 product, above €10.50 is thin. This isn't a hard rule — it depends on fees for that specific product — but it's a useful filter.

Absolute profit under €2.50 per unit is dangerous. One return, one storage month too many, one price drop, and you're losing money. Aim for €3+ per unit on products under €20, and €5+ on products over €30.

The easiest way to avoid painful surprises: use a tool that calculates all of this automatically. Upload your supplier's price list, let the tool account for referral fees, FBA fees, VAT per marketplace, and give you the real profit number. Then verify the top candidates manually with Keepa. That's the workflow that keeps wholesale sellers profitable in Europe.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate Amazon FBA profit in Europe?

The formula is: Net Profit = Selling Price - Product Cost - Referral Fee (7-15%) - FBA Fulfillment Fee (EUR 2-5) - Storage Fee - VAT (19-25%) - Shipping to FBA. For a EUR 19.99 product on Amazon.de with a EUR 8 wholesale cost, expect roughly EUR 3-4 net profit after all deductions.

What are the current Amazon FBA fees in Europe for 2026?

As of 2026, Amazon reduced FBA fees by an average of EUR 0.17 per unit. Referral fees range from 7-15% depending on category. FBA fulfillment fees start at EUR 2.41 for small standard items and go up to EUR 12+ for large items. Monthly storage costs EUR 0.028-0.036 per cubic meter per day, with peak season surcharges in Q4.

How does VAT affect profit calculation for Amazon Europe?

VAT rates vary by country: Germany 19%, France 20%, Italy 22%, Spain 21%, Netherlands 21%, Poland 23%. If you are VAT-registered, you collect VAT on the selling price and deduct input VAT on purchases. Under the OSS (One-Stop-Shop) scheme, you report VAT for all EU countries through one portal. VAT is not a direct cost but affects your cash flow.

What is DST (Digital Services Tax) and does it affect Amazon sellers?

DST is a tax some EU countries charge on digital services revenue. Amazon passes this cost to sellers in affected countries: France 3%, Italy 3%, Spain 3%, UK 2%. This is deducted from your revenue before payout. On a EUR 20 sale in France, you lose an additional EUR 0.60 to DST on top of all other fees.

What profit margin should I aim for with Amazon FBA wholesale?

Target a minimum 15% net profit margin after ALL costs (product, fees, VAT, shipping). Good performers achieve 20-25%. Below 10% net margin is risky because unexpected returns, storage surcharges, or price drops can wipe out your profit. In EUR terms, aim for at least EUR 2-3 net profit per unit.

Are Amazon fees the same across all European marketplaces?

FBA fulfillment fees are the same across EU marketplaces for standard-size items. However, referral fee percentages can differ slightly by marketplace and category. Storage fees depend on the fulfillment center location. The biggest difference is VAT rates (19-25%) and DST (0-3%), which significantly affect your net margin per marketplace.