Do I charge VAT? Free EU VAT and reverse charge checker for freelancers
Is it domestic VAT, reverse charge, or no VAT at all? Choose your country, your client’s country and what type of client they are, and get the treatment and the sentence to write on the invoice.
A planning aid, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Your figures are calculated in your browser. If you enter your e-mail to see the results, we store it together with the figures you entered.
The rules behind it
- Services to businesses (B2B): taxed where the customer is. Same country: domestic VAT. VAT-registered business in another EU country: reverse charge, so you charge no VAT and they account for it.
- Professional services to private customers (B2C): taxed where you are established, so you charge your own VAT.
- Electronically supplied services to private customers (software, downloads, online courses): taxed where the customer is. Above EUR 10,000 of EU-wide sales you charge their country’s rate through the One-Stop Shop.
- Outside the EU: services to businesses are outside the scope of EU VAT.
- These are the general rules for services. Goods, property, events, transport and some other services have special rules.
Do this automatically in Frusma
Frusma applies these rules automatically when you create an invoice and writes the reverse-charge wording for you.
Questions
What is reverse charge?
For cross-border B2B services in the EU, the customer, not you, accounts for the VAT in their own country. You invoice without VAT and state that the reverse charge applies, quoting both VAT numbers.
How do I check a client’s VAT number?
Use the EU’s VIES service. Keep a record of the check. If the number is not valid, treat the client as a private customer and charge VAT.
My client is a business without a VAT number. What now?
Without a valid VAT number, they are treated like a private customer, so you charge VAT according to the B2C rule. Ask them for the number: with it you can use reverse charge.
What if I am a small business exempt from VAT?
You do not charge VAT, and you do not apply reverse charge either, because you are not registered. The exemption note you must put on invoices depends on your country.
Is this tax advice?
No. It is general information based on the EU VAT Directive for services. Confirm your case with your accountant or tax authority.