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EU VAT Rates, VAT Number Formats & Thresholds

Within the principal EU VAT directive, articles exist which dictate that EU member states must apply a standard rate of VAT within a particular range, and may also choose to apply a reduced VAT rate no lower than 5% (although certain EU member states may have derogations from this which allows a lower percentage).

The directive also specifies the nature of the goods and services to which the reduced rate may be applied, and as a result of this many EU member states apply the reduced rate to the same types of products (i.e. foodstuffs, books).

European member states may on occasion reclassify goods to be reduced or standard rated, and it is important to be aware of any changes that occur.

Every European member state has a slightly different format for their VAT number system, featuring a variation of numbers and letters. It is important that companies take close care in using the correct format as the numbers are frequently checked against the VIES system, and errors may create delays or even fines. You can also make use of our VAT Number Checker tool.

Below is a summary of the EU VAT Rates, VAT Number Formats and Thresholds.

Country VAT Rates VAT Number Format Distance Selling Threshold Intrastat Threshold
Austria
AT		 20% (Std.)
10/13% (Reduced) 		ATU12345678 €35,000 €750,000 (Arrivals)
€750,000 (Dispatches)
Belgium
BE 		21% (Std.)
6/12% (Reduced) 		BE1234567890 € 35,000 €1,500,000 (Arrivals)
€1,000,000 (Dispatches)
Bulgaria
BG		 20% (Std.)
9% (Reduced) 		BG123456789 BGN 70,000 BGN 460,000 (Arrivals)
BGN 280,000 (Dispatches)
Cyprus
CY		 19% (Std.)
5 / 9% (Reduced) 		CY12345678X € 35,000 €160,000 (Arrivals)
€55,000 (Dispatches)
Czech Republic
CZ		 21% (Std.)
10 / 15% (Reduced) 		CZ12345678 CZK 1,140,000 CZK 12,000,000 (Arrivals)
CZK 12,000,000 (Dispatches)
Germany
DE 		19% (Std.)
7% (Reduced) 		DE123456789 € 100,000 € 800,000 (Arrivals)
€ 500,000 (Dispatches)
Denmark
DK 		25% (Std.)
N/A (Reduced) 		DK12345678 DKK 280,000 DKK 6,700,000 (Arrivals)
DKK 5,000,000 (Dispatches)
Estonia
EE 		20% (Std.)
9% (Reduced) 		EE123456789 € 35,000 € 200,000 (Arrivals)
€ 130,000 (Dispatches)
Greece
EL 		24% (Std.)
6 / 13% (Reduced) 		EL123456789 € 35,000 € 150,000 (Arrivals)
€ 90,000 (Dispatches)
Spain
ES		 21% (Std.)
4 / 10% (Reduced) 		ESX12345678 € 35,000 € 400,000 (Arrivals)
€ 400,000 (Dispatches)
Finland
FI 		24% (Std.)
10 / 14% (Reduced) 		FI12345678 € 35,000 € 600,000 (Arrivals)
€ 600,000 (Dispatches)
France
FR 		20% (Std.)
5 / 10% (Reduced) 		FR12345678901 € 35,000 € 460,000 (Arrivals)
€ 460,000 (Dispatches)
Croatia
HR 		25% (Std.)
5 / 13% (Reduced) 		HR12345678901 € 35,000 HRK 2.2 million (Arrivals)
HRK 1.2 million (Dispatches)
Hungary
HU 		27% (Std.)
5 / 18% (Reduced) 		HU12345678 HUF 8,800,000 HUF 170,000,000 (Arrivals)
HUF 100,000,000 (Dispatches)
Ireland
IE 		23% (Std.)
4.8 / 9 / 13.5%
(Reduced) 		IE1234567WA € 35,000 € 500,000 (Arrivals)
€ 635,000 (Dispatches)
Italy
IT 		22% (Std.)
4/5/10% (Reduced) 		IT12345678901 € 35,000 N/A (Arrivals)
N/A (Dispatches)
Lithuania
LT 		21% (Std.)
5 / 9% (Reduced) 		LT123456789 € 35,000 € 280,000 (Arrivals)
€ 200,000 (Dispatches)
Luxembourg
LU 		17% (Std.)
3 / 8 / 14% (Reduced) 		LU12345678 € 100,000 € 200,000 (Arrivals)
€ 150,000 (Dispatches)
Latvia
LV 		21% (Std.)
12% (Reduced) 		LV12345678901 € 35,000 € 180,000 (Arrivals)
€ 100,000 (Dispatches)
Malta
MT 		18% (Std.)
5 / 7% (Reduced) 		MT12345678 € 35,000 € 700 (Arrivals)
€ 700 (Dispatches)
Netherlands
NL 		21% (Std.)
9% (Reduced) 		NL123456789B01 € 100,000 € 800,000 (Arrivals)
€ 1,000,000 (Dispatches)
Poland
PL 		23% (Std.)
5 / 8% (Reduced) 		PL1234567890 PLN 160,000 PLN 4,000,000 (Arrivals)
PLN 2,000,000 (Dispatches)
Portugal
PT 		23% (Std.)
6 / 13 % (Reduced) 		PT123456789 € 35,000 € 350,000 (Arrivals)
€ 250,000 (Dispatches)
Romania
RO 		19% (Std.)
5 / 9% (Reduced) 		RO1234567890 RON 118,000 RON 900,000 (Arrivals)
RON 900,000 (Dispatches)
Sweden
SE 		25% (Std.)
6 / 12% (Reduced) 		SE123456789012 SEK 320,000 SEK 9,000,000 (Arrivals)
SEK 4,500,000 (Dispatches)
Slovenia
SI 		22% (Std.)
9.50% (Reduced) 		SI12345678 € 35,000 € 120,000 (Arrivals)
€ 200,000 (Dispatches)
Slovakia / Slovak Republic
SK 		20% (Std.)
10% (Reduced) 		SK1234567890 € 35,000 € 200,000 (Arrivals)
€ 400,000 (Dispatches)
United Kingdom
UK 		20% (Std.)
0 / 5% (Reduced) 		UK123456789 GBP 70,000 £1,500,000 (Arrivals)
£250,000 (Dispatches)

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