How to set up VAT and taxes for an Austrian online store?

[DenisPuric]

I am planning on opening my own Shopify store in Austria and I was wondering on how to complete setting up my taxes and VAT. I have a few questions and concerns. For context, lets just say that I wish to dropship products from my store in Austria to European and American countries.

BUSINESS:

• Do I have to register my business in Austria and if so...
• when should I register it,
• what type of business

VAT:

• Firstly, I wish to know if I even have to charge VAT as a resident of Europe. And if so...
• when and how much VAT must I charge,
• where and when is VAT charged and if I, as the store owner, have to pay anything

TAX:

• How to setup taxes 
• when and where I have to pay them

I would gladly jump in a call with someone, if it is easier to explain for you to talk to me face to face. Any help I can get is appreciated!!!

[TeemuEAS]

Belated answer DenisPuric, but here goes: 

Yes, you will have to register your business where-ever you are going to run it / warehouse goods. Dropshipping fits into that category. You should register immediately, before you commence to avoid sleepless nights and avoidable costs later. 

You might be able to get way with simple (ok, EU -> reasonbly) VAT registration. The challenge it that tax authorities will try to convert that into a fixed establishment which will mean you will have to pay corporate income tax + handle slightly heavier accounting. To make sure you will still sleep well, I recommend registering yourself a company and to be prepared for anything. 

VAT is charged for everything, avoiding is a short term solution with horrible consequences. You will be liable for VAT so our recommend is that you should charge VAT. Selling outside of Austria requires you to be registered to OSS (the simplest thing here), calculate the taxes according to the delivery location and file the OSS report. Checkout https://apps.shopify.com/eas-eu-compliance that will handle all of the cross-border issues for you and reduce your accounting costs for domestic sales. 

As we recommend you get an accountant who can also act as your fiscal representative (I think Austria requires one), they will instruct you on when and how to pay. Find one who handles things for you, you should concentrate on sales! 

You had a BIG question, I hope this clarified at least parts of it. And naturally I hope you have managed to get your business up and running successfully as there is a significant gap between Q and A 🙂