How can I enable VAT-free checkout for international business customers?

[Mimimaoo]

I have a question that perhaps several of you will have. In the past, I mainly targeted individuals across Europe with sales on my website, but I am noticing that more and more business customers from abroad want to make purchases on my website.

However, I cannot find an app that meets my needs, where a business customer enters his or her VAT number and can immediately checkout without VAT.

I know there is an option when I tick the button: "Show tax based on country", but I don't want that, because then all the prices per country will appear very strange on the website. So it is important that this remains based on the Dutch 21% VAT.

Does anyone have the golden tip for me to get this done?

[Moira]

Hey @Mimimaoo,

There are several third-party apps that might help. Here are a few options:

1. Exemptify: This app allows you to validate VAT IDs in real-time and automatically applies tax exemptions. It supports all EU countries and works with Shopify's tax settings.

2. Quaderno: This app automatically validates VAT numbers and applies the correct tax rate based on the customer's location. However, it might require some manual adjustments to ensure it meets your specific needs.

3. Sufio - Automatic Invoices: Sufio allows customers to enter their VAT number at checkout and applies the tax exemption automatically. It also generates invoices automatically, which can be a useful feature.

Before implementing any of these solutions, you should consult with a tax professional to ensure you're complying with all relevant tax laws. Also, please note that while these apps can help automate the process, they might not cover all scenarios and might require manual oversight.

[Floris-de-vries]

Hi Moira,

We did indeed notice that more of our customers were facing this problem, but that there are quite pricey apps, or apps without good support. For this reason, we've also developed our own app that solves this problem for anyone who wants to perform VAT number verifications directly with the VIES API.

Check out our app below: https://apps.shopify.com/oo-eu-tax-exemption

If you need help with the implementation, please feel free to let us know 🙂

[horntools]

Hi, 

I got exactly the same problem. Were you able to find a solution? 

[Floris-de-vries]

Hello,

As Shopify developers, we've been running into this issue for a long time. It's truly a necessity for many of our B2B clients. For this reason, we've created such an app ourselves to assist everyone with this. Additionally, it stores the VAT ID for the specific customer. The app can be viewed via the following link:

https://apps.shopify.com/oo-eu-tax-exemption

I hope this helps you further 🙂

[Rostislav]

HI ,

Shopify is not exceptionally good for B2B sales. Most of available B2B apps actually make a pre-registered customer tax exempt. 

We always advise clients to use Sufio. It is robust and is good for the price.