EU -> UK: Show VAT (also) on orders >135 GBP

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

An EU-based company selling to UK B2C customers under DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) terms struggled to display 20% VAT on orders exceeding ÂŁ135 GBP in Shopify, despite being UK VAT registered.

Problem Context:

  • Company pays all VAT and customs duties upfront so customers face no import charges
  • Standard tax settings and tax overrides failed to show VAT correctly on higher-value orders
  • Issue became critical when switching from external invoicing tool to Shopify’s native tax system

Solution Found:
Add a new location for the UK under Settings → Locations (without needing to activate fulfillment functions). This workaround successfully displays the correct VAT rate.

Current Status:
Resolved. The solution was shared after extended troubleshooting, with community members expressing gratitude and noting this appears to be an undocumented Shopify tax configuration quirk. One user mentioned discovering additional B2B tax complications in “blended mode.”

Summarized with AI on November 4. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Dear all,

our company is located in the EU and (also) sells goods to B2C customers in the UK. We are VAT registered in the UK and have a UK VAT ID.

In order to achieve the best possible customer journey, we pay VAT and customs duties for all orders (smaller and larger than 135 GBP value of goods) to the UK authorities, so that the customer never has to pay import tax and/or customs duties (DDP). The costs are already included in the prices to the end customer.

Unfortunately, we are unable to adjust the Tax Settings on Shopify to show VAT at 20% on orders over 135 GBP as well. Does anyone have a workaround?

Our current settings:

Settings → Taxes and duties

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We tested tax overrides - not working for this issue.

Settings → Markets → UK → “Duties and import taxes: Not collecting duties and import taxes”

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So far, we have been working with an external invoicing tool, so it has not been a problem. However, we are switching to a tool that uses Shopify tax data, so we need a solution.

Thank you very much in advance for your input!

2

Nobody any helpful hint? :slightly_smiling_face: push

@Gabe Hast Du zufällig einen Lösungsansatz? :slightly_smiling_face:

3

Hi! Same issue for me and I would really like to know also if there’s a solution.

Thanks in advance

Julie

4

Dear all,

after a long time, we have finally found a solution that I would like to share with the community.

What does NOT help:

  • Tax overrides for the respective country

What does help:

  • Settings → Locations → Add a new location for the UK
    (You do not need to activate the “fulfillment…” function.)
1 Like
5

My sincerest thanks to you @JJL_de (and if you haven’t seen this yet @julie0110 )

This is such an odd issue, and believe me, I’ve discovered an even deeper tax caveat on Shopify when selling in B2B “blended” mode – but that’s another story.

I’m really curious about how you came up with this solution – it’s not something that’s clearly documented, is it?

Once again, THANK YOU!