Yes the Shopify Support staff seem to think its just a question of
calculating import VAT. They are completely underestimating the size of the
problem. It’s a question of seamlessly integrating into our secure Shopify
checkouts a method to calculate import VAT for the shipping destination
country send that money to a secure third party (who is registered under the
EU IOSS scheme) who will then send the import VAT to the EU destination
country’s Sales Tax authority, include in our Shopify sales reports the fact
that the sales tax part of the sales revenue we collected has automatically
been sent to third party countries.
Topic summary
Feature request to allow UK merchants to integrate Taxamo Assure at checkout to collect EU VAT via IOSS post‑Brexit. Goal: charge VAT at checkout and remit via an intermediary to avoid delivery‑time charges and returns.
Shopify status and guidance:
- Checkout API (needed for Taxamo) is limited to Shopify Plus; no timeline to change. No built‑in IOSS intermediary integration. Third parties must build apps.
- “Registration‑based taxes” can be enabled to calculate local EU VAT and accept an IOSS ID (IOSS = for non‑EU sellers; OSS = for EU sellers).
Workarounds and apps:
- Taxamo: no Shopify plugin (focused on Magento). Custom API possible but complex; one merchant reports non‑Plus implementation via developer.
- Crossborderit (CBIT): IOSS via Sweden; pricing evolved from ~€19.99/mo + €1/order to app ($24/mo) and later reports of €99/mo + 3% on VAT. Early CSV uploads were painful; the Shopify app later smoothed reporting. Mixed reports of customers still being charged VAT; many issues traced to Royal Mail Click & Drop and label/IOSS handling, later improved with IOSS‑marked services.
- Alternatives: Avalara (costly full service), VAT Digital, Zonos (adds % fee), Eurora, EAS EU Compliance (no monthly fee; €1.25/txn + €6 invoice fee >€30). Several merchants plan to switch to EAS.
Operational notes:
- IOSS applies to consignments ≤ €150 and covers VAT only (not duty). Keep IOSS ID off labels; ensure RM Click & Drop uses IOSS services. Germany also requires VerpackG/LUCID packaging registration.
Outcome: No native Shopify–Taxamo integration; viable paths are registration‑based taxes + third‑party IOSS services. Discussion remains open (e.g., EAS support for sole traders).
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