Australian merchant seeks guidance on taxes when selling printed and audio books to EU and UK customers.
Outcome/next steps: Review EU VAT and UK VAT resources, prioritize OSS registration for EU sales where applicable, and consider hiring a tax professional. Discussion remains open for further questions; no final resolution reported.
I am from Australia and want to sell to the UK and EU. My main product is printed and audio books. What should I consider concerning taxes to be applied when I sell to Europe?
Information that I get from shopify and other sources is very confusing. Any help is appreciated!!
Hi @Abrikos ,
Thank you for reaching out! Handling sales taxes can often be a bit of a headache and this can especially be true for VAT in the European Union and United Kingdom, but thankfully there’s plenty of resources you can use to learn how to set these up as a distance seller. Please bear in mind that while we can offer general advice when it comes to taxes, we would always recommend speaking to a tax professional directly if you have questions or are unsure of your obligations.
As a starting point, I’d recommend checking out this article on the Shopify Blog: New EU 2021 VAT Rules for Ecommerce. This article goes into detail about the new VAT rules that came into effect in 2021, with one of the key difference being that distance selling thresholds were abolished. This means that all orders shipped to EU member states are now subject to VAT. The article contains a lot of useful information and a handy FAQ section, so please give that a read to better understand how to handle VAT when selling to the EU.
We also have a helpful article on the Blog concerning Brexit and how it impacts charging VAT in the UK: Understanding The Consequences of Brexit On Ecommerce. This should give you a good understanding of what the VAT laws are for exporting goods into the UK and help you get started. The UK taxes and Brexit section of the Shopify Help Center is also a worthwhile read.
I hope this helps but please let me know if you’ve any further questions!
Thank you for your reply, I have already explored the information you offered in advance, but could you still advise such tax professionals?
Do I understand correctly, that I need to register in each country of the European Union to which I have sales and submit reports also to each EU country? Or is there a solution in which you can register once in all EU countries?
Hi @Abrikos ,
I believe the European Union’s One-Stop Shop (OSS) scheme prevents you from needing to do this. This is referenced in the blog article I shared in my last post:
Merchants can now file a single VAT return known as OSS filing that works for multiple EU countries, which does not require an individual tax registration for each of those countries. Merchants can use OSS to file and remit VAT for any EU country they ship to, provided it is not their home country, or a domestic supply in a country where they have a physical location or hold stock. For these noted countries, merchants should instead continue filing a local return. OSS simplifies the filing process and saves them from the trouble of registering in multiple countries. The merchant needs to submit an electronic quarterly VAT return via their domestic OSS portal and ensure they keep records for all eligible OSS sales for 10 years.
If you’re wanting to sell to the EU from abroad, looking into registering for OSS would be something you should focus on.
In terms of hiring or consulting with a tax professional, this is totally up to you. If you feel confident enough getting set up using information you’ve found online you don’t need to hire someone, but if you are unsure of your obligations and want to make sure you have everything set up correctly then I would recommend it. You can look at hiring tax professionals listed on the Shopify Experts directory.