VAT rates across the European Union range from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. If you sell goods or services to customers in the EU — whether physical products, digital services, or SaaS subscriptions — applying the correct rate is a legal requirement.

This guide covers every EU member state’s current rates, recent changes, and practical advice for getting VAT right.

Standard VAT Rates by Country

The standard rate is what applies to most goods and services unless a specific exemption or reduced rate exists.

Country	Standard Rate	Notes
Austria	20%
Belgium	21%
Bulgaria	20%
Croatia	25%
Cyprus	19%
Czech Republic	21%
Denmark	25%	No reduced rates
Estonia	24%	Increased from 22% in Jan 2026
Finland	25.5%	Increased from 24% in Sep 2024
France	20%
Germany	19%
Greece	24%
Hungary	27%	Highest in the EU
Ireland	23%
Italy	22%
Latvia	21%
Lithuania	21%
Luxembourg	17%	Lowest in the EU
Malta	18%
Netherlands	21%
Poland	23%
Portugal	23%
Romania	19%	Increase to 21% under discussion
Slovakia	23%	Increased from 20% in Jan 2025
Slovenia	22%
Spain	21%
Sweden	25%

Reduced and Super-Reduced Rates

EU countries are allowed to apply one or two reduced rates (minimum 5%) to specific categories of goods and services. Some countries also have super-reduced rates (below 5%) that were grandfathered in from before they joined the EU.

Country	Reduced Rate(s)	Super-Reduced	What Qualifies for Reduced Rates
Austria	10%, 13%	—	Food, books, passenger transport, cultural events
Belgium	6%, 12%	—	Food, water, books, medical, social housing
Bulgaria	9%	—	Hotels, restaurants, books
Croatia	5%, 13%	—	Food staples, books, medicines, tourism
Cyprus	5%, 9%	—	Food, pharmaceuticals, books, hotel accommodation
Czech Republic	12%	—	Food, books, medicine, water supply
Denmark	—	—	No reduced rates (unique in the EU)
Estonia	9%	—	Books, periodicals, accommodation
Finland	10%, 14%	—	Food, books, medicine, passenger transport
France	5.5%, 10%	2.1%	Food, books, energy, renovations; press (2.1%)
Germany	7%	—	Food, books, public transport, cultural events
Greece	6%, 13%	—	Pharmaceuticals, books, food, energy
Hungary	5%, 18%	—	Basic food, medicines, books; dairy, bakery (18%)
Ireland	9%, 13.5%	4.8%	Tourism, food, construction; livestock (4.8%)
Italy	5%, 10%	4%	Food, medical, transport; staples (4%)
Latvia	5%, 12%	—	Food, pharmaceuticals, books, heat energy
Lithuania	5%, 9%	—	Heat energy, books, pharmaceuticals
Luxembourg	8%	3%	Food, books, clothing, gas, electricity
Malta	5%, 7%	—	Accommodation, medical, cultural events
Netherlands	9%	—	Food, books, medicine, cultural events
Poland	5%, 8%	—	Food, books, agriculture, construction
Portugal	6%, 13%	—	Food, pharmaceuticals, transport, books
Romania	5%, 9%	—	Food, books, medicines, hotels
Slovakia	5%	—	Basic foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals
Slovenia	5%, 9.5%	—	Food, pharmaceuticals, books, cultural events
Spain	10%	4%	Food, transport, housing; staples, medicine (4%)
Sweden	6%, 12%	—	Food (12%), books, culture, transport (6%)

Recent Rate Changes (2024-2026)

VAT rates change more often than most businesses expect. Three countries made significant adjustments in the past 18 months:

Estonia: 22% to 24% (January 2026)

Estonia raised its standard rate by 2 percentage points to address its budget deficit. This is one of the largest single increases in recent EU history and puts Estonia among the higher-rate countries.

Impact: Businesses selling to Estonian consumers need to update their tax calculations. If you use automated tax tools, verify they have picked up this change.

Finland: 24% to 25.5% (September 2024)

Finland’s increase made it one of the highest-taxed countries in the EU for VAT purposes, alongside Denmark and Sweden. The 1.5 percentage point jump was larger than expected.

Slovakia: 20% to 23% (January 2025)

Slovakia’s 3 percentage point increase was the most dramatic recent change. The country simultaneously introduced a new 5% reduced rate for essential goods.

Romania: Possible Increase to 21%

Romania has been discussing raising its standard rate from 19% to 21% as part of fiscal consolidation measures. This has not been confirmed but is widely expected.

Need to calculate VAT right now? Use euvat.dev/app — free, instant, all 27 EU countries. No signup. Reverse-VAT and VIES validation built in.

VAT on Digital Products and Services

If you sell digital products (software subscriptions, online courses, downloadable content, SaaS) to EU consumers, special rules apply:

The customer’s country rate applies. You charge VAT based on where your customer is located, not where your business is based. A sale to a customer in Germany means 19% VAT. A sale to a customer in Hungary means 27%.

You need two pieces of evidence to establish the customer’s location. Acceptable evidence includes:

Billing address
IP address geolocation
Payment method country (bank or card issuer country)
Mobile SIM country code

Most payment processors (Stripe, Paddle, FastSpring) collect and verify this evidence automatically.

The OSS (One-Stop Shop) simplifies compliance. Instead of registering for VAT in every EU country where you have customers, the OSS scheme lets you:

Register for OSS in your home country
Charge each customer’s local VAT rate
File one quarterly return covering all EU sales
Pay all EU VAT through your home country’s tax authority

The OSS is mandatory if your cross-border B2C digital sales to the EU exceed 10,000 euros per year. Below that threshold, you can charge your home country’s rate instead.

B2B Transactions: The Reverse Charge

When selling to a business (not a consumer) in another EU country, VAT works differently:

The seller does not charge VAT
The buyer accounts for VAT in their own country (reverse charge)
The invoice must include the buyer’s valid VAT identification number

This means you must validate the buyer’s VAT number before applying the reverse charge. Use the VIES system (the EU’s official validation service) to check that a number is registered and active. euvat.dev provides instant VIES validation alongside rate lookups.

If you apply the reverse charge to a transaction where the buyer’s VAT number turns out to be invalid, you may be liable for the VAT yourself.

VAT Exemptions for Small Businesses

Many EU countries offer VAT exemptions for small businesses below a domestic revenue threshold:

Country	Threshold	Notes
Germany	22,000 euros/year	Kleinunternehmerregelung
France	36,800 euros/year	Services; 91,900 for goods
Italy	85,000 euros/year	Regime forfettario
Spain	No general exemption	Most businesses must register
Netherlands	20,000 euros/year	KOR scheme
Ireland	40,000 (services), 80,000 (goods)
Poland	200,000 PLN/year	Approx. 47,000 euros

Important: Even if you are exempt from domestic VAT, cross-border digital sales to EU consumers above 10,000 euros/year still require you to charge VAT through OSS or register locally.

Practical Tools for VAT Compliance

euvat.dev — Free calculator with current rates for all 27 countries, VIES VAT number validation, and rate lookup by country. Useful for quick manual checks.
Stripe Tax — Automated tax calculation, collection, and reporting integrated into Stripe payments.
Paddle — Acts as merchant of record, handling all VAT obligations on your behalf.
Taxjar / Avalara — Full-service tax compliance platforms for businesses with complex multi-jurisdiction needs.

Key Takeaways

VAT rates change regularly. Three EU countries changed rates in the past 18 months. Always verify current rates rather than relying on memorized numbers.
Digital products use the customer’s rate. This is the most common mistake — charging your own country’s rate instead of the buyer’s.
Validate VAT numbers for B2B sales. The reverse charge only applies when the buyer has a valid, active VAT registration. Verify through VIES before every B2B transaction.
Use OSS if you sell cross-border. It simplifies compliance from registering in 27 countries to a single quarterly return.
Keep records for 10 years. The EU requires retention of VAT evidence (customer location proof, validation results, invoices) for a decade.

Use euvat.dev to look up current rates, validate VAT numbers, and calculate VAT amounts for any EU country.

EU VAT Rates 2026: Complete Guide for All 27 Countries