This does not constitute professional tax advice. We strongly advise consulting a tax specialist to find out your specific obligations.
If you're looking for a service to help you understand your VAT obligations, check out SimplyVAT or Avalara.
Depending on where you're located and your volume of sales, you should do the following:
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If you're based in the EU and have reached your country's sales threshold
- You may be liable to register as a VAT payer if your business achieves the sales threshold for the country in which your business is located. The sales threshold is different for each country within the EU (e.g., in Germany it’s 12,500 euros).
- Submit a valid VAT ID to Printful, and VAT will be applied depending on where the order is fulfilled and its delivery address. To learn more, click here. -
If you're based in the EU and haven't reached the sales threshold for your country
- You're not obligated to register as a VAT payer, although you can register if you like and submit us your VAT ID.
- If you don't register as a VAT payer, we charge VAT on orders going to EU member states that are fulfilled in any Printful location. You don't have to charge your customers VAT, but you may consider raising your retail prices to adjust for our VAT charge. -
If you're not based in the EU and sell your products to customers in the EU
- You may need to register as a VAT payer if you plan to or already do have customers in the European Union. It's up to you to decide in which country to register.
- Submit a valid VAT ID to Printful, and we'll charge 0% VAT to orders going to EU member states that are fulfilled in any Printful location. Click here to learn more.
- If you're not registered and don't submit a VAT ID, we will charge VAT for orders that are fulfilled in any Printful location and going to EU member states.
Once you're a registered VAT payer, you need to:
- Check the VAT reporting and invoicing requirements in the country you're registered and make sure you comply.
- Collect VAT on orders going to EU member states.
- File VAT returns and remit VAT to your country's tax authorities (deducting VAT incurred on your supply chain).
- Make sure your customers can see VAT charges during checkout.
You also need to pay attention to the “distance selling” threshold, which from July 1, 2021, is 10 000 euros. If it's exceeded, you will need to register as a VAT payer in the Union scheme (OSS) or in the specific member state. Learn more about it here.
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