驾驭税务合规对所有公司来说都具有挑战性，但对于欧洲企业尤其如此。在欧洲，适用的税务规则根据您所在是否是欧盟成员国以及您是向企业还是个人销售而有所不同。
如何在欧洲注册增值税
首先，您需要确定在哪里需要征收增值税 (VAT)。接下来的步骤是向相关税务机关注册。注册后，您就可以开始收取和汇缴增值税了。请记住，这些指南适用于直接销售商。如果您仅在交易市场上销售，您应咨询税务专家以确定最佳的前进路径，因为交易市场销售商的规则可能不同。
本指南将涵盖何时企业需要在欧盟国家、英国、挪威和瑞士注册增值税。请记住，本指南的内容是针对在国外进行销售的企业编写的。最后，我们将介绍 Stripe 如何帮助您管理持续的税务合规。
Registering to collect VAT in the EU
When to register
If you perform a transaction that’s taxable in an EU country other than the one where you’re established, you generally must be registered to collect VAT in that country unless the transaction is exempt or subject to reverse charge (which typically applies in business-to-business [B2B] scenarios, such as software-as-a-service [SaaS] offerings). EU business-to-consumer (B2C) sellers may benefit from a simplified registration process called VAT One Stop Shop (VAT OSS) Union scheme, which allows them to report VAT due in other EU countries in their country of establishment.
Similar rules apply to non-EU sellers. They are required to charge VAT beginning with the first taxable transaction performed in the EU unless it is exempt or subject to reverse charge. Non-EU businesses that sell digital services to private individuals in multiple EU countries can register for the VAT One Stop Shop (VAT OSS) non-Union scheme. This scheme does not apply to goods. Non-EU businesses that sell goods located within the EU must register for VAT OSS Union scheme.
Sellers that sell B2C goods (such as retail sales) that are imported from a non-EU country into the EU and that don’t exceed €150 in value can register for VAT Import One Stop Shop (VAT IOSS). All simplified OSS schemes are voluntary.
How to register for a VAT number
While businesses can register in individual countries to collect VAT, it’s more efficient for EU businesses that sell to individuals in multiple EU countries to register for VAT OSS Union scheme. This scheme was created to simplify the process of collecting and paying VAT across countries exclusively within the EU. With the VAT OSS Union scheme, you don’t have to register with each EU country where you sell goods or services remotely; EU businesses must register for VAT OSS in the EU country where they are established.
Image displaying EU countries that participate in VAT OSS
There is an exception for EU businesses that are established in one EU country and sell physical goods and digital products to individuals in other EU countries. In these B2C sales, businesses may collect VAT at the rate of their country of residence rather than the customer’s country of residence. Once the B2C sales exceed €10,000, the seller needs to collect at the rate of the customer’s country of residence. If your sales are below the threshold, a domestic VAT registration is sufficient.
For example, if you’re based in Austria and sell digital services to private individuals in Italy, and your total revenue from B2C sales of goods and services to consumers is under €10,000, you will collect Austrian VAT, not Italian VAT. In this scenario, a domestic VAT registration is all that is required. Once your B2C sales exceed €10,000, then you will collect Italian VAT.
Non-EU businesses that sell services to private individuals in multiple EU countries and opt for the VAT OSS non-Union scheme can choose which EU country they want to register in. Non-EU businesses that sell goods located within the EU must register for the VAT OSS Union scheme in the EU country where the transport of the goods begins. If goods are transported from more than one country, the seller can choose the country of registration.
EU sellers must register for IOSS in their country of establishment. Non-EU sellers that are not located in countries with which the EU has concluded an agreement on mutual assistance for the recovery of VAT must appoint an intermediary to use IOSS. If a seller is established outside the EU, but in a country with which the EU has concluded an agreement on mutual assistance for the recovery of VAT and makes sales of imported goods from that country, the seller is free to choose any EU member state as the state of registration. In this case, there is no need to appoint an intermediary to be able to use IOSS. However, if the seller makes sales of imported goods from other countries, an intermediary is required in order to use IOSS.
If you’ve exceeded a tax threshold in the EU and are concerned you owe penalties and back taxes, we recommend you contact a tax expert for guidance. Once you register, you can begin collecting VAT. Do not begin collecting VAT until you have properly registered.
Registering to collect VAT in the UK
When to register
Any business that wants to sell into the UK must register within 30 days of performing the first taxable transaction in the UK. You’re also liable to register if you have reasonable grounds to believe that you’ll have a taxable transaction within the next 30 days.
A taxable transaction is any sale made in the UK that’s neither exempt from VAT nor subject to reverse charge (meaning the customer is responsible for accounting for VAT). Taxable transactions include those that are zero-rated for VAT purposes.
For example, if you’re based in the US and sell digital services to UK customers, you must register in the UK as soon as you have reasonable grounds to believe that a UK consumer will purchase your services. If a UK consumer has actually bought your digital services, you must register within 30 days of performing the sale. However, if you only sell to UK businesses, you don’t need to register, because such sales are subject to reverse charge and don’t constitute taxable transactions for UK VAT purposes.
Now that the Brexit transition period has ended, the Low-Value Consignment Relief, a tax relief program, has also ended. The threshold for low-value imports coming into the UK is now £135. The party responsible for collecting VAT on low-value imports depends on whether the customer is a business or a consumer. If the sale is B2C, the consumers should pay VAT at the point of sale. This means the business is responsible for charging UK VAT and should register to collect VAT.
If the low-value sale of imported goods is B2B, the seller does not need to charge VAT as long as the buyer is a UK business and has provided its UK VAT registration number.
How to register for a VAT number
Since Brexit, the UK now has a VAT registration process that’s separate from the EU VAT OSS. Businesses can register to collect VAT in the UK using this online portal. The UK does not provide any simplified registration procedures for nonresident sellers.
If you’ve exceeded a tax threshold in the UK and are concerned you owe penalties and back taxes, we recommend you contact a tax expert for guidance. Once you register, you can begin collecting VAT. Do not begin collecting VAT until you have properly registered.
Registering to collect VAT in Norway
When to register
If you’re based outside Norway and sell to customers based in Norway, you must register as soon as your taxable sales in Norway reach 50,000 NOK during a period of 12 months. This amount does not include sales with reverse charge (which generally applies to B2B sales). In these scenarios, the customer is responsible for accounting for VAT on their VAT returns.
How to register for a VAT number
Businesses located in the European Economic Area (EEA) can register directly with the Norwegian tax authority. Businesses located outside the EEA must appoint a Norwegian VAT representative unless they use the simplified registration procedure (VAT on E-Commerce, or VOEC), which is available for B2C sales of digital services and low-value goods (less than 3,000 NOK). Foreign businesses can register for VOEC using this online portal.
For example, if you’re based in the US, sell digital services to Norwegian consumers, and exceed the threshold during a period of 12 months (from February of the past year to January of the current year), you must register in Norway. However, if you sell digital services only to Norwegian businesses, you don’t need to register, because these services are subject to reverse charge.
If you’ve exceeded a tax threshold in Norway and are concerned you owe penalties and back taxes, we recommend you contact a tax expert for guidance. Once you register, you can begin collecting VAT. Do not begin collecting VAT until you have properly registered.
Registering to collect VAT in Switzerland
When to register
If you’re based outside Switzerland and your global revenue exceeds 100,000 CHF or will exceed this amount in the next 12 months, you must register for VAT in Switzerland within 30 days of performing the first taxable transaction. The obligation to register doesn’t apply if:
- You only sell to Swiss businesses (B2B sales) and the sales are subject to reverse charge in Switzerland
- You only provide tax-exempt services to customers in Switzerland
Switzerland applies special rules to imports of low-value consignments. Low-value consignments refer to goods with a value (including shipping costs) of less than 65 CHF that are subject to the standard rate of 7.7% and to goods with a value of less than 200 CHF that are subject to the reduced rate of 2.5%. If a seller established outside of Switzerland generates revenue in excess of 100,000 CHF from low-value consignments, the place of supply of their sales is shifted to Switzerland, and the seller will have to register for VAT and collect and pay VAT on all sales.
How to register for a VAT number
There is no simplified VAT registration process for nonresidents. Nonresident sellers must appoint a tax representative and sometimes provide a bank guarantee. It is possible to register online via this link. When you register online, you must provide information about your tax representative.
If you’ve exceeded a tax threshold in Switzerland and are concerned you owe penalties and back taxes, we recommend you contact a tax expert for guidance. Once you register, you can begin collecting VAT. Do not begin collecting VAT until you have properly registered.
Stripe 如何帮助完成注册和增值税合规
确定在哪里有销售税义务并需要注册是复杂的。Stripe Tax 帮助您监控您的义务，并在您超过销售税门槛时提醒您，基于您的 Stripe 交易。
Stripe Tax 可以帮助您：
- 知道在何处注册并收税： 根据您的 Stripe 交易查看您需要在哪里收税，并在您注册后，在几秒钟内在新的州或国家/地区开启收税功能。您可以通过在现有的 Stripe 集成中添加一行代码来开始收税；也可以向 Stripe 的无代码产品（例如，Invoicing）添加征税功能。
- 注册税款缴纳： Stripe Tax 提供网站注册链接，一旦您超过税务注册门槛，您可以在这些网站上进行注册。此外，Stripe Tax 支持多种注册类型，包括进口一站式服务 (IOSS)。
- 自动收税： Stripe Tax 始终计算并收取正确的税额，无论您销售什么商品或在哪里销售。它支持数百种产品和服务，并且遵循最新的税务规则和税率变化。
- 简化填报与缴税： 通过我们值得信赖的全球合作伙伴，用户可以从与您的 Stripe 交易数据相关联的无缝体验中受益，让我们的合作伙伴管理您的报税工作，以便您可以专注发展您的业务。