VAT rates fall under the framework of the VAT directive of 28th November 2006. Because VAT has not been harmonised at the European level, every year the European Commission publishes the official list of VAT rates applied in each member country. You will find below the list of VAT rates for 2018.
LIST OF VAT RATES APPLICABLE IN THE MEMBER COUNTRIES IN 2018
| Member States | Acronym | Super Reduced Rate | Reduced Rate | Normal Rate |
| Austria | AT | – | 10/13 | 20 |
| Belgium | BE | – | 6/12 | 21 |
| Bulgaria | BG | – | 9 | 20 |
| Croatia | HR | – | 5/13 | 25 |
| Cyprus | CY | – | 5/9 | 19 |
| Czech Republic | CZ | – | 10/15 | 21 |
| Denmark | DK | – | – | 25 |
| Estonia | EE | – | 9 | 20 |
| Finland | FI | – | 10/14 | 24 |
| France | FR | 2,1 | 5,5/10 | 20 |
| Germany | DE | – | 7 | 19 |
| Greece | EL | – | 6/13 | 24 |
| Hungary | HU | – | 5/18 | 27 |
| Ireland | IE | 4,8 | 9/13,5 | 23 |
| Italy | IT | 4 | 5/10 | 22 |
| Latvia | LV | – | 12 | 21 |
| Lithuania | LT | – | 5/9 | 21 |
| Luxembourg | LU | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| Malta | MT | – | 5/7 | 18 |
| Netherlands | NL | – | 6 | 21 |
| Poland | PL | – | 5/8 | 23 |
| Portugal | PT | – | 6/13 | 23 |
| Romania | RO | – | 5/9 | 19 |
| Slovakia | SK | – | 10 | 20 |
| Slovenia | SI | – | 9,5 | 22 |
| Spain | ES | 4 | 10 | 21 |
| Sweden | SE | – | 6/12 | 25 |
| United Kingdom | UK | – | 5 | 20 |
The country with the lowest VAT rate is Luxembourg (17%) while Hungary is the country with the highest VAT rate of 27%, which is over a quarter of the value of the product. The average rate in Europe is about 21%. The value-added tax is the highest-earning tax for EU countries and it is therefore often the case that the VAT rate increases from one year to another.
Greece is the only country which knew a decrease of the VAT rate between 2017 & 2018 (6% instead of 6,5% in 2017)
This post was originally published in January 2017 and has been updated for accuracy in June 2018.
