New: Management of W-8 and W-9 forms in the U.S. Learn more | New: Certification of non-resident employers in Canada Learn more
Value Added Tax (VAT) is an indirect tax paid by the final consumer on various goods and services. It is collected by the business that sells the good or service.
Depending on the type of product or service, the tax regime of the business and the amount of the price or service, the applicable VAT rates may vary.
EU Member States, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have the option of applying standard or reduced rates. These rates may differ from country to country and also for certain categories of products and services.
| Member state | Country code | Standard rate (%) | Parking rate (%) | Reduced rate 1 (%) | Reduced rate 2 (%) | Super-reduced rate (%) | Zero rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | AT | 20 | 13 | 13 | 10 | – | 0 |
| Belgium | BE | 21 | 12 | 12 | 6 | – | 0 |
| Bulgaria | BG | 20 | – | – | 9 | – | 0 |
| Croatia | HR | 25 | – | 13 | 5 | – | 0 |
| Cyprus | CY | 19 | – | 9 | 5 | – | – |
| Czech Republic | CZ | 21 | – | 15 | 10 | – | 0 |
| Denmark | DK | 25 | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| Estonia | EE | 20 | – | – | 9 | – | 0 |
| Finland | FI | 24 | – | 14 | 10 | – | 0 |
| France | FR | 20 | – | 10 | 5.5 | 2.1 | 0 |
| Germany | DE | 19 | – | – | 7 | – | 0 |
| Greece | EL | 24 | – | 13 | 6 | – | 0 |
| Hungary | HU | 27 | – | 18 | 5 | – | 0 |
| Ireland | IE | 23 | 13.5 | 9 | 13.5 | 4.8 | 0 |
| Italy | IT | 22 | – | 10 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Latvia | LV | 21 | – | – | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Lithuania | LT | 21 | – | 9 | 5 | – | 0 |
| Luxembourg | LU | 16* | 13* | 13* | 7* | 3 | 0 |
| Malta | MT | 18 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 0 |
| Netherlands | NL | 21 | – | 9 | – | – | 0 |
| Poland | PL | 23 | – | 8 | 5 | – | 0 |
| Portugal | PT | 23 | 13 | 13 | 6 | – | 0 |
| Romania | RO | 19 | – | 9 | 5 | – | 0 |
| Slovakia | SK | 20 | – | – | 10 | – | 0 |
| Slovenia | SI | 22 | – | 5 | 9.5 | – | 0 |
| Spain | ES | 21 | – | – | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| Sweden | SE | 25 | – | 12 | 6 | – | 0 |
| Member state | Country code | Standard rate (%) | Parking rate (%) | Reduced rate 1 (%) | Reduced rate 2 (%) | Super-reduced rate (%) | Zero rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royaume-Uni | UK | 20 | – | 5 | - | – | 0 |
| Member state | Country code | Standard rate (%) | Parking rate (%) | Reduced rate 1 (%) | Reduced rate 2 (%) | Super-reduced rate (%) | Zero rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suisse | CH | 7,7 | – | 2,5 | - | – | 0 |
NB: these rates may vary during the year.
The Member State with the lowest VAT rate in 2023 is Luxembourg with a common law rate of 16%.
Hungary is the Member State with the highest VAT rate in 2023 with a common law rate of 27%.
The average rate in the EU is around 21%.
Luxembourg has introduced a temporary reduction of its VAT rates in 2023 from 1 January 2023 to 31 December. The rates are subject to a provisional cut of 1% compared to 2022:
The super-reduced rate of 3%, on the other hand, remains unchanged.
In 2022, Switzerland voted to increase its VAT rates from 1 January 2024:
A business that has paid VAT in one of the 27 EU Member States in which it is not established can, under certain conditions, obtain a refund.
The procedures are different depending on the country in which the business is established. The conditions for reimbursement are strict and differ from one Member State to another.
Get your EU VAT credits back quickly and easily with ASD Group.
A team of VAT and tax specialists at your service
Specific tools for flow and rate control, electronic data management, deadline reminders, etc.
A guarantee on the quality of work and on penalties
Don’t take risks, entrust your VAT to our experts and focus on your business
