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Value Added Tax (VAT) is an indirect tax paid by the final consumer on various goods and services. It is collected by the company selling the good or service.
Depending on the type of product or service, the company’s tax regime and the amount of the price or service, the applicable VAT rates may vary.
The Member States of the European Union, as well as Switzerland and the United Kingdom, have the option of applying standard or reduced rates. These rates may differ from country to country and also according to certain categories of products and services.
| Member states | Country code | Super-reduced rate | Reduced rate | Standard rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autria | 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 | 5% | 5%, 12% | 21% |
| Lithuania | LT | 5%, 9% | 21% | |
| Luxembourg | LU | 3% | 7% 13% | 16% |
| Malta | MT | 5%, 7% | 18% | |
| Netherlands | NL | 9% | 21% | |
| Poland | PL | 5%, 8% | 23% | |
| Portugal | PT | 6%, 13% | 23% | |
| Romania | RO | 5%, 9% | 19% | |
| Slovakia | SK | 10% | 20% | |
| Slovenia | SI | 5%, 9,5% | 22% | |
| Spain | ES | 4% | 10% | 21% |
| Sweden | SE | 6%, 12% | 25% |
| État | Code pays | Taux standard (%) | Taux parking (%) | Taux réduit 1 (%) | Taux réduit 2 (%) | Taux super-réduit (%) | Taux Zéro (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | UK | 20 | – | 5 | - | – | 0 |
| État | Code pays | Taux standard (%) | Taux parking (%) | Taux réduit 1 (%) | Taux réduit 2 (%) | Taux super-réduit (%) | Taux Zéro (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | CH | 7,7 | – | 2,5 | - | – | 0 |
NB: these rates may vary during the year.
The Member State applying the lowest VAT rate in 2024 is Luxembourg, with a standard rate of 16%.
Hungary is the Member State with the highest VAT rate in 2023, with a standard rate of 27%.
The average rate in the EU is around 21%.
Luxembourg has introduced a temporary reduction in its VAT rates in 2023 from 1 January 2023 to 31 December. The rates will be temporarily reduced by 1% compared with 2022:
The standard rate of 17% will fall to 16%;
The intermediate rate of 14% will fall to 13%;
The reduced rate of 8% will fall to 7%.
The super-reduced rate of 3%, on the other hand, will remain unchanged.
In 2022, Switzerland voted to increase its VAT rates from 1 January 2024:
The standard rate of 7.7% will rise to 8.1%,
The reduced rate of 2.5% will rise to 2.6%,
The special rate applicable to accommodation services will rise from 3.7% to 3.8%.
A company 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 differ depending on the country in which the business is branching. The conditions for reimbursement are strict and differ from one Member State to another.
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