Do I charge VAT to overseas customers?
Most services to a business abroad have no UK VAT, and goods you export are 0%. Consumers are different. Anything about another country's VAT here is indicative, not advice on that country's law.
Your answer
Enter the invoice amount before VAT to see whether to charge UK VAT.
About this calculator
For VAT-registered businesses selling to customers outside the UK, or across the Irish Sea, who want to know whether to add VAT, what to put on the invoice and how to report it.
It covers the UK rules only. Where VAT is due in another country, we point it out, but that part is indicative, not advice on that country's law.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
We find where the sale is taxed (the place of supply). Services to a business are taxed where the business belongs; most services to a consumer are taxed where you belong, so they carry UK VAT.
Some services have their own rules: work on land where the land is, events where they're held, hire where the goods are used, digital services where the consumer lives, and advice and similar services to consumers abroad where they live.
Goods you send out of the UK are 0% (zero-rated exports) if you keep proof within 3 months. Goods sent from Northern Ireland to the EU follow their own rules. When UK VAT applies, we use the standard 20%.
Worked example
Charge no UK VAT on this £10,000.00 invoice: the sale is outside the scope of UK VAT.
Services · business customer in the EU · you're UK VAT-registered · standard 20% rate in the UK
| What you're selling: services, to a business in the EU | £10,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Services to a business are taxed where the business belongs, so a sale to a business abroad is outside UK VAT. Your customer accounts for any VAT in their country (the reverse charge). | No UK VAT |
| UK VAT | £0.00 |
| The invoice total | £10,000.00 |
| Box 6 of your VAT return (total sales, before VAT) | + £10,000.00 |
Based on HMRC's place of supply of services (VAT Notice 741A), exports (Notice 703), Northern Ireland and EU goods, and VAT return (Notice 700/12) guidance.
Questions people ask
What do I put on the invoice for a business customer abroad?
No UK VAT. Keep the customer's VAT number, or other proof they're in business. It's usual to add a line saying the customer accounts for the VAT (reverse charge): your customer's country may expect particular wording.
Where does the sale go on my VAT return?
Sales with no UK VAT still go in box 6, with your other sales. Box 8 is only for goods sent from Northern Ireland to the EU, never for services.
What if I don't get proof the goods left?
If you don't have the evidence within 3 months, the sale can't be 0%. You owe VAT of 1/6 of what you were paid, in box 1 of your VAT return.
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