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VAT and reverse charge checker

Where you are, where your client is, and whether they are a business. That is usually enough to know what goes on the invoice.

Three questions
Wording included
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Not tax advice. This page explains the general mechanism so you know what to ask about. VAT and sales tax rules differ by country, by what you sell, and by who you sell it to — and they change. Confirm your own situation with an accountant before you rely on it.

Why this is confusing in the first place

For most services, VAT follows a rule called place of supply: the tax belongs to the country where the customer is, not where you are. That single idea produces all four of the situations below, and it is why the answer changes depending on who is buying rather than what you sold.

You and your client are in the same country

The simple case. You charge your normal domestic rate, if you are registered for VAT at all. Below the registration threshold in your country you charge nothing and say so.

Both in the EU, client is a business

This is reverse charge. You invoice with no VAT, and your client declares it in their own country. Three things have to be on the invoice: your VAT number, their valid VAT number, and a statement that the reverse charge applies. Validate their number through the EU's VIES service and keep the result — if the number turns out to be invalid, the tax authority can come back to you, not to them.

Both in the EU, client is a consumer

Generally you charge your own country's VAT, because for services to private individuals the place of supply is usually where the supplier is. The big exception is digital and broadcast services, where the rule flips to the customer's country and the one-stop-shop scheme exists to handle it. If you sell templates, courses or software downloads to consumers across the EU, this is the paragraph to take to an accountant.

One of you is outside the EU

If you are in the EU and your business client is not, EU VAT generally does not apply — the supply is outside its scope, and the invoice should say so rather than showing a bare 0%. If you are outside the EU — Switzerland, the UK, the US — and your client is in the EU, you normally do not charge EU VAT either; the client accounts for it. Your own country's rules still apply to you, and if you are under your domestic registration threshold you charge nothing at all.

What to actually print on the invoice

A zero without an explanation is what gets an invoice rejected. Each case has standard wording, and the checker gives you the line to copy:

Reverse charge: a statement that VAT is to be accounted for by the recipient, with both VAT numbers shown
Outside scope / export of services: a statement that the supply is outside the scope of VAT, naming why
Not VAT registered: a short line saying you are below the registration threshold, so nobody has to guess

Then keep the evidence: the VIES check, the client's address, the contract. In an audit the wording is not what saves you — the evidence behind it is.

The three mistakes that cause real problems

Applying reverse charge to a consumer. It only works business to business. A private individual has no VAT number and cannot self-account, so the VAT is yours to pay.
Trusting a VAT number without checking it. Numbers get deregistered. Check at the time of invoicing and save the result.
Assuming services and goods work the same way. They do not, and neither do land, events, transport or hire. This page is about services, which covers most freelance work but not all of it.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I charge VAT to a client in another EU country?

For services to a business in another EU member state, generally no — the reverse charge applies and your client accounts for the VAT in their own country. You need their valid VAT number on the invoice plus a statement that reverse charge applies.

What is the reverse charge in simple terms?

A rule that moves responsibility for VAT from the seller to the buyer. You invoice without VAT, and your business client declares it in their own country. It exists so you do not have to register for VAT everywhere you have clients.

Do I charge VAT to a client outside the EU?

Usually not. Services supplied to a business outside the EU are generally outside the scope of EU VAT. Say so on the invoice rather than showing a bare 0%, and keep evidence of where the client is established.

How do I check whether a client's VAT number is valid?

Through the European Commission's VIES service, which validates numbers across all member states. Check at the moment of invoicing and save the confirmation — an invalid number can make the VAT your problem.

What if I am not registered for VAT?

Then you charge no VAT and it helps to say why on the invoice — a line stating you are below the registration threshold in your country stops your client's accounts department from querying it.

Does reverse charge apply to private customers?

No. It is a business-to-business mechanism. A private individual has no VAT number and cannot account for the tax, so applying it to a consumer leaves you liable.