Do I charge VAT on this invoice?
For freelancers based in the EU. Four answers, and you get the line to put on the invoice.
Last updated 14 October 2026
The rules in one table
For a freelancer in the EU selling a service they perform themselves:
| Client | What you do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Same country, anyone | Charge your country's VAT | Domestic supply |
| Other EU country, business with VAT number | No VAT. Write "Reverse charge" and both VAT numbers | Art. 44 and 196: the client accounts for VAT at home |
| Other EU country, private person or business without VAT number | Charge your country's VAT | Art. 45: place of supply is where you are |
| Outside the EU (UK, US, Switzerland...), business | No EU VAT | Art. 44: place of supply is where the client is |
| Outside the EU, private person | No EU VAT for design, writing, software, consulting, marketing and similar | Art. 59 lists these services; the rest follows Art. 45 |
Digital products sold to private people are the exception: VAT of the customer's country (Art. 58). Under €10,000 a year of such cross-border sales you may keep charging your own VAT; above it you register for OSS and file one quarterly return for all EU countries.
Not VAT registered? You charge no VAT on anything. But the moment you sell a service to a VAT-registered business in another EU country, most countries require you to get a VAT number for identification only (the Czech "identifikovaná osoba", the German "USt-IdNr." for small businesses) so the client can reverse charge. It does not make you charge VAT at home.
Where freelancers get it wrong
- Reverse charge without a VAT number. The client's number has to be on the invoice and valid in VIES on the invoice date. No number, no reverse charge: treat them as a private person.
- Forgetting the EC Sales List. Every reverse-charge invoice to an EU business goes on a recapitulative statement (monthly or quarterly, depending on the country). Fines for missing it are small but automatic.
- UK is not EU. Since 2021 a UK client is a non-EU client. Business: no EU VAT. Private person: the Art. 59 list applies.
- Charging VAT to a US client. A US business gets no EU VAT at all. Charging it makes your price 20% higher for nothing; they cannot reclaim it.
Based on Council Directive 2006/112/EC as in force in 2026, and the EU VAT e-commerce rules (OSS, €10,000 threshold) in force since 1 July 2021. Checked October 2026.
Questions people ask
What exactly do I write on a reverse charge invoice?
Your VAT number, the client's VAT number, no VAT amount, and one line: "Reverse charge, VAT to be accounted for by the recipient, Article 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC." Any wording that says reverse charge and cites the directive or your national law is accepted.
Do I need a VAT number to invoice a company in another EU country?
If you are a VAT-registered business, you use the one you have. If you are below the small-business threshold, most EU countries still require you to register for a VAT identification number before the first such invoice, so the client can reverse charge. You then file the EC Sales List but still charge no VAT on domestic work.
My client is in the UK. Do I charge VAT?
No, if they are a business: the UK has been outside the EU VAT area since 2021, so the service is outside the scope of EU VAT and they account for it under UK reverse charge rules. For a UK private person, no EU VAT either for the Art. 59 services (design, writing, software, consulting, marketing, data).
My client is in the US. Do I charge VAT?
No. A US business or private person pays no EU VAT on design, development, writing, consulting or digital products. Write "Service outside the scope of EU VAT, Article 44 (or 59) Directive 2006/112/EC" on the invoice and keep proof of where the client is (address, domain, payment details).
What is the difference between a service and a digital product?
A service is work you do for a specific client: a logo, a website, a text, an hour of advice, even delivered by email. A digital product (electronically supplied service in VAT language) is delivered by a system with no human involvement: a template download, a self-serve course, software access. The split matters only for private customers in other EU countries, where digital products take the customer's VAT and services take yours.
What is OSS and do I need it?
One Stop Shop: one quarterly VAT return in your own country that pays the VAT of every EU country where you sold digital products to private people. You need it once those cross-border B2C sales pass €10,000 a year. Services you perform yourself never need OSS; they take your own country's VAT.
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Go Lancer issues the invoice, converts at the daily ECB rate and chases the payment. Built with 100+ freelancers, many of them invoicing across borders.