01 · Cross-border B2B
Who accounts for VAT on this supply?
Start with the supplier country, customer country and supply type. The reverse-charge engine maps those facts to the place-of-supply treatment and shows the legal basis it uses.
EU + UK VAT reference · TEDB + HMRC
Get the right VAT rate, every time
Look up any of 28 current EU or UK standard rates, validate a VAT number against VIES or HMRC, and get the correct reverse-charge treatment for cross-border B2B sales, all from the source tables, not a fixed brochure.
The rate landscape
Hungary posts the highest standard VAT rate at 27.0%, Luxembourg the lowest at 17.0%, and the EU-27 median sits at 21.0% - a 10-point spread across the live TEDB and HMRC tables.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 27.0%
- highest · Hungary
- 17.0%
- lowest · Luxembourg
- 21.0%
- EU-27 median
- 28
- jurisdictions tracked
Source: TEDB + HMRC. Data current as of 2026-08-23.
Start with the transaction
Choose the VAT question you need to answer
Use the live tools for a specific check. PlainVAT covers current EU and UK rate data. Confirm a live filing against the named authority on each country record.
02 · Verify a counterparty
Is this VAT number valid?
Check EU registrations through VIES or GB-prefix numbers through HMRC.
03 · Price or compare
Which current rate applies?
Browse every rate tier, calculate a VAT-inclusive amount, or put two jurisdictions side by side.
Height is not depth
Hungary records the highest standard VAT rate at 27% (#1 of 28) while ranking #12 of 28 on schedule depth with 3 published rate types; Ireland leads schedule depth at 5 distinct types (#1 of 28) at a 23% standard rate (height #8).
According to the European Commission's Taxes in Europe Database (TEDB).
- 27%
- Hungary standard #1
- #12
- Hungary schedule depth
- 5
- Ireland rate types #1
- #8
- Ireland standard height
Height is the current standard-rate row. Depth counts distinct current rate types (standard, reduced, super-reduced, zero, parking). Neither ranking is a filing recommendation. The high-to-low spread still sits in the ranked table below; the capsule names the two #1s that do not coincide.
Jurisdictions tracked
28
Highest standard rate
27.0%
Lowest standard rate
17.0%
OSS distance threshold
EUR 10,000
Standard VAT rate, ranked
How EU standard rates cluster
The 27 EU member states grouped by standard-rate band. Most cluster around 20-21% (10 of 27) rather than at either extreme.
Standard VAT rate by country
All 28 jurisdictions, ranked highest to lowest. Click any country for full rate detail, scheme exceptions, and post-Brexit treatment notes.
| Country | Standard rate | VAT prefix | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 27%
| HU | EU |
| Finland | 25.5%
| FI | EU |
| Croatia | 25%
| HR | EU |
| Denmark | 25%
| DK | EU |
| Sweden | 25%
| SE | EU |
| Estonia | 24%
| EE | EU |
| Greece | 24%
| EL | EU |
| Ireland | 23%
| IE | EU |
| Poland | 23%
| PL | EU |
| Portugal | 23%
| PT | EU |
| Slovakia | 23%
| SK | EU |
| Italy | 22%
| IT | EU |
| Slovenia | 22%
| SI | EU |
| Belgium | 21%
| BE | EU |
| Czech Republic | 21%
| CZ | EU |
| Latvia | 21%
| LV | EU |
| Lithuania | 21%
| LT | EU |
| Netherlands | 21%
| NL | EU |
| Romania | 21%
| RO | EU |
| Spain | 21%
| ES | EU |
| Austria | 20%
| ATU | EU |
| Bulgaria | 20%
| BG | EU |
| France | 20%
| FR | EU |
| United Kingdom | 20%
| GB | UK (post-Brexit) |
| Cyprus | 19%
| CY | EU |
| Germany | 19%
| DE | EU |
| Malta | 18%
| MT | EU |
| Luxembourg | 17%
| LU | EU |
Tools and references
Four entry points, each leading to a focused tool or data view.
VAT Number Validator
Check any EU VAT number against the live VIES service, or any UK GB-prefix VAT number against HMRC.
Reverse-Charge Decision Engine
Enter supplier country, customer country, and supply type, get the correct VAT treatment with legal basis.
Per-Country VAT Rates
Browse standard, reduced, super-reduced, and zero rates for all 28 jurisdictions. Source links per row.
Compare Two Countries
Side-by-side comparison of two jurisdictions covering rates, schemes, and cross-border treatment.
What PlainVAT is
PlainVAT is a plain-English reference for EU and UK VAT. We track the standard, reduced, super-reduced, parking, and zero rates for all 27 EU member states plus the United Kingdom (post-Brexit). Every rate row on the site links back to its authority source so anyone can verify the numbers.
The site has three primary tools: a live VAT-number validator that calls the European Commission's VIES service (and HMRC's checker for GB-prefix numbers post-Brexit), a reverse-charge decision engine that encodes the EU VAT Directive's place-of-supply rules into a simple "supplier country, customer country, supply type" lookup, and a side-by-side country comparator for working out where to register or how a cross-border transaction is treated.
Beyond the tools, we publish eight plain-English guides on the most common questions (reverse charge, OSS and IOSS, Brexit treatment, rate tiers, digital services VAT, VIES mechanics, voluntary registration, the margin scheme for second-hand goods) and three original research pages analysing rate dispersion, post-Brexit divergence, and the 2021 OSS threshold change.
The site is an independent publisher. Content is drafted with editorial-pipeline tooling and reviewed by the operator before publication. There is no fabricated editorial process; the operator is the publisher. See our about and methodology pages for the full editorial process and refresh cadence.
PlainVAT is an information reference. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm specifics with your accountant or the relevant tax authority for your transaction. We try to be accurate; we do not guarantee that every rate is current to the day. When VIES is unavailable, the validator returns an explicit "service unavailable" message rather than guessing.
The full list of jurisdictions tracked, with every rate tier, scheme exception, and source link, lives at /country/. For trends over time, see /trends. For tools index, see /tools.
Featured guides
What is reverse charge?
The mechanism by which VAT on a cross-border B2B transaction is accounted for in the customer's country, with the legal basis under EU Directive Article 44.
OSS and IOSS explained
The two One-Stop-Shop schemes that let small businesses file a single quarterly return instead of registering in every EU country they sell to.
Brexit VAT impact
How VAT treatment changed for goods and services moving between the UK and EU after 1 January 2021, plus the postponed VAT accounting mechanism.
Special schemes and exceptions
Cash accounting scheme
United Kingdom + most EU 27
VAT accounted for when payment is received or made rather than when invoice is issued. Helps cash flow for small businesses. UK threshold GBP 1.35m turnover.
Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS)
EU 27 | EUR 150 threshold
Optional simplification for B2C imports of goods up to EUR 150 from outside the EU. Allows VAT to be collected at point of sale rather than at import.
Margin scheme for second-hand goods
EU 27 + UK
VAT applied only to the dealers margin (sale price minus purchase price) rather than the full sale price. Applies to used goods, works of art, antiques, and collectors items.
One-Stop Shop (OSS)
EU 27 | EUR 10,000 threshold
Optional simplification for B2C cross-border supplies of services and distance sales of goods within the EU. Single quarterly return submitted in member state of identification.
About this data
How PlainVAT works, and why you can trust these numbers
What this site is
PlainVAT is a plain-English EU and UK VAT reference: a VIES/HMRC validator, per-country rate lookup across 28 jurisdictions, and a reverse-charge decision engine for B2B cross-border transactions, run as a one-operator independent publisher.
Editorial process
- Source. Read standard, reduced, and special VAT rates from the European Commission's Taxes in Europe Database (TEDB), live registration status from VIES, and UK VAT guidance from HMRC.
- Verify. Rates and rules are stored in a versioned dataset with citation columns on every row, cross-checked against Eurostat historical VAT-rate harmonisation data, so every figure links back to its authority page.
- Correct. When a reader reports an error, we verify it against the named source and fix any confirmed issue in the underlying data or pipeline so every affected page updates together. Material fixes are logged on the changelog; send a report through the corrections pathway.
Editorial independence & corrections
PlainVAT is an independent, one-operator publisher that accepts no payment to alter or remove data, and has no commercial relationship with any tax authority or VAT software vendor. Found an error or a stale rate? Send the page URL, country and rate type, plus the source you think conflicts, through the corrections pathway or contact page. We verify reports against the named authority and correct confirmed data at source; material fixes appear on the data changelog. See our methodology for the sourcing and review-cadence detail.
Frequently asked
What is the VAT One-Stop Shop (OSS) threshold?
Since 1 July 2021, the EU-wide threshold for B2C distance selling is EUR 10,000 per year. Below this, you charge VAT at your origin-country rate. Above it, you charge the customer-country rate and report via OSS.
How does reverse charge work for B2B services within the EU?
Under EU VAT Directive Article 44, the place of supply for B2B services is the customer's country. The supplier zero-rates the invoice and the customer self-assesses VAT in their own return.
How did Brexit change EU-UK VAT treatment?
Since 1 January 2021, the UK is treated as a third country. Goods exports zero-rate at origin and pay import VAT at destination. Services follow the place-of-supply customer rule with UK reverse-charge mechanics on the UK side.
Which country has the highest standard VAT rate in the EU?
Hungary at 27.0%. The lowest is Luxembourg at 17.0%. The median across the 27 member states is 21.0%.
Is VIES validation legally binding?
VIES confirms whether a VAT number is currently registered for intra-EU transactions. It does not confirm trading status or financial standing. For UK GB-prefix numbers, HMRC operates a separate check service (post-Brexit, VIES no longer covers GB).
Download the EU and UK VAT-rate landscape cited on this page: vat-rate-landscape.csv (CC0). Method notes live on /statistics and /methodology.