EU VAT
VAT that survives an audit.
WopCart applies the rate of the buyer’s country, validates VAT numbers with VIES, applies the reverse charge with the right invoice wording, and keeps the evidence, invoices and per-country figures you need. In the free plugin, like everything else.
This page describes software features. It is not tax advice.
The four parts
Rate, evidence, reverse charge, report. Each one is where the work usually goes wrong.
Rates by country
- The rate of the buyer’s EU country
- A tax class per product: standard, reduced, e-publication or not taxable
- Your store country decides which rules apply to you as the seller
- Net or gross display, with unit prices
Location evidence
EU rules for digital services require evidence of where the customer is. WopCart stores the billing country and the country derived from the buyer’s IP address with each order, and records whether the two agree.
The IP address is sent to a geolocation service (ipapi.co) when EU VAT is enabled. The result is cached.
Reverse charge
- VAT numbers are validated against the European Commission’s VIES service. You can turn this off.
- Valid cross-border B2B sales are zero-rated
- The invoice then states the reverse charge under Article 196 of Directive 2006/112/EC
OSS figures
- VAT collected per country, the figures an OSS return asks for
- Revenue, product and gateway reports alongside
- You or your accountant file the return; WopCart does not file it for you
- Sequential invoice numbers per series.
- Each invoice is built from a snapshot taken at the time of sale, so later product or address changes never alter a document you already issued.
- A refund creates a separately numbered credit note.
- Optional connection to InvoicesGenerator for hosted PDFs, with WopCart keeping the numbering.
EU consumers can usually withdraw from an online purchase within 14 days. For digital content delivered immediately, that right ends only if the buyer expressly agrees to immediate delivery and acknowledges losing it.
WopCart adds this consent to checkout, on by default, and stores the time of consent with the order.
- Prices shown in the visitor’s currency with automatic exchange rates, or fixed prices per currency.
- Structured data always uses your base-currency prices.
- A GDPR erasure anonymises personal data but keeps the invoice records tax law requires you to retain.
VAT questions
Does WopCart file my OSS return?
No. It calculates VAT at checkout and reports VAT per country. You or your accountant file the return.
Reverse charge, or just zero?
For a valid VAT number from another member state, the sale is treated as a reverse charge, and the invoice carries the reverse-charge wording.
Can I turn off VIES validation?
Yes, with one setting under Taxes & VAT. The reverse charge then relies on the number as entered.