EU VAT for freelancers: the €10,000 threshold and the One-Stop-Shop for cross-border digital sales
Sell digital services to consumers in other EU countries and, past a single €10,000 pan-EU threshold, you must charge each customer their own country's VAT rate. The One-Stop-Shop lets you handle all of it through one registration, one return, one payment.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Regulations change — verify the current rules with the official sources below before acting.
Sell an online course, a template, or a subscription to consumers around the EU and you hit a question that doesn't exist for a purely domestic freelancer: whose VAT do you charge? The EU's answer turns on one number and one portal.
The €10,000 line
There is a single, pan-EU annual threshold of €10,000. It covers your cross-border B2C sales of digital services (telecoms, broadcasting, and electronically supplied services) plus any intra-EU distance sales of goods — counted together, not separately.
- Below €10,000: the place of supply stays in your country. You charge your home VAT rate (or your home small-business exemption applies).
- Above €10,000: the place of supply shifts to the customer's country. You must charge their national VAT rate — Germany's 19%, France's 20%, and so on.
The One-Stop-Shop saves you 26 registrations
Charging destination VAT sounds like it means registering for VAT in every country you sell to. The One-Stop-Shop (OSS) exists precisely so you don't.
You register once, in a single EU country (your Member State of Identification), file one quarterly OSS return, and make one payment. That authority then forwards the right VAT to each customer's country. Keep the underlying records for ten years.
There are three schemes: the Union scheme (for EU-established businesses — the one most freelancers use), the Non-Union scheme (non-EU suppliers of services to EU consumers), and the Import scheme / IOSS (distance sales of imported goods up to €150).
The practical takeaway
Two things matter operationally. First, watch the running €10,000 total across all your cross-border consumer sales — it's cumulative and low, so digital sellers cross it fast. Second, once you're over it, you need to apply the correct rate per country, which means your invoicing has to know the customer's location and its VAT rate. Get those two right and OSS turns 27 tax systems into one quarterly return.
General information about EU cross-border VAT, current as of the review date above, and not tax advice. Rates and rules vary by member state — confirm your obligations with your national tax authority or a qualified adviser.
Frequently asked questions
What is the €10,000 EU VAT threshold?
A single pan-EU annual threshold covering your cross-border B2C sales of digital services and distance sales of goods, counted together. Below €10,000 you charge your own country's VAT rate. Above it, the place of supply shifts to the customer's country and you must charge their national VAT rate — via country-by-country registration or the One-Stop-Shop.
How does the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) work?
You register once in a single EU country, then file one quarterly OSS VAT return and make one payment covering all your cross-border B2C sales; that tax authority distributes the VAT to the other member states. One registration, one return, one payment — instead of registering in every country you sell to. Keep the records for ten years.