EU VAT Rates 2026: Standard Rates for All 27 Countries

Quick answer: EU VAT rates in 2026 range from a 17% standard rate in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. Most member states charge between 20% and 25%. Each country also has one or more reduced rates for items such as food, books and hospitality. Rates for all 27 countries are in the table below.

If you sell to customers in Europe, you need the right VAT rate for each invoice. The European Union sets common rules through the VAT Directive, but each member state chooses its own rates, and several have changed them recently. This guide lists the standard EU VAT rates for 2026, flags recent changes, explains how reduced rates work and shows which country's rate goes on your invoice. It is general information, not tax advice; always confirm rates with the national tax authority or the European Commission's VAT rates page.

What are the EU VAT rates for 2026?

The standard rates below were checked against public sources in October 2026. Rates can change with little notice, especially around 1 January and in mid-year budgets.

Country	Code	Standard rate 2026	Recent change
Austria	AT	20%
Belgium	BE	21%
Bulgaria	BG	20%
Croatia	HR	25%
Cyprus	CY	19%
Czechia	CZ	21%
Denmark	DK	25%
Estonia	EE	24%	Up from 22% on 1 July 2025
Finland	FI	25.5%	Up from 24% on 1 September 2024
France	FR	20%
Germany	DE	19%	Restaurant food moved to 7% reduced rate from 2026
Greece	EL	24%
Hungary	HU	27%
Ireland	IE	23%
Italy	IT	22%
Latvia	LV	21%
Lithuania	LT	21%
Luxembourg	LU	17%
Malta	MT	18%
Netherlands	NL	21%	Hotel stays moved from 9% to 21% in 2026
Poland	PL	23%
Portugal	PT	23%	Mainland rate; Azores and Madeira lower
Romania	RO	21%	Up from 19% on 1 August 2025
Slovakia	SK	23%	Up from 20% on 1 January 2025
Slovenia	SI	22%
Spain	ES	21%	Canary Islands use IGIC, not VAT
Sweden	SE	25%

Greece uses the prefix EL rather than GR in VAT numbers. Northern Ireland, while part of the UK, applies EU VAT rules for goods and uses the XI prefix for those transactions.

Which EU VAT rates changed recently?

Standard rates have moved upward in several countries, mainly to fund budget deficits and defence spending:

• Finland raised its standard rate to 25.5% in September 2024 and cut its main reduced rate from 14% to 13.5% from January 2026.
• Slovakia moved to 23% in January 2025, and from 2026 moved certain high-sugar and high-salt foods from a reduced rate to the standard rate.
• Estonia moved to 24% in July 2025, described by the government as temporary.
• Romania raised its standard rate to 21% and merged its reduced rates into a single 11% rate in August 2025.

We found no EU standard rate that changed on 1 January 2026. The 2026 changes were to reduced rates, such as hospitality in the Netherlands and restaurant food in Germany. If you invoice in several countries, put a reminder in your calendar each December to check for new rates.

How do reduced VAT rates work?

Under the EU VAT Directive, member states must apply a standard rate of at least 15%. They may also apply:

• Up to two reduced rates of at least 5% for goods and services listed in Annex III of the directive, such as food, water, books, passenger transport, hotel accommodation and some cultural events.
• A further reduced rate below 5% and a zero rate for a limited list of basic needs, under the flexibility added in the 2022 rates reform.
• Exemptions for activities such as most financial services, insurance, healthcare and education. An exempt supply carries no VAT, but the seller usually cannot reclaim input VAT; see zero-rated vs exempt VAT.

Most professional services, software, consulting, design and marketing are taxed at the standard rate. Reduced rates matter most for food, hospitality, publishing, transport and construction.

Which country's VAT rate goes on your invoice?

The rate depends on the place of supply, which depends on who the customer is and what you sell:

Transaction	VAT treatment
Domestic sale (seller and customer in same country)	Seller's country rate
B2B services to a VAT-registered business in another EU country	No VAT; customer self-accounts under the reverse charge
B2B goods shipped to a VAT-registered business in another EU country	Exempt intra-Community supply; customer accounts for acquisition VAT
B2C digital services or distance sales of goods, EU-wide total under €10,000 a year	Seller may charge its own country's rate
B2C digital services or distance sales above €10,000 a year	Customer's country rate, usually reported through the One Stop Shop
Sales to customers outside the EU	Generally outside the scope of EU VAT or zero-rated exports

For the reverse charge to apply, you need the customer's valid VAT number, which you can check in VIES; see our VIES VAT number check guide. The reverse charge invoice guide shows the wording to use, and the EU VAT One Stop Shop guide explains OSS registration.

Worked example: one invoice, three customers

A German web developer, registered for standard VAT, builds a €3,000 website for three different customers in October 2026:

Customer	Net	VAT	Total	Invoice note
Bakery in Munich (domestic)	€3,000.00	€570.00 (19%)	€3,570.00	Standard German VAT
VAT-registered agency in Vienna	€3,000.00	€0.00	€3,000.00	Reverse charge, both VAT numbers shown
Consumer client in Dublin (bespoke service, not automated digital)	€3,000.00	€570.00 (19%)	€3,570.00	General B2C rule: supplier's country

Had the Dublin sale been an automated digital service, such as a downloadable theme, Irish VAT at 23% would apply once the developer's EU-wide B2C digital and distance sales passed €10,000 a year. Place-of-supply rules have many special cases, so check the treatment for your service. To calculate the amounts, see how to calculate VAT.

How to use EU VAT rates correctly on invoices

1. Identify the customer as a business (with a valid VAT number) or a consumer.
2. Determine the place of supply for your goods or service.
3. Pick the rate for that country and that product category, standard or reduced.
4. Show the rate and amount separately on the invoice, alongside the net and gross totals.
5. Add mandatory notes for zero-rated, exempt or reverse charge supplies.
6. Record the sale in the right box of your VAT return or OSS return.
7. Review rates yearly and update your invoice templates when a country changes its rate.

Country-specific invoice rules also apply; see German invoice requirements, French invoice requirements and our overview of invoice requirements by country.

How should VAT appear on an EU invoice?

The EU VAT Directive sets a common list of details for a full VAT invoice, which every member state applies with some local additions. The core items are:

• Date of issue and a unique sequential invoice number.
• Your VAT number, and the customer's VAT number for reverse charge and intra-Community supplies.
• Full names and addresses of supplier and customer.
• Quantity and nature of the goods, or extent and nature of the services.
• Date of supply, if different from the invoice date.
• Taxable amount per rate, unit price excluding VAT and any discounts.
• The VAT rate applied and the VAT amount payable.
• Where no VAT is charged, the reason (exemption, reverse charge, intra-Community supply).

If an invoice includes items at different rates, show a subtotal and VAT amount for each rate. Countries often add their own requirements, such as language rules, specific legal notes or e-invoicing formats; see Ireland's VAT invoice requirements or the Spanish invoice template for examples, and the general VAT invoice guide for the full field list. If you are used to US-style invoicing, sales tax vs VAT vs GST explains the differences. You can enter any rate from the table above in our invoice generator, which shows the VAT line separately from the net total.

Common EU VAT rate mistakes

• Using an old rate after a country's increase, such as 22% for Estonia or 19% for Romania.
• Charging your own VAT to an EU business customer instead of applying the reverse charge.
• Applying a reduced rate to services that are standard-rated in that country.
• Forgetting the €10,000 EU-wide threshold for B2C digital and distance sales.
• Using GR instead of EL for Greek VAT numbers.
• Copying rates from outdated third-party tables without checking an official source.

What is changing next in EU VAT?

Beyond rates, the bigger change is VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA), which will bring mandatory e-invoicing and digital reporting for intra-EU B2B transactions from 2030, with national e-invoicing mandates arriving earlier in several countries. Our guide to ViDA covers the timeline, and the German e-invoicing timeline shows how one member state is phasing it in.

EU VAT rates in 2026 run from 17% to 27%, with recent increases in Finland, Slovakia, Estonia and Romania. Check the rate for the country and product each time, apply the reverse charge for valid B2B customers and show the rate clearly on every invoice. Our free invoice generator lets you set any VAT rate, shows the tax separately, needs no sign-up and creates the PDF in your browser.