Where your stock sits, where you sell, and how much you sell to EU consumers each year decide whether you must register, in which countries, and whether OSS/IOSS one-stop filing is open to you. Answer 3 questions for a registration checklist and risk notes.
For cross-border sellers, EU VAT starts with three questions: where the stock is, where you sell, and how much you sell to EU consumers a year. Stock in an FBA or third-party warehouse in an EU member state usually means you hold inventory in that country, and you must register for VAT there regardless of sales volume. There is no "sell a little and register later". Since Brexit the UK runs its own system: once goods are in a UK warehouse, non-UK businesses are generally required to register because of the stock, and you can't count on the higher threshold for local retailers (the £90,000 figure mentioned in this tool) to keep you out.
With no EU stock and goods shipped directly from China or elsewhere outside the EU, the focus moves to cross-border B2C distance sales. Once B2C sales to EU consumers reach €10,000 a year, you normally charge VAT at the buyer's country rate. You can register for OSS (One-Stop Shop) and report B2C sales across member states through a single EU country instead of filing country by country. OSS does not replace local registration where you hold stock, though: wherever the goods are, you still need a local VAT number there. Below €10,000 with no EU stock does not mean nothing to do: import VAT still applies, and imported B2C goods valued at ≤ €150 can go through IOSS, with platforms such as Amazon and TikTok often collecting and remitting it.
UK online sales also have a marketplace rule: for goods valued at ≤ £135 sold through an online marketplace, the platform usually collects and remits UK VAT. If you run your own store, or your order values fall outside what the platform collects, the obligation comes back to you. Not registering has real consequences: platforms may demand registration, suspend sales or freeze payouts, and tax authorities commonly pursue back VAT, interest and penalties after the fact.
It is the common annual dividing line for cross-border B2C distance sales to EU consumers. At or above it, VAT generally follows each destination country's rules. Below it, and with no EU stock, the focus is usually import VAT and IOSS rather than registering in each country as a local retailer straight away.
OSS is mainly one-stop reporting for cross-border B2C distance sales within the EU. IOSS is one-stop reporting of import VAT on imported B2C goods valued at ≤ €150. Whether the platform already collects depends on your seller dashboard and your product values. Don't assume the platform covers everything.
With stock in Germany, a German VAT registration is usually unavoidable. B2C sales to other member states can be reported through OSS once the distance selling rules apply, but that does not cancel obligations in France or elsewhere if you also hold stock there. With warehouses in several countries, check each location separately.
That rule only covers qualifying low-value orders through online marketplaces. With UK stock, non-UK businesses usually still face UK VAT registration, and for your own store or sales outside the platform's scope, the obligation may still sit with you. Platform collection is not a permanent exemption from registration and filing.
No. It maps your market, stock location and B2C band against common rules and adds OSS/IOSS notes. The actual registration order, documents and which country to register for OSS in depend on your full sales and warehousing data and the rules of the tax authority or platform.