The VAT One Stop Shop (OSS) lets UK organisations selling digital services to EU consumers report VAT in a single EU member state rather than registering in each of the 27 countries. Since Brexit, UK suppliers use the Non-Union OSS, an essential simplification for SaaS, e-learning, streaming and app businesses.
Who needs the Non-Union OSS
If you are a UK business selling B2C digital services to EU consumers (telecoms, broadcasting, electronically supplied services), you must charge VAT at the customer’s local rate from the first euro of sale. There is no EU-wide threshold for UK suppliers post-Brexit.
| Sale type | VAT rule |
|---|---|
| B2B EU customer (valid VAT number) | Reverse charge, no UK VAT |
| B2C EU consumer, digital service | Charge customer-country VAT, report via OSS |
| B2C UK consumer | Standard UK VAT 20% |
| B2C non-EU consumer | Outside the scope of UK and EU VAT |
Registering for Non-Union OSS
You pick one EU member state of identification. Ireland is a popular choice for UK businesses for language reasons, but any state works. Once registered, you submit a single quarterly OSS return covering all EU sales, in euros, and the host tax authority redistributes VAT to each consumer’s country.
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Choose member state | Ireland, Netherlands, France, etc. |
| Register online | Through that state’s revenue portal |
| Charge correct rate | Use customer’s country VAT rate at point of sale |
| File quarterly return | By the end of the month after each quarter |
| Pay in euros | Single payment to host authority |
Practical compliance points
Sellers must keep records for 10 years and prove the customer’s location with two non-contradictory pieces of evidence (billing address, IP address, bank country, SIM country code).
- Apply the correct VAT rate per country (Hungary 27% to Luxembourg 17% on e-books)
- Keep the customer’s country evidence on file
- Convert non-euro amounts using the European Central Bank rate on the last day of the quarter
- Reconcile OSS revenue to your management accounts each quarter
- File even nil returns to avoid being deregistered
- Watch for changes to the EU’s SME scheme that may affect threshold rules
Bringing it together
For help registering for and filing the non-Union OSS return, ask for accounting help.