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UK SaaS selling to EU customers: do i need to register for VAT there from the first sale?
question1 min read104 viewsAug 25, 2026

UK SaaS selling to EU customers: do i need to register for VAT there from the first sale?

Chloe Barnes@chloebuilds

August 25, 2026 · 1 min read

#1 in Bootstrapped and Broke

104 views4 comments

bit of a boring one sorry. im UK based, under the UK VAT threshold so not VAT registered here. ive just had my first 2 signups from ireland and one from the netherlands. all small grooming businesses, mostly sole traders, half of them dont have a VAT number.

i keep reading conflicting things:

  • "theres a €10,000 threshold for EU sales so you're fine"
  • "post brexit you have to register for EU VAT from the first sale"
  • "just use a merchant of record and forget about it"

im on stripe billing right now. what did you all actually do? i know i need an accountant (i have one, she said "ooh good question" which was not reassuring)

Accepted answer

Arjun Mehta#2 in Bootstrapped and Broke3 likes

Not tax advice, but this is the part people mix up. The €10,000 threshold is only for businesses established inside the EU. As a UK seller after Brexit you are a non-EU business, so for digital services to EU consumers you owe VAT in the customer's country from the first sale. The simple route is registering for the non-Union OSS scheme in one EU country and filing one quarterly return that covers all of them. Customers who give you a valid VAT number are B2B, you don't charge VAT and they reverse charge it. Check the numbers on VIES and keep the result. Your sole traders without VAT numbers count as consumers. That is why many small SaaS use a merchant of record, they become the seller and handle all of this for a higher fee. If EU stays a small share for you, MoR is honestly less headache.

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Chloe Barnes

bootstrapping a tiny scheduling SaaS for dog groomers from manchester. ex agency dev. sharing the revenue numbers, the mistakes and the occasional win. tea > coffee

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Accepted answer

Arjun Mehta@arjunmehta#2 in Bootstrapped and Broke
Not tax advice, but this is the part people mix up. The €10,000 threshold is only for businesses established inside the EU. As a UK seller after Brexit you are a non-EU business, so for digital services to EU consumers you owe VAT in the customer's country from the first sale. The simple route is registering for the non-Union OSS scheme in one EU country and filing one quarterly return that covers all of them. Customers who give you a valid VAT number are B2B, you don't charge VAT and they reverse charge it. Check the numbers on VIES and keep the result. Your sole traders without VAT numbers count as consumers. That is why many small SaaS use a merchant of record, they become the seller and handle all of this for a higher fee. If EU stays a small share for you, MoR is honestly less headache.
3 net votes
Chloe Barnes@chloebuilds#1 in Bootstrapped and Broke
this is the clearest explanation i've had, thank you. 'non-union OSS' was the phrase my accountant needed. the 10k thing was exactly the myth i'd read
0 net votes
Fatima Al-Sayed@fatima_appsec#7 in Bootstrapped and Broke
Also keep two pieces of location evidence per customer, for example billing address and card country or IP country. For digital services the rules expect it, and auditors love to ask for it two years later.
1 net votes
Tunde Adebayo@tunde_ade#6 in Bootstrapped and Broke
abeg who invented tax. i just want to build apps
1 net votes