VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

INTRODUCTION

▸ If your Shopify store is based in the European Union and your business is VAT-registered, you should not charge VAT to business customers from other EU countries besides your own.

▸ This means that business customers should be set as VAT exempt so they are not charged tax during the checkout.

Sufio allows you to capture and validate EU VAT registration numbers from your business customers and, when applicable,

automatically set them as tax exempt.

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

▸ VAT numbers from business customers will be also included on your invoices to make them valid and compliant with accounting legislation. Invoices will also include a note stating that services are subject to the reverse charge and VAT is to be accounted for by the recipient as per Article 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC.

When to charge VAT to your European customers? Read our VAT guide for Shopify stores selling in the EU.

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

ENABLE VAT EXEMPTIONS

▸ You can enable VAT exemption in the settings of your Sufio account. Visit the Account → Taxes page and check the Enable EU VAT Exemptions checkbox.

▸ If you also want to validate all VAT numbers using the official VIES VAT number validation service, make sure the Validate VAT Numbers checkbox is also checked.

▸ Please note that VAT exemptions are only available with our Business plan.

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

UPDATE YOUR STORE THEME

▸ You will need to add a new field to your Shopify store to allow your customers to enter their VAT registration numbers.

▸ While it is currently not possible to add additional fields to the checkout form in Shopify, you can capture VAT numbers in other parts of your store — on the customer registration page or the cart page.

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

CUSTOMER REGISTRATION PAGE

▸ The VAT number field can be added to the customer registration form. This will allow your customers to enter VAT registration numbers when they set up their customer accounts in your store.

▸ VAT numbers will be stored as part of customer notes. Sufio will automatically validate these VAT numbers and set business customers as tax exempt when applicable. Customer VAT numbers will also be included on your invoices.

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

1. In your Shopify admin, click on Online Store → Themes.

2. Click the … button, then click Edit HTML/CSS.

3. Select customers/register.liquid in the left sidebar. If you do not see such a file in your theme, check this document from Shopify.

4. Insert the following code snippet inside the <form>. A good place for the field is before the Email field.

TO ADD THE VAT NUMBER FIELD TO THE CUSTOMER REGISTRATION PAGE:

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

5. Select customers/account.liquid in the left sidebar.

6. Insert the following code snippet at the end of this file.

TO ADD THE VAT NUMBER FIELD TO THE CUSTOMER REGISTRATION PAGE:

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

An example of a Customer Registration form with the VAT number field

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

CART PAGE

‣ Another option is to add the VAT number field to the cart page so customers can enter their numbers just before the checkout.

‣ This solution is a bit less elegant. Customers which do not have an account (or are not logged in) will also need to enter their email address on the cart page. Also, some customers might not see their taxes removed on the first page of the checkout, but taxes will be removed once they proceed to the second page.

‣ VAT numbers will be stored as cart attributes and Sufio will automatically include them on your invoices.

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

CART PAGE

To add the email and VAT number fields to the cart page:

1. In your Shopify admin, click on Online Store → Themes.

2. Click the … button, then click Edit HTML/CSS.

3. Select cart.liquid in the left sidebar.

4. Insert the following code snippet inside the <form>. A good place for the field is just before the Check out button.

Do you need help with updating your store theme?

Contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

TEXT

Invoice with both the store's and customer's VAT numbers

Invoice with both the store's and customer's VAT numbers

VAT EXEMPT EU BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN SHOPIFY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

▸ Sufio is the first invoicing app for Shopify stores that allows to capture VAT numbers from business customers and automatically set them as tax exempt.

▸ See how Sufio can make your invoicing more intelligent.

‣ Visit http://sufio.com/