eBay VAT is the Value Added Tax that either eBay or you must charge on a sale, depending on where the goods are, where the buyer is, and how much the consignment is worth. eBay is legally the “deemed supplier” — and therefore collects and remits the tax itself — on goods worth €150 or less imported into the EU, goods worth £135 or less imported into the UK, and goods of any value stored inside the EU or UK when sold by an overseas seller to a consumer there. Every other sale leaves the VAT obligation with you, subject to your own registration thresholds and reporting rules.
When eBay Collects the VAT for You
The deemed supplier rule treats the sale as two transactions for tax purposes: a zero-rated business-to-business sale from you to eBay, and a business-to-consumer sale from eBay to the buyer with VAT added. You never touch the tax. eBay calculates it at checkout, collects it from the buyer, and pays it to the tax authority.
For the UK, this covers two situations. Goods located outside the UK sold to a UK consumer in a consignment worth £135 or less: eBay charges UK VAT at the point of sale. And goods of any value already located in the UK sold by an overseas-based seller to a UK consumer: eBay charges the VAT regardless of price.1HM Revenue & Customs. VAT and Overseas Goods Sold to Customers in the UK Using Online Marketplaces If the buyer provides a valid VAT number, indicating a business purchase, eBay steps out and normal business-to-business rules apply.
The EU works the same way. eBay collects VAT on imports in consignments valued at €150 or less, and on goods already inside the EU when sold by a non-EU seller to an EU consumer. For low-value imports it uses the Import One-Stop Shop, registering in one EU country and remitting across all 27 member states.2eBay Export. VAT Import Regulations for the EU
What You Still Have to Do on Those Shipments
For EU-bound consignments of €150 or less, eBay’s IOSS number must appear on the electronic customs data for the parcel. You’ll find it under the consignee address field in the order details, and it needs to be transmitted digitally to your carrier. Printing it on the label alone is not enough.2eBay Export. VAT Import Regulations for the EU If the number never reaches customs electronically, the parcel gets treated as a non-IOSS import and the buyer is charged VAT a second time on delivery.
The UK equivalent works through eBay’s own VAT registration rather than an IOSS-style number — the standard UK VAT rate is 20%.3GOV.UK. VAT Rates Your obligation is the same: list the goods at their real value and complete an accurate customs declaration.
Both thresholds refer to the intrinsic value of the goods, excluding transport and insurance. Undervaluing a shipment to slip under the threshold invites seizure, fines, and delivery delays, and customs authorities are increasingly good at spotting it.
When the Consignment Is Above the Threshold
Cross a consignment over €150 (EU) or £135 (UK) and eBay stops collecting VAT at checkout. The buyer pays import VAT and any customs duty when the parcel arrives, either through the carrier or directly to customs. This is where most rejected deliveries originate, because buyers don’t expect the extra charge.
State in your listing that the buyer is responsible for import taxes and duties on arrival. It doesn’t stop every refusal, but it cuts them sharply.
Your customs declaration must show the full value of the goods plus shipping and insurance, because VAT is charged on that combined figure. Each item also needs a Harmonized System code, which determines the customs duty rate and the applicable VAT category. Getting the code wrong can mean overpayment, underpayment, or the shipment being held. The U.S. International Trade Commission publishes a searchable Harmonized Tariff Schedule you can use to find the right classification.4U.S. International Trade Commission. HTS Search – Harmonized Tariff Schedule The first six digits are standardized worldwide.
When You Have to Register for VAT Yourself
eBay’s role as deemed supplier doesn’t replace your own registration obligations. The two run in parallel.
UK
UK-based sellers must register with HMRC once taxable UK turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period.5GOV.UK. How VAT Works – VAT Thresholds The threshold rose from £85,000 in April 2024.6GOV.UK. VAT – Increasing the Registration and Deregistration Thresholds Voluntary registration below the threshold is possible and lets you reclaim input VAT on business costs.
For a non-established seller — someone based outside the UK making taxable supplies inside it — the £90,000 threshold doesn’t apply. Registration is required from the first sale.7GOV.UK. Who Should Register for VAT – VAT Notice 700/1 There is an important exception: if all your UK sales to non-business customers go through an online marketplace like eBay, you can apply for an exemption from registration on the basis that the marketplace is already accounting for the VAT.8GOV.UK. VATREG37210 – Non-Established Taxable Persons Sell anything outside the platform, or accept a VAT number from a business buyer on it, and the exemption falls away.
EU
Each EU country sets its own domestic registration threshold. For cross-border sales to consumers in other EU states, the One-Stop Shop scheme can remove the need to register in every destination country. Storing inventory in an EU country generally triggers a local registration requirement there whatever your sales level.
Business or Private Seller
VAT registration only applies if you are trading as a business. Selling personal belongings at or below what you paid for them isn’t a taxable business activity. Buying items specifically to resell at a profit is trading, and those sales count toward the threshold. Registering when you don’t need to creates ongoing filing work; failing to register when you should brings penalties.
Simplifying Cross-Border EU Reporting
The Union One-Stop Shop covers cross-border sales of goods already inside the EU to consumers in other member states. You register through your home country’s tax portal, charge each buyer their local VAT rate, and file a single quarterly return; the home authority distributes the tax to each destination country.9European Union. EU VAT One Stop Shop (OSS) Without it, you’d need a separate registration in every country you sell into.10European Commission. The One Stop Shop – VAT e-Commerce
The Import scheme (IOSS) covers goods imported from outside the EU in consignments of €150 or less, with monthly rather than quarterly returns.10European Commission. The One Stop Shop – VAT e-Commerce When eBay acts as deemed supplier, eBay handles the IOSS registration and filing; you don’t need your own.
Non-EU sellers who ship from an EU warehouse to consumers in other member states can use the Union scheme too, registering through the country where the inventory sits.
Invoices and Records
Who issues the invoice depends on who handled the VAT. When eBay collects it as deemed supplier, eBay issues the consumer-facing invoice with the tax included and gives you a self-billing document confirming the zero-rated business-to-business leg. On sales where the VAT obligation stays with you, you issue the invoice yourself with your VAT ID, the rate, and the tax amount.
Retention periods are long. UK VAT records must be kept for at least six years.11GOV.UK. Record Keeping (VAT Notice 700/21) EU transactions reported through the One-Stop Shop must be kept for 10 years from the end of the year of the transaction.12European Commission. Record Keeping and Audits in OSS – VAT e-Commerce Records need to be detailed enough to reconstruct each sale, including evidence of the customer’s location that justified the VAT rate applied.
eBay produces transaction reports and VAT summaries that feed your returns. Reconcile them against your own accounts before filing. Discrepancies are exactly what triggers an HMRC or tax-authority inquiry.
Refunds and Cancellations
Where eBay collected the VAT, refunds are proportional. A full refund returns the full VAT to the buyer; a 50% partial refund returns half.13eBay.com. VAT on eBay Purchases for EU Buyers This only works through eBay’s own refund process — refunds you handle outside the platform will not automatically reverse the VAT.
Where you collected the VAT yourself, issue a credit note against the original invoice and reduce the VAT on your next return. Clean records of which sales were deemed-supplier and which were your own responsibility make this straightforward at filing time.
Collection Beyond the EU and UK
eBay’s collection role isn’t limited to Europe. Australia requires marketplaces to collect 10% GST on low-value imported goods sold to Australian consumers once the platform meets the A$75,000 registration threshold, which eBay does.14Australian Taxation Office. GST and Consumers – Imported Services, Digital Products and Low Value Imported Goods Norway operates the VOEC scheme, under which platforms register once sales to Norwegian consumers exceed NOK 50,000 a year and collect VAT on goods worth up to NOK 3,000 per item; foodstuffs and excise-taxable goods are excluded.15WCO. The Norwegian VOEC Scheme Comparable rules exist in Canada, Japan, and elsewhere. The seller usually has nothing extra to do on these sales.
The 2026 EU Customs Duty Change
The EU is removing the €150 customs duty exemption in 2026. Low-value parcels currently enter duty-free (though VAT already applies via IOSS); once the change takes effect, they’ll be subject to customs duty as well.16European Commission. 150 EUR Customs Duty Exemption Threshold to Be Removed as of 2026 An EU e-commerce handling fee is also being introduced from November 2026.
IOSS collection of VAT stays in place — the change only adds customs duty that low-value goods didn’t previously carry. Total costs for EU buyers of imported items will rise, which affects both pricing and demand. Accurate HS codes become more important still, since duty rates vary by category. If your margins have depended on the duty exemption to stay competitive with EU-based sellers, that assumption needs revisiting before the change lands.