VAT on Etsy seller fees, by country
Etsy charges VAT on its own fees in most of the world — not on your sale price, on Etsy’s cut. In about twenty countries a valid VAT ID stops the charge. In eight it is charged whatever you do. Etsy publishes the country groups but publishes no rates at all, which is why nobody can answer the actual question. Here are both halves in one table.
Fee mechanics only. Nothing here is tax advice — whether to register, and whether you can reclaim, is a question for your accountant. Not affiliated with Etsy, Inc.
What is actually being taxed
Etsy’s two groups, in Etsy’s own words
Read from Etsy’s VAT on seller fees page on 18 August 2026. The page carries no date stamp, which is why we record the day we read it.
The rate, by country
Read this before the table. Etsy publishes the country groups above. Etsy does not publish the percentages. The rates below are the national VAT or GST rates that apply to a digital service supplied to a business in that country, taken from national tax schedules — they are our inference about which rate applies, not a figure Etsy printed. We are telling you that plainly because every other page we found presents rates like these as though Etsy published them.
| Seller country | Rate applied to Etsy’s fees | Can a VAT ID stop it? | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 27.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Finland | 25.5% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Sweden | 25.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Denmark | 25.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Norway | 25.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Greece | 24.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Portugal | 23.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Poland | 23.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Italy | 22.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Spain | 21.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Netherlands | 21.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Belgium | 21.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Czech Republic | 21.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Romania | 21.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| United Kingdom | 20.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| France | 20.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Austria | 20.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Bulgaria | 20.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Turkey | 20.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Germany | 19.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| India | 18.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| New Zealand | 15.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Australia | 10.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Singapore | 9.0% | VAT ID exempts you | Add a valid VAT ID and Etsy stops charging it |
| Ireland | 23.0% | Charged either way | Etsy charges it whether or not you hold a VAT ID |
| Brazil | 17.0% | Not on Etsy’s list | Etsy’s VAT article names neither country — see the caveat below |
| Mexico | 16.0% | Charged either way | Etsy charges it whether or not you hold a VAT ID |
| South Africa | 15.0% | Charged either way | Etsy charges it whether or not you hold a VAT ID |
| Japan | 10.0% | Charged either way | Etsy charges it whether or not you hold a VAT ID |
| Switzerland | 8.1% | Charged either way | Etsy charges it whether or not you hold a VAT ID |
| Canada | 5.0% | Not on Etsy’s list | Etsy’s VAT article names neither country — see the caveat below |
The only country in our calculator with no tax on Etsy fees is United States — which is a large part of why US sellers see a headline fee load several points below everyone else’s. Same figures as the fee calculator, one dataset, so the two cannot disagree.
The countries where this hurts most
- Hungary, 27%. The highest VAT rate in the EU, stacked on top of the highest regulatory operating fee on Etsy’s list (1.97%, new as of 22 June 2026). Hungarian sellers carry the heaviest total fee load of the 32 countries we model.
- Finland, 25.5%; Sweden, Denmark and Norway, 25%. The Nordic block pays a quarter on top of every Etsy fee line.
- Ireland, 23% — and no way out. Ireland is the one EU country Etsy places in the charged-regardless group. An Irish seller with a valid VAT number is still charged, where a German seller with one is not.
- Türkiye, 20% on top of the most expensive payment processing on the platform. Turkish sellers pay 6.5% + 14 TRY in processing, a 1.67% regulatory operating fee, and then 20% on all of it. A Turkish seller keeps materially less than a US seller on an identical order — and almost no fee calculator models this correctly.
- Switzerland, 8.1%. The lowest rate of any country that charges it, but in the charged-regardless group, so there is no VAT ID route out of it.
What to do with this
- Find your country in the table and check which group you are in. If you are in Group 1 and VAT-registered, add your VAT ID in Etsy’s settings — the charge stops.
- If you are in Group 1 and not registered, price for it. The tax is real and unavoidable at your current status. Whether registering is worth it is a conversation with an accountant, and it usually turns on your total turnover rather than on Etsy.
- If you are in Group 2, build it into your margin permanently. There is no setting that removes it.
- Run a real order through the calculator and read the “VAT / tax on Etsy fees” line on its own. It is usually larger than sellers expect, because it is charged on the sum of everything above it.
Common questions
Is there VAT on Etsy seller fees?
Yes, in most of the world. Etsy charges VAT or an equivalent sales tax on its own fees — the listing fee, transaction fee, payment processing and regulatory operating fee — not on your sale price. Of the 32 seller countries we model, only the United States has no tax on Etsy fees. This is separate from any VAT you owe on what you sell to buyers.
Does a VAT ID stop Etsy charging VAT on fees?
In about twenty countries, yes. Etsy: "If you added your VAT ID to your Etsy account, you won’t be charged. Instead, you will receive an invoice from Etsy on the first of each month stating that you were not charged VAT on your seller fees." That group covers Australia, the EU excluding Ireland, India, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Türkiye, the UK and others. In a second group — Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Serbia, South Africa, Switzerland and Vietnam — Etsy charges the tax regardless of whether you supply an ID.
What rate of VAT does Etsy charge on its fees?
Etsy publishes the country groups but does not publish any percentage rates on that page. The rate applied is the national VAT or GST rate for a digital service in your country — for example 19% in Germany, 20% in the UK and Türkiye, 21% in Spain, 23% in Ireland and Portugal, 25.5% in Finland and 27% in Hungary. We label those as national rates rather than as Etsy figures, because Etsy did not print them.
Why is Ireland treated differently from the rest of the EU?
Because Etsy puts it in the charged-regardless group. Etsy’s VAT page names "the EU (excluding Ireland)" in the group where a valid VAT ID stops the charge, and lists Ireland separately alongside Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Serbia, South Africa, Switzerland and Vietnam. An Irish seller holding a valid VAT number is still charged; a German seller holding one is not.
Can I reclaim the VAT Etsy charges on its fees?
For a VAT-registered business this is generally input VAT and may be recoverable on your return, which changes your real fee load materially. Below a registration threshold you are not required to register and you absorb the tax. Whether registering is worth it is a question for an accountant and usually turns on your total turnover rather than on Etsy. Nothing on this page is tax advice.
Which countries pay the most tax on Etsy fees?
Hungary at 27% is the highest, and it is stacked on the highest regulatory operating fee on Etsy’s list — 1.97%, new since 22 June 2026 — which makes Hungarian sellers the most heavily charged of the 32 countries we model. Finland is next at 25.5%, then Sweden, Denmark and Norway at 25%. The only country with no tax on Etsy fees at all is the United States.
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