Selling to EU Consumers 2026 — IOSS, VAT & Customs

This guide covers selling physical goods to individual consumers in the EU — people buying from your online store, your marketplace listing, or through social media. If you are selling to VAT-registered businesses, see the B2B guide instead.

What Is IOSS and Why You Need It

The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) is an EU scheme that lets you charge the buyer’s local VAT rate at checkout, collect it upfront, and remit it through a single monthly return. The parcel then clears EU customs smoothly because VAT has already been paid.

Without IOSS, every parcel is held at EU customs. The local postal service or courier charges the customer import VAT plus a handling fee — typically €4–15 per parcel depending on the country and carrier. Many customers refuse delivery. Return rates rise, reviews suffer, and repeat business disappears.

IOSS is optional in name. In practice, for any non-EU seller shipping to EU consumers at scale, it is essential.

Who Can Use IOSS

IOSS applies when all three conditions are met:

You are selling to a consumer (not a VAT-registered business)
The intrinsic value of the consignment is €150 or less (goods value only — not including shipping or insurance)
The goods are shipped from outside the EU to an EU destination

How to Register for IOSS

Non-EU sellers cannot register for IOSS directly. You must appoint an EU-established intermediary who registers on your behalf, files your monthly returns, and is jointly and severally liable for any VAT owed — which is why they charge a monthly fee.

Typical costs range from €10–300 per month depending on the provider and your transaction volume. For a detailed comparison of providers, see IOSS Intermediary Comparison.

Once you receive your IOSS number — a 12-digit identifier starting with IM — you enter it into your store and carrier systems. That number is your proof to EU customs that VAT was collected at checkout.

What VAT Rate to Charge at Checkout

You charge the destination country’s VAT rate, not your home country’s rate. When a French customer buys from you, you charge French VAT (20%). For a German customer, 19%. For a Hungarian customer, 27%.

Your e-commerce platform handles this automatically once configured with your IOSS number. The platform detects the customer’s shipping country and applies the correct rate.

You must show the VAT amount on the order confirmation so the customer can see what they paid and how much was VAT.

For the full rate table by country, see the EU overview page.

Product categories matter

Most goods are charged at the country’s standard rate, but many EU countries apply reduced rates to specific categories — books, food, medical supplies, children’s items. These reduced categories vary by country. What is reduced in France may be standard-rated in Germany. Check the individual country guides for product-specific rates.

Shipping Labels and Customs Declarations

Your IOSS number must appear on the customs declaration (CN22 or CN23) for every EU-bound parcel. This signals to EU customs that VAT has already been paid, triggering smooth clearance.

Critical: your carrier must transmit the IOSS number electronically to EU customs systems. A handwritten number on the label is not sufficient for most carriers. Confirm with your carrier that they support IOSS electronic data transmission before you ship.

Carriers that support IOSS include DHL, DPD, UPS, FedEx, and most national postal services with tracked international product lines. If your carrier does not transmit the IOSS number electronically, your parcels are treated as non-IOSS and the customer is charged VAT on delivery.

Monthly IOSS Returns

IOSS returns are filed monthly — not quarterly. Your intermediary handles the filing, but you are responsible for supplying accurate sales data.

Each return covers all 27 EU member states in a single filing. You report the total VAT collected per country and pay the total in one lump sum to the member state where you are registered. The EU distributes it to the individual countries.

Deadline: the last day of the month following the reporting period. Sales in January → return and payment due by 28 February. Sales in March → due by 30 April.

Missed deadlines risk penalties. Multiple missed deadlines risk cancellation of your IOSS registration.

What goes in the return

For each EU country you sold to that month:

Total value of goods sold
VAT rate applied
Total VAT collected

Your intermediary compiles this from your sales data. Make sure your platform can export EU sales by country with VAT amounts — most platforms do this natively.

Sales Over €150 — IOSS Doesn’t Apply

If a single consignment exceeds €150 in intrinsic value, IOSS does not cover it. You have two options:

DDP — Delivered Duty Paid

You use a courier that pre-clears VAT and duties on your behalf and bills you. The customer pays nothing on delivery. More expensive to ship but a much better customer experience. DHL Express, UPS, and FedEx all offer DDP services.

DAP — Delivered at Place

The customer pays import VAT, customs duties, and the carrier’s handling fee on delivery. Cheaper for you but a poor customer experience — many customers refuse delivery.

For most sellers, DDP is worth the extra shipping cost for orders over €150.

The €3 Customs Duty — From 1 July 2026

Until 30 June 2026, goods under €150 are exempt from EU customs duty. From 1 July 2026, every item shipped to the EU under €150 attracts a fixed €3 customs duty per item.

This is per item, not per parcel. Three items in one parcel = €9 in customs duty. This applies even if you are IOSS-registered.

Additionally, stricter data requirements come into effect from July 2026. For each item in a shipment you will need to provide product identifiers — HS codes or similar classification data. Your carrier and customs broker will need this.

A Union-wide customs handling fee (separate from the €3 duty) is also expected in November 2026.

Plan your pricing now. If you sell items under €15, the €3 duty materially changes your margins on EU sales.

Platform Setup

Shopify

Go to Settings → Taxes and duties
Add your IOSS number under EU tax settings
Shopify automatically calculates destination-country VAT for EU addresses at checkout
Verify by placing a test order with a French shipping address — you should see 20% VAT applied

WooCommerce

Install a VAT compliance plugin that supports IOSS (EU VAT Assistant, WooCommerce EU VAT Number, or similar)
Enter your IOSS number in the plugin settings
Configure EU VAT rates per country (or use the plugin’s built-in rate database)
Test with addresses in multiple EU countries to verify correct rates apply

Common Mistakes

Not registering for IOSS. Customers receive surprise fees on delivery, refuse parcels, and do not return.
Charging your home country’s rate instead of the destination rate. Germany is 19%, Hungary is 27%, Luxembourg is 17%.
Assuming there is a minimum threshold. There is no threshold for non-EU sellers. Your first sale creates an obligation.
Filing IOSS returns quarterly. They are monthly. Missing the monthly deadline risks cancellation of your registration.
Carrier not transmitting IOSS number electronically. The parcel is treated as non-IOSS and the customer is charged VAT twice.
Not budgeting for the €3 customs duty from July 2026. It applies per item, not per parcel.

Selling from a Specific Country?

The rules above apply to any seller based outside the EU. Some countries have additional requirements:

United Kingdom — Sellers based in Great Britain cannot register for IOSS directly and must use an EU-established intermediary. Northern Ireland has different rules under the Windsor Framework. See the UK guide to selling to EU consumers.
United States — guide coming soon
Australia — guide coming soon