Set Up UK VAT on BigCommerce 2026: Full Guide

BigCommerce is an enterprise-grade hosted e-commerce platform popular with growing brands and mid-market retailers. It includes built-in multi-currency, tax zone support, and the ability to connect third-party tax providers — making it well-suited for sellers operating across multiple regions. Once configured, BigCommerce handles UK VAT calculation automatically at checkout.

Enter Your VAT Registration Number

Before configuring tax rates, add your VAT number to your store profile:

1. Go to Settings → Store Profile
2. Enter your VAT registration number in the tax ID / VAT number field
3. Save — this number will appear on invoices and receipts

Configure UK Tax Rates

BigCommerce gives you two options for tax configuration: manual rates, or connecting a tax provider (like Avalara or TaxJar). For most UK sellers, manual rates are sufficient.

Manual tax setup:

1. Go to Settings → Tax
2. Enable Manual Tax (or ensure automatic tax is not active)
3. Click Add Tax Zone
4. Set the zone name to “United Kingdom” and select United Kingdom as the country
5. Add a tax rate within that zone:
   • Tax name: VAT
   • Rate: 20%
   • Applied to: Standard-rated goods and services
6. Save the zone

If you sell zero-rated goods (food, children’s clothing, books), create a separate tax class at 0% and assign it to those products under Products → Edit Product → Tax Class.

VAT-Inclusive vs VAT-Exclusive Display

1. Go to Settings → Tax → Tax Display Settings
2. Set “Display prices including tax” based on your pricing strategy from Step 3 of the checklist:
   • Enable for B2C stores (customers see the final price throughout)
   • Disable for B2B stores (customers see net prices, VAT added at checkout)
3. Configure how tax appears on the checkout page and in order confirmation emails

Connecting a Tax Provider (Optional)

For sellers shipping to multiple countries, or those who want automated rate updates, BigCommerce integrates with:

• Avalara AvaTax — enterprise tax automation, handles UK and international VAT
• TaxJar — simpler, US-focused but with some international coverage
• Vertex — enterprise-grade

These are overkill for a UK-only VAT setup but worth considering if you’re also selling to the EU or US.

Invoicing

BigCommerce’s built-in order confirmation emails can serve as simplified VAT receipts for B2C orders under £250, provided your store profile has your VAT number and address correctly set.

For B2B orders and orders over £250, you’ll need full VAT invoices. BigCommerce has a basic invoice template but limited customisation — many sellers use an accounting integration (Xero, QuickBooks) to generate compliant VAT invoices automatically.

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This is Step 4 of the UK VAT Setup Checklist. Continue to Step 5: set up invoicing →