Twenty of the 27 EU countries changed at least one VAT rate between 1 January 2025 and 3 October 2026. Three raised the standard rate itself. The newest change, Poland's fuel cut, started on 3 October 2026.
Quick answer: EU standard VAT rates in 2026 run from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary, and the unweighted average is 21.9%. Most countries add one or two reduced rates of 5% or more. A few also keep a super-reduced rate below 5%. The table below gives all 27, checked on 3 October 2026.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Rates checked on 3 October 2026 against the European Commission's VAT rate table and national tax authority pages. Regional rates, such as those of the Azores, are left out. Greece's 17% is its island rate, explained below.
Jump to: Rate changes in 2025 and 2026 | What the EU's own table leaves out | How the rate types work | Whose rate you charge | Selling from Bulgaria | Changes still coming | UK, Norway and Switzerland | Which rule fits your business | FAQ
| Country | Standard rate | Reduced rates | Super-reduced rate | Parking rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 20% | 10% / 13% | 4.9% (since 1 July 2026) | 13% |
| Belgium | 21% | 6% / 12% | - | 12% |
| Bulgaria | 20% | 9% | - | - |
| Croatia | 25% | 5% / 13% | - | - |
| Cyprus | 19% | 5% / 9% | 3% | - |
| Czechia | 21% | 12% (0% on some items) | - | - |
| Denmark | 25% | none (0% on some items) | - | - |
| Estonia | 24% | 9% / 13% | - | - |
| Finland | 25.5% | 10% / 13.5% | - | - |
| France | 20% | 5.5% / 10% | 2.1% | - |
| Germany | 19% | 7% | - | - |
| Greece | 24% | 6% / 13% / 17% | 4% | - |
| Hungary | 27% | 5% / 18% | - | - |
| Ireland | 23% | 9% / 13.5% | 4.8% (livestock) | - |
| Italy | 22% | 5% / 10% | 4% | - |
| Latvia | 21% | 5% / 12% | - | - |
| Lithuania | 21% | 5% / 12% | - | - |
| Luxembourg | 17% | 8% | 3% | 14% |
| Malta | 18% | 5% / 7% | - | 12% |
| Netherlands | 21% | 9% | - | - |
| Poland | 23% | 5% / 8% | - | - |
| Portugal | 23% | 6% / 13% | - | 13% |
| Romania | 21% | 11% | - | - |
| Slovakia | 23% | 5% / 19% | - | - |
| Slovenia | 22% | 5% / 9.5% | - | - |
| Spain | 21% | 10% | 4% | - |
| Sweden | 25% | 6% / 12% | - | - |
The version of this guide we published in November 2024 had four standard rates that are now wrong. Estonia, Romania and Slovakia have moved up since then, and Finland's 25.5% had already started in September 2024. That's the problem with a VAT table: it goes stale quietly, and an invoice at last year's rate leaves the seller paying the gap. So this page lists every change with the date it took effect, and the official source behind it.
One limit before you start. Rates tell you the percentage, not which goods qualify for it. Bread, books and hotel nights land in different brackets in different countries, and the scope lists run to dozens of pages per country. For anything outside the standard rate, check the national list before you invoice.
EU VAT rate changes in 2025 and 2026, with dates
We compared every row of the table above against each country's tax authority or finance ministry. The table below covers changes that took effect from 1 January 2025 to 3 October 2026. A scope change counts too: moving hotel nights from 9% to 21% matters to a hotel as much as a new rate does.
| Country | What changed | Effective date | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | Standard rate 20% to 23%; new reduced rates of 19% and 5% | 1 January 2025 | Financial Administration of Slovakia |
| Slovakia | Several foods, including sweets and crisps, moved from 19% to 23% | 1 January 2026 | Financial Administration of Slovakia |
| Estonia | Accommodation 9% to 13%; press publications 5% to 9% | 1 January 2025 | Estonian Tax and Customs Board |
| Estonia | Standard rate 22% to 24% | 1 July 2025 | Estonian Tax and Customs Board |
| Finland | Most goods and services at 10% moved to 14% | 1 January 2025 | Finnish Tax Administration |
| Finland | 14% rate cut to 13.5%; public broadcasting 10% to 13.5% | 1 January 2026 | Finnish Tax Administration |
| Bulgaria | Restaurant and catering food lost its 9% rate, so it now takes 20% | 1 January 2025 | Consolidated VAT Act published by the NRA |
| Spain | Olive oil set at 4% permanently; seed oils back to 10% | 1 January 2025 | Spanish Tax Agency |
| Romania | Standard rate 19% to 21%; 5% and 9% merged into one 11% rate | 1 August 2025 | ANAF (Law 141/2025) |
| Italy | Works of art, antiques and collectors' items cut from 22% to 5% (outside the margin scheme) | Decree-Law 95 of 30 June 2025 | Italian Revenue Agency |
| Ireland | 9% on certain apartments, until 31 December 2030 | 8 October 2025 | Revenue Commissioners |
| Germany | Food in restaurants and catering 19% to 7%; drinks stay at 19% | 1 January 2026 | Federal Government |
| Netherlands | Short stays in hotels, guesthouses and holiday parks 9% to 21% | 1 January 2026 | Dutch Tax Administration |
| Lithuania | 9% rate abolished: accommodation, passenger transport and cultural entry to 12%; books to 5%; residential heating loses its 9% | 1 January 2026 | State Tax Inspectorate |
| Greece | Rates cut by 30% on 19 small border islands: 24% to 17%, 13% to 9% | 1 January 2026 | Ministry of Finance; AADE circular E.2113/2025 |
| Austria | Contraceptives and menstrual hygiene products made VAT-exempt | 1 January 2026 | Federal Ministry of Finance |
| Cyprus | 0% on infant milk, nappies, feminine hygiene products and listed fresh produce extended | 1 January to 31 December 2026 | Cyprus Tax Department |
| Belgium | Furnished accommodation and campsites 6% to 12%; pesticides 12% to 21% | 1 March 2026 | Federal Council of Ministers; FPS Finance |
| Sweden | Food 12% to 6%, temporarily; restaurant service stays at 12% | 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2027 | Swedish Tax Agency |
| Cyprus | 0% on fresh, chilled and frozen meat and fish | 6 April to 30 September 2026 | Cyprus Tax Department |
| Portugal | Temporary 6% on construction and renovation of housing | Decree-Law 97/2026 of 20 May 2026 | Diário da República |
| Austria | New 4.9% rate on listed basic foods (bread, milk, eggs and others) | 1 July 2026 | Austrian Business Service Portal |
| Ireland | Restaurant and hot takeaway food, and hairdressing, moved to 9% | 1 July 2026 | Revenue Commissioners |
| Latvia | Bread, milk, poultry and eggs at 12%, temporarily | 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 | Ministry of Economics |
| Hungary | Prescription-only medicines cut to 0% (Act XL of 2026) | 1 September 2026 | National Tax and Customs Administration |
| Poland | Petrol and diesel 23% to 8%, temporarily | 3 October to 31 December 2026 | Ministry of Finance |
Two patterns stand out. Every standard-rate move in this period went up: Slovakia, Estonia and Romania, all in 2025. The 2026 changes are almost all in reduced rates, and they run both ways. Germany, Sweden, Austria, Ireland and Latvia cut VAT on food or meals out. The Netherlands and Belgium raised it on hotel stays.
The change most rate tables still miss is Lithuania's. Lithuania abolished its 9% VAT rate on 1 January 2026, moving accommodation and passenger transport to 12% and books to 5%. A table still showing "5% / 9%" for Lithuania predates that.
Poland's case shows how fast this moves. Poland's Ministry of Finance cut VAT on petrol and diesel from 23% to 8% for 3 October to 31 December 2026. It announced the cut on 2 October, a day before it started, and it's the third such window this year.
Romania also had a short transitional rule. A buyer could take one home at 9%, up to 120 square metres, if bought between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2026. ANAF's own guidance gives that end date, so any page quoting 9% for homes today is out of date.
We left one change out on purpose. France created a 5.5% rate for home solar installations in its Finance Law of 14 February 2025. We couldn't confirm the start date on an official page. It isn't in the table for that reason.
What the EU's own rate table leaves out
The European Commission publishes a summary of all 27 rates on its Your Europe VAT rates page. It's the page most people check first, and it was last reviewed on 13 July 2026. Even so, it misses three rates that national authorities confirm are in force:
- Austria's 4.9% rate on basic foods, live since 1 July 2026. The EC row still reads 10% / 13%.
- Estonia's 13% rate on accommodation, live since 1 January 2025. The EC row shows only 9%.
- Ireland's 4.8% livestock rate. Revenue's own rate table lists it for 1 January 2026, and every year back to 2021.
Hungary's 0% rate on prescription medicines started on 1 September 2026, after the EC's last check. So a table copied from the Commission page in October 2026 is wrong for four countries. Our table above adds the three missing rates. Hungary's 0% is a zero rate on one product group, so it sits in the text rather than in a column.
The Commission says as much itself. Its page tells readers to check the latest rates with the national VAT authority. That's the habit worth keeping: use the EC table to find the rate, then confirm it at the source before it goes on an invoice.
How the rate types work
The VAT Directive sets a floor, not a ceiling. Each country's standard rate must be at least 15%, and there's no maximum. Hungary's 27% is legal for that reason, and no country sits close to the floor: Luxembourg's 17% is the lowest.
Reduced rates follow rules set by the 2022 rate reform (Directive 2022/542), in force since April 2022:
- Reduced rates: up to two, each at least 5%, for goods and services on a list of 24 categories in Annex III of the Directive.
- Super-reduced rate: one rate below 5% for basic needs, such as food or medicine.
- Zero rate: a 0% rate where the seller can still deduct input VAT, for up to seven categories. Exempt sales are different: an exempt seller can't recover the VAT it paid.
- Parking rate: a rate of at least 12% kept for items outside Annex III. It exists because some countries had these rates before the EU rules started.
Austria's new 4.9% shows the system at work. At under 5%, it falls under the super-reduced rules for basic needs, not the normal reduced-rate list. Greece shows another route: on 19 small islands in the North Aegean, Samothrace and the Dodecanese, every rate is cut by 30%. That's where the 17% in our Greek row comes from.
Why is EU VAT so high? Partly because VAT carries a large share of tax revenue, and partly because the floor itself is 15%. Exemptions matter as much as rates: most healthcare, education and financial services are exempt across the EU.
Whose rate you charge: the place-of-supply rules
The rate depends on where the sale is taxed, not on where you are. Three rules cover most cross-border sales.
Business customers (B2B): for most services and for goods shipped to a VAT-registered buyer in another EU country, you usually charge no VAT. The customer accounts for VAT at its own rate under the reverse charge. Check the buyer's VAT number in VIES, the Commission's validation tool, before you invoice.
Consumers buying goods online: for these B2C distance sales, the EU-wide threshold is EUR 10,000 a year. That figure covers all your cross-border consumer sales of goods and listed digital services combined. Below it, you can charge your home rate. Above it, you charge the customer's rate and can report it through the One-Stop Shop (OSS) in your home country.
Digital services to consumers: e-books, streaming and software sold to consumers count toward the same EUR 10,000 threshold. Above it, the customer's country sets the rate. E-books often get a reduced rate: Lithuania cut its e-book rate from 9% to 5% this year.
Here's what that means in practice. A shop selling a EUR 100 item to consumers abroad collects EUR 127 in Hungary and EUR 117 in Luxembourg, once it's past the threshold. Who pays the difference? If your prices are VAT-inclusive and identical across the EU, you do.
Selling from Bulgaria: rates and thresholds in euro
Bulgaria's numbers are all in euro now, and the 9% list is shorter than many guides suggest. The NRA's consolidated VAT Act, published on 5 January 2026, limits the 9% rate to three groups:
- accommodation in hotels and similar places, including campsites;
- books and periodicals, in print or electronic form;
- baby food, nappies and similar baby hygiene items.
Restaurant meals aren't on it any more. Their 9% rate ran until 31 December 2024 inclusive, so a Sofia restaurant has charged 20% since 1 January 2025.
The domestic registration trigger is EUR 51,130 of annual turnover, set by an amendment in force from 1 January 2026. Once you pass it, the application is due within 7 days. A separate EUR 10,000 threshold applies to acquisitions of goods from other EU countries by businesses that aren't registered.
Foreign suppliers face a broader rule since 1 January 2026. Article 97, the special registration rule for goods supplied with installation, was repealed. In its place, any EU business making a taxable supply in Bulgaria must register before the VAT on its first supply falls due. The exceptions are sales reported through the OSS and sales where the customer owes the tax. Registration, returns and the OSS filing all sit with your bookkeeper, and our accountancy services in Bulgaria cover that monthly cycle.
The euro switch didn't change any VAT rate. What changed is the currency on every invoice and return. If you're still converting old lev prices, the euro adoption VAT checklist walks through invoicing, rounding and VIES reporting.
Changes still coming
Several rates on this page already have an end date. Others are pending. Here's what to watch:
- Poland: the 8% fuel rate ends on 31 December 2026 unless extended again.
- Cyprus: the 0% on infant milk, nappies and fresh produce runs until 31 December 2026.
- Latvia: the 12% on bread, milk, poultry and eggs ends on 30 June 2027.
- Sweden: the 6% on food ends on 31 December 2027.
- Denmark: zero VAT on books is not in force. The government re-tabled the bill on 19 June 2026, and expects it to take effect from 2027 if passed.
- Ireland: the 9% on certain apartments ends on 31 December 2030.
Denmark is the one to be careful with. Its first bill set 1 July 2026 as the start date, so pages written before the bill lapsed may still give that date. Danish book sales still take 25% today.
The bigger shift is administrative. The EU's VAT in the Digital Age package (ViDA) was adopted on 11 March 2025 and entered into force on 14 April 2025. It phases in over a decade:
- 1 January 2027: small clarifications to the OSS and IOSS schemes.
- 1 July 2028: platforms for short-term rentals and passenger transport become liable for VAT on their hosts' sales. Countries may delay this to 1 January 2030. Single VAT registration measures start the same day.
- 1 July 2030: digital reporting of cross-border B2B invoices.
None of these change a rate. They change how the tax is reported: from 1 July 2030, cross-border B2B invoices must be reported digitally.
UK, Norway and Switzerland
These three aren't EU members, so the EU rate rules don't bind them. They come up often because they trade so closely with the EU.
| Country | Standard rate | Reduced rates |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 20% | 5% / 0% |
| Norway | 25% | 15% (food) / 12% (transport, accommodation, cinema) |
| Switzerland | 8.1% | 2.6% / 3.8% (accommodation) |
Northern Ireland charges the same rates as the rest of the UK. UK registration is compulsory once taxable turnover passes GBP 90,000 in 12 months. Switzerland's 8.1% is the lowest standard rate in this guide, below every EU country.
Which rule fits your business
Start from what you sell and to whom. These four profiles cover most of our clients' questions.
Online shop under EUR 10,000: you're a Bulgarian shop selling under EUR 10,000 a year to consumers abroad. In that case, you charge Bulgarian VAT at 20% (or 9% on books and baby goods) on every order. Don't register for OSS yet. Track the EU total monthly, because the threshold counts all countries together, not each one separately.
Online shop over EUR 10,000: charge each customer's own rate and file one quarterly OSS return in Bulgaria. A book sold to Lithuania now takes 5%, not 9%. One sold to Denmark still takes 25%. Update your shop's tax rules for the 2026 changes in the change table first.
Consultancy billing EU companies: invoice without Bulgarian VAT under the reverse charge, once the client's VAT number checks out in VIES. Your clients' local rates don't affect your invoice. The trap here is registration. Article 97a of the Bulgarian VAT Act requires it at least 7 days before the VAT on such a service falls due, whatever your turnover.
Hotels and restaurants: guests from abroad don't change anything here. Your local rate applies, because the service is taxed where it happens. That's why the 2026 accommodation changes hit hard. A Dutch hotel night moved from 9% to 21%, a Belgian one from 6% to 12%, and a Bulgarian hotel still charges 9%.
If two of these fit, or your sales mix changes mid-year, get the setup reviewed before the next return. Our tax advisory team in Sofia handles OSS registration and the cross-border cases above.
Frequently asked questions
Which EU country has the lowest VAT rate?
Luxembourg, at 17%. Malta comes next at 18%, then Cyprus and Germany at 19%. At the other end, Hungary charges 27% and Finland 25.5%. Outside the EU, Switzerland charges 8.1%.
Do I charge VAT when I invoice a company in another EU country?
Usually not. For most services and for goods shipped to a VAT-registered business, the buyer pays VAT at its own rate under the reverse charge. Check its VAT number in VIES first. If the number fails, the sale can lose that treatment and you may owe the VAT.
Will VAT go up in 2026?
No standard rate has risen in 2026 so far. The last increases were Slovakia, Estonia and Romania, all in 2025. This year's changes mostly cut reduced rates: German restaurant food, Swedish groceries and Austrian basic foods all got cheaper.
Do I have to charge my customer's VAT rate if I sell online from Bulgaria?
Only once your cross-border sales to EU consumers pass EUR 10,000 a year in total. Below that, you charge Bulgarian VAT. Above it, you charge each customer's rate and report it through the OSS. Sales to VAT-registered businesses usually go out without VAT under the reverse charge.
Where this leaves you
Use the table for the headline rate and the change list for anything dated 2025 or later. Hungary at 27% and Luxembourg at 17% mark the range, and neither standard rate changed in 2025 or 2026. The countries to recheck in your systems are Slovakia, Estonia, Romania and Finland, whose standard or main reduced rates changed. Recheck Lithuania, Austria and Germany too, for 2026. Online sellers past EUR 10,000 should load the new rates before the next OSS quarter. Hotels and restaurants should check their own country's 2026 line, because hospitality moved most.
Related reading on the Bulgarian side: the tax advisory page above goes deeper on treaties, dividends and the OSS. The euro checklist covers invoicing in the new currency. For neighbouring markets, Romania and Greece both changed rates in this period, so check their lines before you quote prices across the Balkans.