EU VAT Categories & Tax Rates — Smart Defaults, Full Control

Picking the wrong VAT category or tax rate means rejected invoices and compliance headaches. docs101 reduces that risk by pre-selecting the category and rate for all common scenarios — domestic sales, cross-border B2B, exports, and small business exemptions. For edge cases that depend on information only you have, you stay in control and can adjust both category and rate before finalizing.

All 7 EU VAT categories and tax rates (S, AE, O, G, K, E, Z)
Built-in small business VAT exemption support
Override category and rate on any invoice before finalizing

Less guesswork, more confidence. docs101 applies smart defaults based on your company profile and customer data — and gives you full control to override whenever needed.

All EU VAT Categories at a Glance

EN 16931 defines seven VAT category codes, each with its own tax rate rules. docs101 supports every one of them — pre-selected based on your business context for common cases, with full flexibility to adjust for special situations.

Category	Use Case
S – Standard Rate	Regular domestic invoices at your country's standard VAT rate (e.g. 19% in Germany, 20% in Austria).
AE – Reverse Charge	Intra-community B2B supplies where the buyer accounts for VAT. Tax liability shifts to the recipient.
O – Not Subject to VAT	Services outside the scope of VAT, including invoices by small businesses operating under a VAT exemption scheme.
G – Export (Tax Free)	Exports to non-EU countries. No VAT charged; proof of export required.
K – Intra-Community Supply	Cross-border goods delivery within the EU to VAT-registered businesses. Zero-rated with valid VAT ID.
E – Exempt from Tax	Specific services exempt by law, such as medical, educational, or financial services.
Z – Zero Rated	Taxable supplies where the applicable VAT rate is 0%, as defined by national legislation.

Built-in Small Business VAT Exemption

Operating under a small business VAT exemption? docs101 sets the right category and rate for you — 0% tax, category O, compliant validation. One of the most clear-cut cases where automation just works.

Automatic Category O

When the small business exemption is enabled, invoices are automatically assigned VAT category O with 0% tax. No manual selection needed.

Country-Specific Thresholds

Germany: EUR 22,000/year. Austria: EUR 35,000/year. France: EUR 36,800/year. Italy: EUR 85,000/year. docs101 keeps you informed.

Always Validation-Ready

Every invoice passes EN 16931 compliance checks including BR-CO-26, which validates the correct VAT breakdown by category.

One-Click Setup

Enable the small business exemption in your company settings — docs101 applies it correctly on every invoice from that point on.

One-Stop-Shop (OSS) for EU Cross-Border B2C

When you sell to private consumers in another EU country, VAT is due in their country — not yours. This is the One-Stop-Shop procedure (OSS). docs101 handles the complexity so you don't have to.

Automatic OSS Detection

docs101 checks customer country, contact type (B2C), and your OSS opt-in status. When a transaction qualifies, the destination country's VAT rate is applied automatically.

Threshold Monitoring

The EU-wide threshold for OSS is 10,000 EUR per year. docs101 tracks your cross-border B2C revenue in real-time — including EUR conversion for non-EUR invoices — and flags when you approach or cross the threshold.

Clean Accounting Separation

OSS revenue is tagged at invoice creation and separated in your accounting export. Domestic and OSS transactions land on different accounts, even when the tax rate is identical.

All 27 EU VAT Rates

From Luxembourg (17%) to Hungary (27%) — docs101 knows the standard rate for every EU member state and applies it based on your customer's country.

VAT Categories and Rates — Handled

docs101 gives you smart defaults for the most common VAT scenarios and full control for everything else — so you can focus on your business instead of tax codes.

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