DatasetFrom gov.uk, checked weekly
VAT for UK marketplace sellers, rule by rule
When you have to register, when the marketplace collects the VAT instead of you, the rates for common seller categories, and what platforms now report to HMRC. Each rule links to its gov.uk page with the date we last checked it.
Registered, or not yet?Both are covered here.
- £90,000VAT registration threshold, taxable turnover over the last 12 months
- £88,000below this you can ask HMRC to cancel your registration
- £135consignment limit for the marketplace VAT rules on goods from outside the UK
- 30 salesand 2,000 euros a year, under both and a platform does not report you to HMRC
01The big question
Who accounts for the VAT on a marketplace sale?
Seller established in the UK
gov.uk ties the marketplace VAT rules to sellers not established in the UK. A UK business follows the normal rules and registers once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in 12 months, or is expected to in the next 30 days.
Seller based outside the UK
Must register for UK VAT whatever its turnover. The marketplace is liable for VAT on consignments of £135 or less sent from outside the UK, and on goods of any value already in the UK at the point of sale.
02Every rule
The rules, with their sources
Jump to a topic, or filter by a word such as threshold, flat rate or report.
- VAT registration threshold
- VAT deregistration threshold
- Online marketplaces: overseas sellers
- UK-established sellers on marketplaces
- Northern Ireland differences
- VAT rates for common seller categories
- VAT on marketplace fees and services from overseas
- Making Tax Digital for VAT
- Flat Rate Scheme
- VAT record-keeping
- Marketplace due diligence and VAT numbers
- Digital platform reporting rules
| Topic | The rule | Who it applies to | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT registration threshold | You must register for VAT if taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or you expect it to in the next 30 days. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | Register for VAT · gov.uk updated 2024-10-10 · checked |
| VAT registration threshold | The registration threshold rose to £90,000 and the deregistration threshold to £88,000 from 1 April 2024. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT: increasing the registration and deregistration thresholds · gov.uk updated 2024-03-07 · checked |
| VAT registration threshold | Overseas businesses supplying goods or services to the UK must register regardless of turnover. | Great BritainOverseas Seller | Register for VAT · gov.uk updated 2024-10-10 · checked |
| VAT deregistration threshold | If taxable turnover falls below £88,000 you can ask HMRC to cancel registration, unless you are based outside the UK and supply goods or services to the UK. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | Register for VAT · gov.uk updated 2024-10-10 · checked |
| VAT deregistration threshold | Cancellation of registration is optional below £88,000 turnover. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | How VAT works · gov.uk updated 2024-10-24 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | Goods in a consignment worth £135 or less that start outside the UK and are sold through a marketplace to GB customers have UK VAT charged at the point of sale. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | For those goods the marketplace, not the seller, is liable for the VAT. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | The £135 limit applies to the total consignment being imported, not to individual items. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | The marketplace is also liable for VAT on goods of any value that are already in the UK at the point of sale and are sold by an overseas business. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | For goods in the UK, the overseas seller is treated as making a zero-rated supply to the marketplace, which then accounts for the VAT on the sale to the customer. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | Consignments worth more than £135 follow normal import VAT and customs rules. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | Where a UK VAT-registered business customer gives its VAT number, the marketplace need not charge VAT on consignments of £135 or less. The customer accounts for it instead. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | A business is only a marketplace if it sets terms, is involved in payments and is involved in ordering or delivery. Payment processing, listing only or redirecting only do not make it one. | Great BritainMarketplace | Charging VAT when using an online marketplace to sell goods to customers in the UK · gov.uk updated 2025-06-20 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | Overseas sellers who only make zero-rated deemed supplies can either register for VAT or apply for exemption from registration. | Great BritainOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | An overseas seller that owns goods of any value in the UK at the point of sale must register and account for VAT on direct sales to customers in GB or NI. | Great BritainOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Online marketplaces: overseas sellers | For direct sales of consignments of £135 or less from outside the UK to GB customers, the seller charges UK VAT at the point of sale. | Great BritainOverseas Seller | VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| UK-established sellers on marketplaces | The marketplace accounting rule is tied to sellers not established in the UK. A seller with a real UK establishment follows the normal registration rules. This second sentence is an inference from the guidance, not a quoted gov.uk statement. | Great BritainUk-Established SellerMarketplace | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| UK-established sellers on marketplaces | A UK business establishment exists where management decisions are made and central administration is carried out, or where there is a fixed establishment with staff and resources in the UK. | Great BritainUk-Established SellerOverseas Seller | Charging VAT when using an online marketplace to sell goods to customers in the UK · gov.uk updated 2025-06-20 · checked |
| UK-established sellers on marketplaces | If you use the Flat Rate Scheme, marketplace or business-customer sales where someone else accounts for the VAT are left out of the scheme calculation. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | Charging VAT when using an online marketplace to sell goods to customers in the UK · gov.uk updated 2025-06-20 · checked |
| Northern Ireland differences | Northern Ireland only: for goods in NI at the point of sale to an NI customer, the marketplace is liable if the seller is not established in the UK or EU. A UK or EU established seller is liable itself. | Northern IrelandMarketplaceUk-Established SellerOverseas Seller | Charging VAT when using an online marketplace to sell goods to customers in the UK · gov.uk updated 2025-06-20 · checked |
| VAT rates for common seller categories | The standard VAT rate is 20% on most goods and services. | Great BritainUk-Established SellerOverseas Seller | VAT rates · gov.uk updated 2014-12-12 · checked |
| VAT rates for common seller categories | Books, magazines, newspapers and children's picture books are zero-rated. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT rates on different goods and services · gov.uk updated 2026-07-10 · checked |
| VAT rates for common seller categories | Babywear, children's clothes and children's footwear are zero-rated. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT rates on different goods and services · gov.uk updated 2026-07-10 · checked |
| VAT rates for common seller categories | Prams and pushchairs are standard-rated at 20%. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT rates on different goods and services · gov.uk updated 2026-07-10 · checked |
| VAT rates for common seller categories | Zero-rated and reduced-rate examples on gov.uk's summary page include most food and children's clothes at zero, and children's car seats at 5%. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT rates · gov.uk updated 2014-12-12 · checked |
| VAT on marketplace fees and services from overseas | For business-to-business services the place of supply is where the customer belongs, and the customer accounts for UK VAT through the reverse charge when the supplier is outside the UK. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | Place of supply of services (VAT Notice 741A) · gov.uk updated 2022-09-29 · checked |
| VAT on marketplace fees and services from overseas | If you only make UK services to which the reverse charge applies, you are not entitled to register for VAT in the UK for that. | Great BritainOverseas Seller | Place of supply of services (VAT Notice 741A) · gov.uk updated 2022-09-29 · checked |
| Making Tax Digital for VAT | VAT-registered businesses are signed up to Making Tax Digital for VAT automatically on registration unless exempt, and must keep some VAT records digitally. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | Register for VAT · gov.uk updated 2024-10-10 · checked |
| Making Tax Digital for VAT | gov.uk says all VAT-registered businesses should now be signed up and no longer need to sign up themselves. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | Charge, reclaim and record VAT · gov.uk updated 2024-10-30 · checked |
| Making Tax Digital for VAT | Some VAT records must be kept digitally unless you are exempt. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | Charge, reclaim and record VAT · gov.uk updated 2024-10-30 · checked |
| Flat Rate Scheme | You can join the Flat Rate Scheme if you expect VAT taxable turnover of £150,000 or less, excluding VAT, in the next 12 months. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT Flat Rate Scheme · gov.uk updated 2024-11-11 · checked |
| Flat Rate Scheme | A limited cost business pays 16.5%. That applies where goods cost less than 2% of turnover, or less than £1,000 a year if costs are above 2%. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT Flat Rate Scheme · gov.uk updated 2024-11-11 · checked |
| Flat Rate Scheme | On the scheme you cannot reclaim VAT on purchases, except certain capital assets over £2,000. | Great BritainUk-Established Seller | VAT Flat Rate Scheme · gov.uk updated 2024-11-11 · checked |
| VAT record-keeping | VAT records must be kept for at least 6 years, or 10 years for the One Stop Shop schemes. | Great BritainUk-Established SellerOverseas Seller | Charge, reclaim and record VAT · gov.uk updated 2024-10-30 · checked |
| VAT record-keeping | Marketplaces must keep full records, including VAT invoices, for 6 years from the date goods are sold. | Great BritainMarketplace | VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces · gov.uk updated 2022-05-13 · checked |
| Marketplace due diligence and VAT numbers | HMRC can hold a marketplace jointly and severally liable for unpaid VAT where an overseas seller should have registered and the marketplace knew or should have known. | Great BritainMarketplace | Check when online marketplaces must carry out VAT checks on overseas sellers · gov.uk updated 2020-12-31 · checked |
| Marketplace due diligence and VAT numbers | A marketplace must display a verified VAT registration number on its website within 10 days of the seller giving it. | Great BritainMarketplace | Check when online marketplaces must carry out VAT checks on overseas sellers · gov.uk updated 2020-12-31 · checked |
| Marketplace due diligence and VAT numbers | A marketplace must not let an overseas seller who has to be registered for UK VAT keep trading without a VAT registration number. | Great BritainMarketplaceOverseas Seller | Check when online marketplaces must carry out VAT checks on overseas sellers · gov.uk updated 2020-12-31 · checked |
| Digital platform reporting rules | From 1 January 2024 platform operators in the UK may need to collect seller details and report them to HMRC. | Great BritainMarketplaceOnline seller | Selling goods or services on a digital platform · gov.uk updated 2025-09-22 · checked |
| Digital platform reporting rules | A seller's details are not reported if they make fewer than 30 sales of goods in a calendar year and receive less than 2,000 euros (about £1,700) for them. | Great BritainOnline seller | Selling goods or services on a digital platform · gov.uk updated 2025-09-22 · checked |
| Digital platform reporting rules | Platform operators collect seller information each year and send it to HMRC by the following January. | Great BritainMarketplace | Selling goods or services on a digital platform · gov.uk updated 2025-09-22 · checked |
| Digital platform reporting rules | HMRC shares seller information with the seller's country tax authority if that country follows the same rules. | Great BritainOnline seller | Selling goods or services on a digital platform · gov.uk updated 2025-09-22 · checked |
| Digital platform reporting rules | Platform operators must report sellers who actively supply or are paid for goods or services on the platform and live in the UK or another reportable jurisdiction. | Great BritainMarketplace | Check if you need to register as a digital platform operator · gov.uk updated 2026-07-21 · checked |
Rules are summarised in our words and link to their gov.uk source. The exact wording we checked is in the downloads. This is a guide to HMRC's published guidance, not tax advice.
03Method
How we collect this
Every rule comes from a gov.uk page read through the GOV.UK Content API on our own server, with the sentence it rests on stored beside it. A checker reads each page again every week and records the date gov.uk says it was last updated.
If the sentence is still there, the check date moves forward. If it has gone, the rule is flagged and one of us rewrites it from the new page. Where gov.uk does not say something, such as how marketplace fees are taxed for every seller, we leave it out rather than guess.
FAQQuick answers
Questions
What is the UK VAT threshold?
You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or you expect it to in the next 30 days. The threshold rose to £90,000 from 1 April 2024.
Does the marketplace pay VAT for me?
Only in set cases for sellers not established in the UK: consignments of £135 or less sent from outside the UK, and goods of any value already in the UK sold by an overseas business. A UK-established seller follows the normal registration rules.
Do marketplaces report my sales to HMRC?
Since 1 January 2024 digital platforms may need to collect seller details and report them to HMRC each year. A seller is not reported if they make fewer than 30 sales of goods in a calendar year and receive less than 2,000 euros (about £1,700) for them.
Are children's clothes zero-rated?
Yes. Babywear and children's clothes and footwear are zero-rated in the UK, as are books. Children's car seats are at the 5% reduced rate, and prams and pushchairs at the standard 20%.
How long do I keep VAT records?
At least 6 years. VAT-registered businesses are signed up to Making Tax Digital for VAT and must keep some records digitally.
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