VAT Issues on Affinity's Pricing for International Customers

[kofi-tea]

Hi, I'm looking for clarification on how VAT is applied to Affinity's pricing for international customers. I'm located in the UK, and I noticed that VAT is included in the price when I purchase from your website. However, I'm wondering if there's a way to exclude VAT for customers outside of the UK (similar to how some online stores apply VAT based on the location).

Is there a way to view or purchase the software without VAT if you're outside the UK or EU? Additionally, is the VAT applied based on the country of purchase, and how is it reflected for international buyers?

I know VAT can be complex, especially for digital products, and I want to make sure I'm fully aware of how it works for international transactions.

[Oufti]

I'm living in Belgium (EU) and I bought Affinity for my business. VAT was charged according to Belgian regulation (21%) and refunded later by the Belgian VAT office. 

The price was announced with and without VAT:

Récapitulatif de commande

Licence Universelle Affinity V21: 99,17 €

Sous-total (hors TVA): 99,17 €

TVA: 20,82 €

Total: 119,99 €

[kofi-tea]

13 hours ago, Oufti said:

I'm living in Belgium (EU) and I bought Affinity for my business. VAT was charged according to Belgian regulation (21%) and refunded later by the Belgian VAT office. 

The price was announced with and without VAT:

Récapitulatif de commande

Licence Universelle Affinity V21: 99,17 €

Sous-total (hors TVA): 99,17 €

TVA: 20,82 €

Tota: 119,99 €

Thanks for the information that helps clarify things a bit!

It’s good to know that Affinity displays the pricing both with and without VAT depending on the region, and that the VAT applied is based on the buyer’s country. I’m guessing that means VAT is automatically calculated at checkout based on the billing address or IP location?

I was particularly curious about whether customers outside the EU (like in the US or other non-EU countries) see prices without VAT altogether, and if they’re charged any tax at all. Also, for business purchases within the EU, it’s helpful to know that VAT can be reclaimed through local tax authorities, like you mentioned.

By the way, do you (or anyone else here) know how the VAT amount is calculated exactly? Is it strictly based on the country rate, or does it vary depending on the product type too? I came across tools like CalcVAT online  do you think those are accurate for checking expected VAT rates on digital products?

Thanks again for sharing your experience really helpful!🤩

[Oufti]

45 minutes ago, kofi-tea said:

By the way, do you (or anyone else here) know how the VAT amount is calculated exactly? Is it strictly based on the country rate, or does it vary depending on the product type too? I came across tools like CalcVAT online  do you think those are accurate for checking expected VAT rates on digital products?

The site you cite is just a calculator. It saves you to enter yourself:

Price VAT included = Price VAT excluded * (1 + n%)

but does not help you to know which VAT rate (= n%) must be applied. 

 

You have to find yourself what is the rate to apply, depending on the customers country (or state) AND the product. 

For example, in Belgium most of the goods and services are sold with 21% of VAT, but some essential ones (books, food, …) have only a VAT of 6%, and others have a limited rate of 12%. And some are totally VAT free. 
• https://www.belgium.be/fr/impots/tva/taux 

In Canada (Québec), you have two different taxes applied at once, one federal (5%) and one provincial (9.975%) — both calculated on the same basic price. But in some other Canadian provinces, these taxes are replaced by an unique harmonized sales tax:
• https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/businesses/consumption-taxes/gsthst-and-qst/basic-rules-for-applying-the-gsthst-and-qst/

(BTW I'm sorry to remind you that buying to Affinity is not buying within EU anymore…)

[walt.farrell]

VAT is certainly not applied to customers ordering from the US.