The spread
| Country | Registration threshold | ≈ EUR |
|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | £90,000 | ≈ €105,000 |
| 🇫🇷 France / 🇮🇪 Ireland (goods) | €85,000 | €85,000 |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | €45,000 | €45,000 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | €25,000 (prior year) | €25,000 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | €20,000 | €20,000 |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | SEK 120,000 | ≈ €10,700 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | DKK 50,000 | ≈ €6,700 |
| 🇳🇱 NL / 🇪🇸 ES / 🇮🇹 IT / 🇬🇷 EL | None — register from the start | — |
Even the “no threshold” countries soften the edge with domestic schemes: the Dutch KOR exempts turnover up to €20,000, and Italy’s forfettario regime is VAT-exempt up to €85,000 of revenue. The full table for all 29 countries is on the VAT thresholds comparison page.[5][6]
The EU SME scheme: legal threshold shopping
Until 2025, a domestic VAT exemption stopped at the border: a Lithuanian company selling in Germany owed German VAT from the first euro. Directive 2020/285 changed that. A company established in one member state can now use the small-business exemption of another member state, provided it stays under that state’s domestic threshold and under €100,000 of turnover EU-wide, using an “EX” identification and quarterly reporting at home.[8][2]
For B2C distance sales of goods there is a second, older mechanism: below €10,000 of cross-border turnover a seller charges home VAT; above it, destination-country VAT applies, filed through the single OSS return rather than country-by-country registrations.[7]
The catch
Exemption is not free money — an exempt business cannot deduct input VAT, which makes the schemes attractive to service businesses with few costs and unattractive to anyone buying much. Thresholds also count differently (calendar year in Lithuania, any 12 months in Latvia, prior plus current year in Germany), and crossing Germany’s €100,000 in-year cap ends the exemption immediately. The UK’s £90,000 is the outlier it looks like, but it is available only to businesses actually established in the UK.[3][1][2]
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Can a company use another EU country’s VAT threshold?
Yes, since 2025: under the SME scheme (Directive 2020/285) a company established in one member state can apply another member state’s small-business exemption, if it stays under that threshold and under €100,000 of EU-wide annual turnover.
Which EU country has the highest VAT registration threshold?
Among EU members, France and Ireland at €85,000 for goods; Romania and Czechia sit near €79,000. The UK — outside the EU — is higher still at £90,000 (≈ €105,000).
Is staying under the threshold always worth it?
No. An exempt business cannot reclaim VAT on its purchases, and B2B customers often prefer suppliers with VAT invoices. The exemption pays off mainly for B2C services with low input costs.
Grenzüberschreitende steuerliche Folgen hängen von der steuerlichen Ansässigkeit, der Hinzurechnungsbesteuerung (CFC-Regeln) und der tatsächlichen wirtschaftlichen Substanz ab — eine reine Papierstruktur reicht nicht aus. Siehe den untenstehenden Haftungsausschluss.
Quellen
Im gesamten Artikel zitierte nummerierte Verweise. Gesetze verlinken auf konsolidierte Texte im amtlichen Register.
- Umsatzsteuer — Leitfaden
- Wann die Umsatzsteuerregistrierung obligatorisch wird
- Umsatzsteuergesetz (UStG)
- Umsatzsteuer — Fristen & Registrierung
- Umsatzsteuer für Unternehmer
- Umsatzsteuer & E-Invoicing — Leitfaden
- Regeln für den Mehrwertsteuer-One-Stop-Shop (OSS)
- Richtlinie (EU) 2020/285 des Rates — die KMU-Regelung für Kleinunternehmen