Reverse VAT (disable) for different type of products

  • Resolved KarindB

    (@karindb)


    2 months ago

    We mainly sell B2B products in WooCommerce: tickets for business events and training. Some events are in-person (in the Netherlands), others are virtual.

    As we understand EU VAT rules:

    • For in-person events taking place in the Netherlands, VAT must always be charged at the Dutch rate, even for EU business customers with a valid VAT number.
    • For virtual events, EU business customers should be able to enter a valid VAT number and have VAT reverse-charged (0% VAT).

    In WooCommerce, VAT is applied per product via tax classes and tax rates.
    How can we configure WooCommerce so that reverse VAT is applied to virtual events only, while in-person events always charge Dutch VAT, even when a valid EU VAT number is entered?

    Is this achievable with standard WooCommerce tax settings, or does it require a specific EU VAT plugin or custom logic?

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Plugin Support Frank Remmy (woo-hc)

    (@frankremmy)

    2 months ago

    Hi @karindb,

    You’re absolutely right to be cautious here, WooCommerce’s built‑in tax system doesn’t allow reverse‑charge VAT to be applied only to certain products. Once VAT is removed for a valid EU VAT number, it applies to the whole cart.

    The good news is that you can achieve exactly what you want by using the EU VAT Number extension that supports per‑tax‑class reverse‑charge rules.

    1. Create two tax classes:
      • One for products that should always charge VAT (e.g., in‑person events)
      • One for products where reverse‑charge is allowed (e.g., virtual events)
    2. Assign the correct tax class to each product.
    3. Use the EU VAT Number extension that supports restricting reverse‑charge to specific tax classes. It can validate EU VAT numbers at checkout and automatically apply a reverse charge (0% VAT) for virtual services/products for EU business customers. This way, you can always charge VAT for in-person events based in the Netherlands.

    This would be the result:

    • Virtual products → VAT removed when the customer enters a valid EU VAT number
    • In‑person products → VAT always charged
    • Mixed carts → VAT removed only from the eligible items, not the whole order

    I hope that helps. Let us know if you need anything else.

    Thread Starter KarindB

    (@karindb)

    2 months ago

    Thanks, Frank, can you elaborate on that a bit? We are indeed using that plugin, but once a customer entered a valid EU vat number, it applied the reversed VAT to all products. So how to use the EU VAT Number for a specific tax class?

    Plugin Support Frank Remmy (woo-hc)

    (@frankremmy)

    2 months ago

    Hi @karindb,

    Thanks so much for following up while we narrow this down.

    You can set this up by following the steps in the guide below, which walks through configuring EU VAT for digital products: https://woocommerce.com/document/setting-up-taxes-in-woocommerce/configuring-specific-tax-setups-in-woocommerce/setting-up-eu-vat-rates-for-digital-products/#section-5

    If adjusting the tax settings using that guide doesn’t resolve the issue, the best next step is to open a support ticket. Since the extension is offered on the marketplace, our Happiness Engineers can assist you further.

    Plugin Support Ejay F – a11n

    (@ejayfernandes)

    1 month, 4 weeks ago

    Since we haven’t received any updates from you, I’ll mark this as resolved for now. If you need further assistance, you’re welcome to start a new thread.

    Your feedback helps others – please consider leaving a review: https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/woocommerce/reviews/

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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