Collecting VAT or GST

Enable tax inclusive pricing, customize order invoices, and include your VAT registration number for European customers.

Last updated September 20, 2024

You can collect VAT or GST through Squarespace Commerce by setting tax rates, enabling tax-inclusive pricing, and customizing price and tax details for your receipts.

Note

This guide is available as a resource, but should not be construed or relied upon in any way as legal or accounting advice. Per our Terms of Service, Squarespace doesn't provide advice or recommendations on any laws or requirements applicable to your site or business. If you have questions about these laws, you can consult with a tax advisor or attorney.

Before you begin

  • This guide covers charging VAT through Squarespace Commerce. For information about VAT collected for your Squarespace subscriptions, visit VAT and Squarespace billing.
  • It's not possible to set different tax rules based on the product. 
  • It's not possible to exempt certain customers from paying VAT.
  • Some settings may be enabled by default based on the country you entered at signup. You can follow the steps in this guide to make any changes.

Step 1 - Set up tax rates

Before you can enable tax-inclusive pricing, you'll need to manually add tax rates to your store.

Note

If you have questions about your tax rates, please consult with your tax advisor.

Step 2 - Enable tax-inclusive pricing

Tax-inclusive pricing allocates a portion of an order's total for VAT tax, instead of adding the VAT tax to the order's total at checkout. Enabling tax-inclusive pricing doesn't affect the prices listed in your store. At checkout and in order confirmation emails, the portion of the order's total that's allocated for VAT tax displays as a line item. This portion changes based on the tax rules you set up.

For example, let's say you offer a product for €100 and you charge a 10% VAT tax for customers in Spain. The product will be listed for €100 in your store. At checkout, after the customer enters their Spanish billing address, the order's grand total remains €100, and the customer will see that €9.09 out of the €100, is allocated for VAT tax. The order's actual subtotal is €90.91, because €90.91 x (1+(10/100)) = €100.

After you set up tax rates, enable tax-inclusive pricing:

  1. Open the Taxes panel.
  2. Under Settings, click How tax is added.
  3. Click Include in price, then click Save
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Step 3 - Edit receipt details

You can customize the information that appears in your order receipts—including order confirmation emails and printable order summaries—based on your local requirements.

  1. Open the Checkout panel.
  2. Scroll down and click Receipt details.

You can enable these options:

  • Show Pre-Tax Price with item Price - Displays pre- and post-tax prices for each item.
  • Show Tax for Each Item - Displays tax rate and amount charged for each item.
  • Show net total - Displays sum of item and shipping totals before tax.
  • Show a Tax Breakdown Table - Displays a table below the Order Summary of tax rates and amounts charged.

Note

If you have questions about your local formatting requirements, consult with your tax advisor. Squarespace can't provide you with tax advice.

Step 4 - Add a VAT Registration Number (optional)

If you have a VAT Registration Number, you can enter it in the Business settings panel. This number will appear on your receipts. 

  1. Open the Customer Notifications panel.
  2. Click Business settings. 
  3. Add your VAT ID to the Tax Registration ID (Optional) field.

Step 5 - Confirm your location (optional)

Your Business Address will also appear on receipts. To confirm your location is correct, scroll down in the Business Information panel to Business Address.

Step 6 - Preview your receipt (optional)

To preview your receipt:

  1. Open the Customer Notifications panel.
  2. Scroll down to Customize Emails, and click Order Emails.

On the right, you'll see a preview of your order confirmation email. The Order Summary includes a tax breakdown based on your receipt format.

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