Review a list of where we collect VAT and steps on how to verify your exemption.
Value-Added Tax, or VAT, is a tax on goods and services for residents of the European Union, United Kingdom, and other countries. Rates can range from 7.7% to 27%, depending on the country. VAT may apply to your purchase from Squarespace, depending on your location.
This guide explains our VAT policies and how to apply for an exemption.
Tip: For help collecting VAT using Squarespace Commerce, visit Collecting VAT or GST. For residents of countries who pay taxes on goods and services, visit GST and Squarespace billing. For residents of Canada, visit Canadian tax and Squarespace billing.
VAT and Squarespace pricing
Prices listed on our website don’t include VAT. You can review your total charge and tax breakdown before checkout and on your invoices.
If you live in one of the following countries, all payments you make to Squarespace are subject to VAT at the local standard rate:
- Ireland
- Switzerland
If you live in one of the following countries, and make a payment for a VAT-registered business, 0% VAT will apply to your purchase.
- An EU country (other than Ireland)
- Norway
- United Kingdom
- South Korea
- Moldova
These VAT policies apply to any paid service we offer, including your:
- Website subscription purchases or renewals
- Domain purchases, renewals, or transfers
- Email Campaigns purchases or renewals
- Google Workspace subscription purchases, renewals, or charges for new users
- Getty Images purchases
- Digital Product plan purchases
- Squarespace Scheduling
VAT-registered and VAT-exempt businesses
Your country's tax laws determine if you're required to register for VAT, or if you qualify for a VAT exemption. We can’t advise on your VAT requirements. If you are a VAT-registered or VAT-exempt business, and have documentation, you should submit that information to us (review the section below regarding Irish businesses):
- For organizations with a VAT registration, or VAT exemption certificate issued by an EU Member State, follow these steps to manually submit your information
- For organizations in Switzerland, follow these steps to manually submit your VAT exemption information
- For most other countries, manually add your VAT registration or VAT exemption information
Squarespace customers based in Ireland, or Switzerland
If you’re a Squarespace customer based in Ireland, or Switzerland, you do business with Squarespace Ireland Ltd. We need to collect VAT from your payment regardless of your VAT registration status, unless you provide a valid VAT exemption certificate. If you have a valid VAT registration, it's possible you can reclaim the VAT from your local tax authorities. You can also add a business name and VAT ID to have it displayed on your invoice.
Confirm your VAT ID format is valid
Ensure you correctly format your VAT ID before you add it to your site. Some countries have tools to confirm you've formatted your VAT ID correctly:
- For EU businesses, use the European Commission's validation tool
- For UK businesses, use the Gov.uk validation tool
- For Moldovan businesses, use the Ministry of Finance validation tool and enter your IDNO number
- For Norwegian businesses, use Brønnøysund Register (BRREG) system
- For South Korean businesses, visit South Korea’s VAT documentation
For other countries, visit your country’s tax website to find out if they have a tool to confirm you’re using the correct VAT ID format.
Add your VAT registration information
In many cases, you can manually add your VAT registration information to your site. If you run a site for a business and you’re registered for VAT, you’ll need:
- Your business name
- Your VAT ID. This name may vary, depending on your country. For example, in Norway it’s called Norwegian Organization Number.
Squarespace sites or standalone subscriptions you already have
You can exempt VAT collection for any of your existing subscriptions. This process also adds your business name and registration numbers to your billing invoices for subscription payments that include VAT.
- Open the Billing panel and click Payment information.
- Enter your payment information and billing address.
- Select a qualifying country from the Country drop-down menu.
- In the VAT status section, click the checkbox to confirm your business is registered for VAT.
- Enter your business name and VAT registration number or Norwegian Organization number. You’ll need to include the two-letter country code in the registration number for it to be complete.
- Click Save and continue.
If you run multiple Squarespace business sites in applicable countries, repeat these steps for each site individually.
New Squarespace sites or standalone subscriptions you’re purchasing
Complete the VAT fields on the checkout page when upgrading to a paid service. Keep in mind, if you enter your business name, you need to also enter your VAT registration number.
Add your VAT ID for Acuity Scheduling accounts
Note: The instructions below include links to Acuity settings separated by the kind of account you use to log into Acuity. Which kind of account do I have?
If you log into Acuity with a Squarespace account, follow the steps in the above section to add your GST information. If you log into Acuity with an Acuity account, you can add your VAT information by updating your payment method on file:
- Go to the My Account page.
- Click Update credit card.
- Enter your VAT number.
- Click Update billing.
Send us your exemption request
Some organizations that are exempt from taxes receive exemption certificates. It’s not possible to add your exemption certificate directly to your Squarespace site. To have the exemption processed by Squarespace, you’ll need to send us your exemption certificate. After our billing specialists review your information, we’ll respond to your exemption request.
Note: We can’t apply tax exemptions to trial or expired sites. If you change your billing information in the future, you’ll need to submit another exemption request.
Pan EU exemption
If your business holds a tax/VAT exemption certificate issued by an EU member state, send us your documentation to review. In the ticket, include:
- Subject: VAT - Pan EU certificate
- Website URL: include your domain name or built-in domain (yoursiteid.squarespace.com)
- Attachments: a certificate issued by an organization such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your host EU member state. If it's not in English, please include an English translation.
Switzerland exemption
If your organization is exempt from Swiss VAT, and your site has an active, paid subscription, send us your exemption request. Examples of the types of organizations that are exempt from Swiss VAT include:
- Institutional beneficiaries - Intergovernmental organizations, international institutions, quasi-governmental international organizations, diplomatic missions, consular posts, etc.
- Individual beneficiaries - Heads of state, governments, diplomatic representatives, consular officials, high level officials of institutional beneficiaries
Ensure that you attach the official Swiss exemption certificate, duly stamped and signed, including any relevant required document to prove your status. If it’s not in English, please include an English translation. After our billing specialists review your information, we’ll respond to your exemption status. We can’t apply tax exemptions to trial or expired sites.
Note: There are no other Swiss VAT exemptions authorized by the Swiss VAT law. Squarespace is required to charge Swiss VAT at the local standard rate if the following apply:
- Your site has a paid subscription.
- Your company resides in Switzerland, or in Liechtenstein (Swiss VAT-registered entities and non-Swiss VAT-registered entities), including individuals.
Remove VAT registration information
If you’re no longer registered for VAT in the country where you live, you can delete the VAT information by updating your payment method. We can't remove the exemption for you. If you have multiple websites, repeat the process for each site that's no longer registered for VAT.
Countries where we collect VAT
If you live in a country listed below, Squarespace may charge local VAT on your purchase. It depends on your VAT registration status and the tax rules in your country.
For information on VAT registrations in that country, click its link.
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland (Note: Squarespace is required to collect VAT from Irish residents and businesses, even if you have a valid VAT ID.)
- Isle of Man
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
FAQ
I’m based in Ireland and I have a valid VAT ID. Why am I still paying VAT?
If you live or have your principal place of business in Ireland, Squarespace still collects VAT on your payments. All Squarespace customers who live outside the United States do business with Squarespace Ireland Ltd.
We included this information in our Terms of Service update that went into effect on May 14, 2018. We sent an email to all customers about this update on April 13, 2018, including a link to our blog post.
I received an email about VAT, but I don’t think it applies to me. What should I do?
It’s possible you received this email in error. Our VAT collection process only applies to countries where we collect VAT. If you don't live in one of the listed countries, open the Business Information panel and check if your business address is correct. If your business address is correct and you aren’t located in a country listed above, you can disregard this email.
Do you collect VAT for past subscription payments?
We aren't retroactively collecting VAT for past invoices.