Invoice and VAT EU

[vacelita]

Hi, I live in Europe. The tax company told me that if I sell services to a self-employed individual, freelancer or company, in the EU and the buyer is someone from another EU country I have to transfer the VAT to that country. So on my invoice I I do not state the VAT but mention that I transfer the VAT to that country and put the VAT identification number from the seller. But what I do not understand I’m not the one who is sending an invoice to the seller. Fiverr does or not?

if I sell services to a self-employed individual, freelancer or company, in the EU and the buyer is someone from the same EU country as the seller. I need to pay VAT as I normally do. But again I’m not the one who is sending the invoice.

• How can I send an invoice on Fiverr with VAT?
• Do I need to ask for the sellers information before I start the Gig? On Fiverr it is also stated that it is not allowed to exchange personal information.
• How, when and where do I get the information from the seller.
• And who sends the invoice? Because without sending an invoice I can not claim the VAT

[lloydsolutions]

Hi, I live in Europe. The tax company told me that if I sell services to a self-employed individual, freelancer or company, in the EU and the buyer is someone from another EU country I have to transfer the VAT to that country. So on my invoice I I do not state the VAT but mention that I transfer the VAT to that country and put the VAT identification number from the seller. But what I do not understand I’m not the one who is sending an invoice to the seller. Fiverr does or not?

if I sell services to a self-employed individual, freelancer or company, in the EU and the buyer is someone from the same EU country as the seller. I need to pay VAT as I normally do. But again I’m not the one who is sending the invoice.

• How can I send an invoice on Fiverr with VAT?
• Do I need to ask for the sellers information before I start the Gig? On Fiverr it is also stated that it is not allowed to exchange personal information.
• How, when and where do I get the information from the seller.
• And who sends the invoice? Because without sending an invoice I can not claim the VAT

And who sends the invoice?

Check this out: https://buyers.fiverr.com/en/article/getting-started-3443787#receiving-invoices

[vacelita]

And who sends the invoice?

Check this out: https://buyers.fiverr.com/en/article/getting-started-3443787#receiving-invoices

Hi Lloyd, Thank you. But I’m a seller and I need information from the buyer. Can you explain, maybe I don’t understand.

[lloydsolutions]

Hi Lloyd, Thank you. But I’m a seller and I need information from the buyer. Can you explain, maybe I don’t understand.

Suggest you read the Terms of Service at the bottom of the Fiverr main page for the rules as to how Fiverr works.

Everything is explained there in great detail.

[vacelita]

Suggest you read the Terms of Service at the bottom of the Fiverr main page for the rules as to how Fiverr works.

Everything is explained there in great detail.

Well I read the Terms of Service. I am responsible for VAT payment in my country, which according to Fiverr shoul already be included in my payment etc. This is more about what my TAX company wants from me, which I don’t have or don’t know where to get the information.

[lloydsolutions]

Well I read the Terms of Service. I am responsible for VAT payment in my country, which according to Fiverr shoul already be included in my payment etc. This is more about what my TAX company wants from me, which I don’t have or don’t know where to get the information.

Suggest you contact Customer Support for help if you don’t receive any further forum replies.

Here is the link: https://www.fiverr.com/support_tickets/new

[cyaxrex]

Well I read the Terms of Service. I am responsible for VAT payment in my country, which according to Fiverr shoul already be included in my payment etc. This is more about what my TAX company wants from me, which I don’t have or don’t know where to get the information.

This is more about what my TAX company wants from me, which I don’t have or don’t know where to get the information.

Most tax companies have no comprehension of how VAT or even tax when freelancing works. They all assume that that you are working directly with clients and that you invoice clients directly. On Fiverr you do not do this. Neither are you allowed to ask for details like VAT numbers.

When a person orders from you on Fiverr, they get an invoice from Fiverr with all necessary VAT details etc:

You are offering virtual assistant services which typically wouldn’t make you liable for VAT in the first place. In every case, you also need to earn over a certain amount before VAT is applicable. I would suggest that you drop whatever tax company you are using and if you don’t know how to calculate your own tax, shop around for a company who does based on your specific situation.

[vacelita]

This is more about what my TAX company wants from me, which I don’t have or don’t know where to get the information.

Most tax companies have no comprehension of how VAT or even tax when freelancing works. They all assume that that you are working directly with clients and that you invoice clients directly. On Fiverr you do not do this. Neither are you allowed to ask for details like VAT numbers.

When a person orders from you on Fiverr, they get an invoice from Fiverr with all necessary VAT details etc:

Screenshot at 2019-06-24 22-46-20.png796×129 30.6 KB

You are offering virtual assistant services which typically wouldn’t make you liable for VAT in the first place. In every case, you also need to earn over a certain amount before VAT is applicable. I would suggest that you drop whatever tax company you are using and if you don’t know how to calculate your own tax, shop around for a company who does based on your specific situation.

Thank you for replying, but I offer a service and if it is VA services or something else I really do have to pay taxes in my country.

You stated:

“When a person orders from you on Fiverr, they get an invoice from Fiverr with all necessary VAT details etc:”

So if I understand the buyer receives/uses the Fiverr VAT information itself? If that is the case then it looks like the buyer then has an agreement with Fiverr and not with me. Which is odd, because in the Terms of Service it is stated that I (seller) have an official agreement/contract with the buyer.

Then my question maybe should be with who do I have an agreement with?

[cyaxrex]

Thank you for replying, but I offer a service and if it is VA services or something else I really do have to pay taxes in my country.

You stated:

“When a person orders from you on Fiverr, they get an invoice from Fiverr with all necessary VAT details etc:”

So if I understand the buyer receives/uses the Fiverr VAT information itself? If that is the case then it looks like the buyer then has an agreement with Fiverr and not with me. Which is odd, because in the Terms of Service it is stated that I (seller) have an official agreement/contract with the buyer.

Then my question maybe should be with who do I have an agreement with?

Thank you for replying, but I offer a service and if it is VA services or something else I really do have to pay taxes in my country.

I’m not saying you do not need to pay tax. However, value added tax (VAT) is not income tax.

I’m not going to look into this any more deeply than this, but this might help:

The Netherlands is to introduce a €25,000 annual VAT registration threshold from 1 January 2020.

The current threshold is nil in the Netherlands, which is one of the very few EU member states not to have a VAT registration threshold. The Netherlands had to apply to the European Commission to set the limit, and this was granted on 4 December 2018. The threshold only applies to resident businesses. Non-resident businesses have to register from the first taxable supply. However, B2C e-commerce businesses based in the EU do not have to register in the Netherlands until they sell more than €100,000 in any year. - Source

This means that from January 1st 2020, you will not need to register to pay VAT until you are making €25K. It also seems to suggest that you may not currently be liable to pay VAT until you earn over €100K.

As for whether you need to pay VAT for VA services, VAT is Value Added Tax, as a VA, you are more of a remote worker than you are someone creating physical or digital goods of tangible value. i.e. Filling in a spreadsheet for a client after scraping data from online, would usually not see you pay VAT. Creating an ebook for a client would.

[vacelita]

Thank you for replying, but I offer a service and if it is VA services or something else I really do have to pay taxes in my country.

I’m not saying you do not need to pay tax. However, value added tax (VAT) is not income tax.

I’m not going to look into this any more deeply than this, but this might help:

The Netherlands is to introduce a €25,000 annual VAT registration threshold from 1 January 2020.

The current threshold is nil in the Netherlands, which is one of the very few EU member states not to have a VAT registration threshold. The Netherlands had to apply to the European Commission to set the limit, and this was granted on 4 December 2018. The threshold only applies to resident businesses. Non-resident businesses have to register from the first taxable supply. However, B2C e-commerce businesses based in the EU do not have to register in the Netherlands until they sell more than €100,000 in any year. - Source

This means that from January 1st 2020, you will not need to register to pay VAT until you are making €25K. It also seems to suggest that you may not currently be liable to pay VAT until you earn over €100K.

As for whether you need to pay VAT for VA services, VAT is Value Added Tax, as a VA, you are more of a remote worker than you are someone creating physical or digital goods of tangible value. i.e. Filling in a spreadsheet for a client after scraping data from online, would usually not see you pay VAT. Creating an ebook for a client would.

Thank you for all the information. I’m sorry but I meant VAT in my previous message.

I do not know where you got this information from or if it counts for multinationals or

for me and if this counts for 2019, but yesterday I spoke for 2 hours (+waiting time:-)

with the tax office and again every 3 months I do have to pay VAT over every penny I

earn + give info. Besides Fiverr is not the only platform for freelancer.

I don’t think the discussion is about wether I have to pay VAT or not in my country or

about how much VAT I have to pay. The discussion is about with who do I have the official

agreement with. And if I have an agreement

with the buyer and not with Fiverr, I should be the one who send the invoice according

to the tax company and/or at least I need to know the VAT number from the buyer.

The exact name from the buyer, country, sort of business etc. to decide to which country the VAT needs to be transferred. Who is providing this info? Also I’m sure the buyer wants to know beforehand wether VAT is included or excluded. If they receive a VAT number and info from Fiverr itself and pay VAT to Fiverr then they officially have an agreement with Fiverr and not with me. But in the Fiverr Terms of Services it is stated that I have an official agreement with the buyer and not with Fiverr. If that is the case I need to have info from the buyer.

[karlyork]

Thank you for all the information. I’m sorry but I meant VAT in my previous message.

I do not know where you got this information from or if it counts for multinationals or

for me and if this counts for 2019, but yesterday I spoke for 2 hours (+waiting time:-)

with the tax office and again every 3 months I do have to pay VAT over every penny I

earn + give info. Besides Fiverr is not the only platform for freelancer.

I don’t think the discussion is about wether I have to pay VAT or not in my country or

about how much VAT I have to pay. The discussion is about with who do I have the official

agreement with. And if I have an agreement

with the buyer and not with Fiverr, I should be the one who send the invoice according

to the tax company and/or at least I need to know the VAT number from the buyer.

The exact name from the buyer, country, sort of business etc. to decide to which country the VAT needs to be transferred. Who is providing this info? Also I’m sure the buyer wants to know beforehand wether VAT is included or excluded. If they receive a VAT number and info from Fiverr itself and pay VAT to Fiverr then they officially have an agreement with Fiverr and not with me. But in the Fiverr Terms of Services it is stated that I have an official agreement with the buyer and not with Fiverr. If that is the case I need to have info from the buyer.

I think you are correct. I came over here to try and find an answer to this conundrum before even setting up to sell electronic services via Fiverr. From the invoice image Cyaxrex posted earlier in this thread, it appears that Fiverr is based in Israel and presumably, then, has no obligation to know or conform to the labyrinthine VAT rules now operating in the EU.

My understanding is the same as yours. I’m in the UK. There is no VAT threshold here for digital services or products; whereas there IS one for physical products (£85,000 for 2019). So in the UK I would need to register for and collect VAT from the first $5 sale.

And as you said in your last post, you charge VAT not according to your own jurisdiction, but according to the customers’ various jurisdictions, all of which may have different VAT rates.

So either Fiverr deals with VAT (they say they do NOT in the ToS) or they need to send you the details of each customer so you can comply with the law (you’ll probably need to look into the GDPR regulations as this would now be personal data processing/controlling). It’s unlikely Fiverr will want to hand over their client details, and it might even be illegal to do so. It’s illegal to send EU citizens’ data to countries outside the EU unless they are covered by something akin to EU-US Privacy Shield. Not sure what applies to an Israeli server sending EU citizen data back into the EU.

So, for example, when I sell ebooks elsewhere, they (eg Amazon, etc) take on the VAT accounting responsibilities, so I never know anything about the customers other than country where they bought the product (which might be different from their actual nationality!) I just get paid a royalty. FAR easier for me.

It’s a difficult one, this. I can’t help other than to advise you try and thrash out some kind of solution with Fiverr over a more private channel, like a support ticket. Or hire a tax accountant who knows about digital selling across international boundaries.

I’d be VERY interested to hear how you resolve this, if you do indeed get a resolution, as it will help me decide whether it’s possible for UK citizens to sell services on Fiverr without the Taxman coming after them! Lol.

Good luck!

[lloydsolutions]

I think you are correct. I came over here to try and find an answer to this conundrum before even setting up to sell electronic services via Fiverr. From the invoice image Cyaxrex posted earlier in this thread, it appears that Fiverr is based in Israel and presumably, then, has no obligation to know or conform to the labyrinthine VAT rules now operating in the EU.

My understanding is the same as yours. I’m in the UK. There is no VAT threshold here for digital services or products; whereas there IS one for physical products (£85,000 for 2019). So in the UK I would need to register for and collect VAT from the first $5 sale.

And as you said in your last post, you charge VAT not according to your own jurisdiction, but according to the customers’ various jurisdictions, all of which may have different VAT rates.

So either Fiverr deals with VAT (they say they do NOT in the ToS) or they need to send you the details of each customer so you can comply with the law (you’ll probably need to look into the GDPR regulations as this would now be personal data processing/controlling). It’s unlikely Fiverr will want to hand over their client details, and it might even be illegal to do so. It’s illegal to send EU citizens’ data to countries outside the EU unless they are covered by something akin to EU-US Privacy Shield. Not sure what applies to an Israeli server sending EU citizen data back into the EU.

So, for example, when I sell ebooks elsewhere, they (eg Amazon, etc) take on the VAT accounting responsibilities, so I never know anything about the customers other than country where they bought the product (which might be different from their actual nationality!) I just get paid a royalty. FAR easier for me.

It’s a difficult one, this. I can’t help other than to advise you try and thrash out some kind of solution with Fiverr over a more private channel, like a support ticket. Or hire a tax accountant who knows about digital selling across international boundaries.

I’d be VERY interested to hear how you resolve this, if you do indeed get a resolution, as it will help me decide whether it’s possible for UK citizens to sell services on Fiverr without the Taxman coming after them! Lol.

Good luck!

“Buyers may be charged with indirect taxes (such as VAT or GST) depending on their residency, location and any applicable law, in addition to the Gig price shown on the Gig page.”

The above is from the Terms of Service at the bottom of the Fiverr main page.

[michalwiczynski]

I think you are correct. I came over here to try and find an answer to this conundrum before even setting up to sell electronic services via Fiverr. From the invoice image Cyaxrex posted earlier in this thread, it appears that Fiverr is based in Israel and presumably, then, has no obligation to know or conform to the labyrinthine VAT rules now operating in the EU.

My understanding is the same as yours. I’m in the UK. There is no VAT threshold here for digital services or products; whereas there IS one for physical products (£85,000 for 2019). So in the UK I would need to register for and collect VAT from the first $5 sale.

And as you said in your last post, you charge VAT not according to your own jurisdiction, but according to the customers’ various jurisdictions, all of which may have different VAT rates.

So either Fiverr deals with VAT (they say they do NOT in the ToS) or they need to send you the details of each customer so you can comply with the law (you’ll probably need to look into the GDPR regulations as this would now be personal data processing/controlling). It’s unlikely Fiverr will want to hand over their client details, and it might even be illegal to do so. It’s illegal to send EU citizens’ data to countries outside the EU unless they are covered by something akin to EU-US Privacy Shield. Not sure what applies to an Israeli server sending EU citizen data back into the EU.

So, for example, when I sell ebooks elsewhere, they (eg Amazon, etc) take on the VAT accounting responsibilities, so I never know anything about the customers other than country where they bought the product (which might be different from their actual nationality!) I just get paid a royalty. FAR easier for me.

It’s a difficult one, this. I can’t help other than to advise you try and thrash out some kind of solution with Fiverr over a more private channel, like a support ticket. Or hire a tax accountant who knows about digital selling across international boundaries.

I’d be VERY interested to hear how you resolve this, if you do indeed get a resolution, as it will help me decide whether it’s possible for UK citizens to sell services on Fiverr without the Taxman coming after them! Lol.

Good luck!

So in the UK I would need to register for and collect VAT from the first $5 sale.

no, you only need to register for VAT once you are about to breach the £85k threshold or once you know you will breach it soon

[michalwiczynski]

This is more about what my TAX company wants from me, which I don’t have or don’t know where to get the information.

Most tax companies have no comprehension of how VAT or even tax when freelancing works. They all assume that that you are working directly with clients and that you invoice clients directly. On Fiverr you do not do this. Neither are you allowed to ask for details like VAT numbers.

When a person orders from you on Fiverr, they get an invoice from Fiverr with all necessary VAT details etc:

Screenshot at 2019-06-24 22-46-20.png796×129 30.6 KB

You are offering virtual assistant services which typically wouldn’t make you liable for VAT in the first place. In every case, you also need to earn over a certain amount before VAT is applicable. I would suggest that you drop whatever tax company you are using and if you don’t know how to calculate your own tax, shop around for a company who does based on your specific situation.

Correct, they are registered in the Israel, and their VAT number is not GB, therefore they should issue the invoice with 0% VAT added. BUT, when I asked them to provide the info that there was 0% VAT added, their response was very vague (see the screenshot attached). What it means is that if they provide you price without VAT rate displayed on the invoice, then you do not know whether it includes the VAT or it doesn’t, in which case this might be already including the VAT (loads of other companies are doing this). But one thing is sure- no VAT added = no claim, so you do not know whether you’re overpaying because there is VAT added but no such information is disclosed, or is it really nett price without the VAT. The only way to figure this out would be having two accounts, one not VAT registered and one with VAT and make order for same amount of money from both accounts and then compare the invoices.

[rvm_coding]

Hi! After weeks with costumer support, I finally have it clear.

Fiverr issues invoices at their name to the final client.
We work for Fiverr and hence need to issue the invoices to Fiverr.

As a seller, if you need to issue your own invoices for tax needs you can issue them addressed to Fiverr directly.This is Fiverr's information:* Fiverr International Ltd* 8 Eliezar Kaplan st.* TelAviv, Israel 6473409* VAT ID: 558327284* Company Number: 514440874* Withheld Tax File: 917369274+B85* Consol. Business number: 55832728

[alexmiza]

Hi! After weeks with costumer support, I finally have it clear.

Fiverr issues invoices at their name to the final client.

We work for Fiverr and hence need to issue the invoices to Fiverr.

As a seller, if you need to issue your own invoices for tax needs you can issue them addressed to Fiverr directly.This is Fiverr's information:* Fiverr International Ltd* 8 Eliezar Kaplan st.* TelAviv, Israel 6473409* VAT ID: 558327284* Company Number: 514440874* Withheld Tax File: 917369274+B85* Consol. Business number: 55832728

I work from Germany and handle it similarly. There is really VERY little information about how to deal with Fiverr tax and invoices as a seller / freelancer. As far as the law is concerned, Germany is simply not up to date and ready for constructions like those at Fiverr. That sounds strange, but it’s true and I think it will be the same in many other countries.

The fact that you cannot find any help on the Internet about how to handle international transactions via Fiverr or other providers is less due to the fact that it does not happen, but more because there are no regulations for it and no tax advisor can show a clear, legally compliant procedure for it . Otherwise there would already be some blog articles for it, just as it is with any other question. You can find 1000 articles about the reverse charge process, but not one that tells you what your bill at Fiverr Gigs should look like. Do I have to list each gig individually? How do I convert $ to € on the invoice if I don’t know what exchange rate was being used at the time my Fiverr balance was withdrawn from PayPal? What were the fees that were paid before the money reached PayPal (there is no record of this anywhere)? All of this will certainly differ from country to country, depending on the rules there for correct invoices. But there are still no answers, as the countries have not yet legally treated this type of freelancing. :man_shrugging:

[congruentgraph]

I work from Germany and handle it similarly. There is really VERY little information about how to deal with Fiverr tax and invoices as a seller / freelancer. As far as the law is concerned, Germany is simply not up to date and ready for constructions like those at Fiverr. That sounds strange, but it’s true and I think it will be the same in many other countries.

The fact that you cannot find any help on the Internet about how to handle international transactions via Fiverr or other providers is less due to the fact that it does not happen, but more because there are no regulations for it and no tax advisor can show a clear, legally compliant procedure for it . Otherwise there would already be some blog articles for it, just as it is with any other question. You can find 1000 articles about the reverse charge process, but not one that tells you what your bill at Fiverr Gigs should look like. Do I have to list each gig individually? How do I convert $ to € on the invoice if I don’t know what exchange rate was being used at the time my Fiverr balance was withdrawn from PayPal? What were the fees that were paid before the money reached PayPal (there is no record of this anywhere)? All of this will certainly differ from country to country, depending on the rules there for correct invoices. But there are still no answers, as the countries have not yet legally treated this type of freelancing. :man_shrugging:

and handle it similarly. There is really VERY little information about how to deal with Fiverr tax and invoices as a seller / freelancer. As far as the law is concerned, Germany is simply not up to date and ready for constructions like those at Fiverr. That sounds strange, but it’s true and I think it will be the same in many other countries.

The fact that you cannot find any help on the Internet about how to handle international transactions via Fiverr or other providers is less due to the fact that it does not happen, but more because there are no regulations for it and no tax advisor can show a clear, legally compliant procedure for it . Otherwise there would already be some blog articles for it, just as it is with any other question. You can find 1000 articles about the reverse charge process, but not one that tells you what your bill at Fiverr Gigs should look like. Do I have to list each gig individually? How do I convert $ to € on the invoice if I don’t know what exchange rate was being used at the time my Fiverr balance wa

Hi there,

This is what I do and works for me in Romania. I issue an invoice for each withdrawal made in usd and in my local currency (using the national bank exchange rate). The accountant then accounts for the PayPal exchange rate conversion difference. If you have $1000 in your account after making a withdrawal $1000 enters your PayPal (you will need to make a PP business account with your company’s details and exact name). At the beginning of each month I send my invoices to my accountant alongside the local bank statement and PayPal statement. She reiterates the invoice and compensates for PP’s withdrawal fee and currency discrepancies.

Hope this helps.

[lloydsolutions]

Here is a further article: https://www.fiverr.com/support/articles/360010561178-Seller-Taxes

[anadantasco]

I work from Germany and handle it similarly. There is really VERY little information about how to deal with Fiverr tax and invoices as a seller / freelancer. As far as the law is concerned, Germany is simply not up to date and ready for constructions like those at Fiverr. That sounds strange, but it’s true and I think it will be the same in many other countries.

The fact that you cannot find any help on the Internet about how to handle international transactions via Fiverr or other providers is less due to the fact that it does not happen, but more because there are no regulations for it and no tax advisor can show a clear, legally compliant procedure for it . Otherwise there would already be some blog articles for it, just as it is with any other question. You can find 1000 articles about the reverse charge process, but not one that tells you what your bill at Fiverr Gigs should look like. Do I have to list each gig individually? How do I convert $ to € on the invoice if I don’t know what exchange rate was being used at the time my Fiverr balance was withdrawn from PayPal? What were the fees that were paid before the money reached PayPal (there is no record of this anywhere)? All of this will certainly differ from country to country, depending on the rules there for correct invoices. But there are still no answers, as the countries have not yet legally treated this type of freelancing. :man_shrugging:

i created account in portugal as freelancer and they asked about iva number in the ‘‘facturing information’’, after asking my name and address. and i think i dont have one IVA number. can i receive fiverr payments without one iva number?

[jazebra]

Hello and thank you for fruitful discussion,

same issue for me as a seller. Definitelly, the financial authorities aren`t familiar with the new rules of sharing economy and this is why it is so confusing. But after Uber and AirBNB cases last years I think it is going to be a huge topic among each country in the world and it would be better to be prepare for it.

But if Im not mistaken, Fiverr is International LTD company which is "hosting" your business. For me it means that you are making business with them, not with the end users (buyers) which in most can be "anonymous" - no business IDs, nicknames, etc. (again, sharing economy rules).

In my opinion, for sure you has to be an identified taxable person to handle with the earnings from Fiverr. According to this article:

"Fiverr does not issue invoices for sellers, nor sellers have the buyer’s billing information to issue invoices for the purchases made from their Gig. However, you as a Fiverr Seller can issue invoices to Fiverr to report your earned revenues to the tax authorities.

The invoices can be made out with the information below, and they can be sent to our Support Team or they can be mailed to the address listed here:

Fiverr International Ltd
8 Eliezar Kaplan st.
TelAviv, Israel 6473409
VAT ID: 558327284
Company Number: 514440874
Withheld Tax File: 917369274+B85
Consol. Business number: 558327284"

You have to make an invoice filled with mentioned business ID of Fiverr, send it to Fiverr and also your local financial authority as summary report. This will cause that your financial authority will be informed about financial flow between you and your foreign clien who is in my opinion Fiverr LTD (not the end user / buyer). Then, Fiverr will manage VAT taxes in his country of origin - Israel.

Please tell me, if I`m wrong.

Have a great day guys.