Selling across borders: taxes and fees for Startovar sellers

You are responsible for your own taxes. Startovar does not give tax advice, and rules differ by country. This page explains the main EU rules so nothing surprises you. Last checked: November 2026.

• There is one EU-wide threshold of EUR 10,000 per calendar year. It counts all your sales to consumers in OTHER EU countries combined, digital and physical together.
• Under EUR 10,000: you can charge the VAT of your own country (or none, if your country's small business exemption covers you).
• Over EUR 10,000: you charge the VAT rate of each buyer's country. You do NOT register in every country. You register once for the One Stop Shop (OSS) in your own country and file one quarterly return that covers all of them.
• There is no annual fee per country for selling to another EU country. The OSS scheme itself is run by your own tax office.

This is where the “hundreds or thousands of euros per country” stories come from. It is not a sales tax. It is packaging recycling law, called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

• Germany: before you ship packaged goods to German consumers you must register in the LUCID packaging register and pay a licensed recycling scheme for the packaging you send.
• France: similar rules through an eco-organisation, with a registration number (IDU).
• Since 12 August 2026, EU packaging rules can require sellers from another EU country to appoint an authorised representative in the country they ship to. Representatives charge an annual fee (for example from around EUR 190 per year in France, often more in Germany). Get quotes before you start shipping there.
• Digital products (downloads, templates, ebooks, prompts) have no packaging, so these packaging rules do not apply to them.

• Digital products sold to EU consumers carry EU VAT from the first sale. Non-EU sellers can use the non-Union OSS scheme to file in one EU country.
• Physical goods up to EUR 150 can go through the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS). Since 1 July 2026 a temporary EUR 3 customs duty applies per item on parcels up to EUR 150.

Your profit is taxed in the country where you live, like any other income. Keep your Stripe payout reports.

EU law (DAC7) requires online marketplaces to report sellers who make 30 or more sales, or more than EUR 2,000, in a calendar year to the tax authorities. To do this we will ask reporting sellers for their tax ID, date of birth and address. Sellers below both limits are not reported.

For your specific situation, talk to an accountant in your country. Your national tax office website has OSS registration guides.

Sources: European Commission OSS portal, German Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR/LUCID), Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 (DAC7).

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