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EU VAT and OSS: selling online courses to other EU countries

Which VAT applies when an EU creator sells a video course to consumers in other EU countries: e-services, the €10,000 threshold, OSS and deadlines.

by Giampiero ViragoPublished on 10 min read

Ochre illustration: a desk globe next to a stack of envelopes with different blank postage stamps.

Selling a video course to someone in France or Germany is as easy as selling it at home. VAT, however, follows different rules. For EU-based creators starting to get students in other European countries, understanding these rules avoids mistakes that surface years later.

This guide summarises the EU rules we read in official sources. It isn't tax advice: national rules, including special small-business schemes, can change the picture. Always have your situation checked by an accountant.

Is a video course an electronic service?

Usually yes, if it's pre-recorded and automated. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011 defines, in Article 7, electronically supplied services as services delivered over the internet that are essentially automated and involve minimal human intervention. Annex I, point 5, includes automated distance teaching that depends on the internet to function and requires limited or no human intervention, including virtual classrooms.

Article 7(3) excludes, among other things, teaching services where the course content is delivered by a teacher over the internet, that is, via a remote link. So the recorded part of a course and live sessions may be treated differently.

Recorded or live: how it's classified
Electronically supplied service
Pre-recorded course on an automated platformYes
Online exercises marked automaticallyYes
Live class taught by a teacherNo
Recorded course plus live sessionsDepends
A professional advising clients by emailNo

Our summary of Article 7 and Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 282/2011, original text. Not tax advice.

Which VAT applies to consumers in other EU countries?

For telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services to consumers, the place of supply is where the customer is established, has their permanent address or usually resides. So, as a rule, the customer's country's VAT applies.

There's a threshold, though. According to the European Commission's OSS portal, the €10,000 threshold was introduced on 1 January 2019 for these services and extended from 1 July 2021 to distance sales of goods. It lets you apply your own country's VAT if all of these are true:

  1. you're established in only one Member State;
  2. you sell to consumers in other Member States;
  3. the total of those sales does not exceed €10,000, excluding VAT, in either the current or the previous calendar year.

Above the threshold, the general rule applies without exception. You can also choose to apply the customer's country's VAT anyway: if you do, you're bound by that choice for two calendar years.

Ochre illustration: a brass postage scale weighing a letter, with a few small plain flags on pins beside it.
Every sale to an EU consumer has a destination: above the threshold, the customer's country counts.

What is the OSS and how does it work?

The One Stop Shop is an optional scheme that lets you declare and pay, in one country through one portal, the VAT due in other Member States. It started on 1 July 2021, extending the 2015 Mini One Stop Shop. The Union scheme is for businesses established in the EU.

The main rules, according to the Commission's portal:

  • All or nothing. If you opt in, it covers all qualifying supplies in all Member States.
  • Quarterly return, due by the end of the month after the quarter: 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January. Deadlines don't move for weekends or holidays.
  • Nil returns are due even in quarters with no sales.
  • Payment is due by the same deadline; no payment plans are available.
  • The OSS doesn't replace your domestic VAT return.

An example

An Italian creator, established only in Italy, sells a pre-recorded course at €149. In 2025 she sold €6,000 (excluding VAT) to consumers in other EU countries; by October 2026 she's at €9,200. As long as the year's total stays under €10,000, and the previous year's did too, she can apply Italian VAT to foreign customers. In November a promotion takes her foreign sales to €11,500: from that point the general rule applies, meaning each customer's country's VAT. To avoid registering in every country, she can join the OSS and file one quarterly return in Italy. Also, for the following year the threshold is already exceeded, because the previous year counts too. In practice, the threshold needs checking during the year, not in December. The example is ours: the exact moment the regime changes and the formalities should be confirmed with an accountant.

What do sales platforms do?

Some course platforms act as reseller and handle VAT towards end customers themselves; others leave it to you. Check in the contract who the seller to the customer is: it changes entirely who must charge and pay VAT. Platforms are compared in the best platforms to sell online courses; invoicing abroad from Italy in invoicing foreign brands and platforms.

Which mistakes should you avoid?

  • Treating the whole course the same way. Recorded and live parts may differ.
  • Checking the threshold only at year end. What counts is when you cross it.
  • Forgetting the previous year. The threshold applies to the current and previous year.
  • Joining the OSS for some countries only. It covers them all.
  • Skipping nil returns. They're due even without sales.

Key terms. An electronically supplied service is delivered over the internet in an essentially automated way. The OSS is the One Stop Shop for declaring VAT due in other Member States. The €10,000 threshold is the annual limit on sales to consumers in other EU countries below which home VAT can apply.

How we checked. We found that a national tax agency page we tried no longer loads, so we rely on the Commission's portal. We read the European Commission's OSS portal (general and declare-and-pay pages) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011 on EUR-Lex, in its original 2011 text: we didn't read the latest consolidated version. We don't cover national small-business schemes or non-EU sellers in detail. Contact: hi@heytea.app. Editorial note: we check every figure against the sources listed below and correct mistakes openly.

Frequently asked questions

Is a pre-recorded video course an electronically supplied service for VAT?

Generally yes. Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011, Annex I point 5, lists automated distance teaching that depends on the internet to function and needs limited or no human intervention as an electronically supplied service. Teaching delivered live by a teacher over the internet is excluded by Article 7(3).

Which VAT applies when selling to a consumer in another EU country?

For electronic services to consumers, the general rule is the VAT of the country where the customer lives. But if you're established in only one Member State and your sales of these services to consumers in other EU countries don't exceed €10,000 (excluding VAT) in the current or previous year, you can apply your own country's VAT.

What is the OSS?

The One Stop Shop is an optional scheme that lets you declare and pay, in one country through one portal, the VAT due in other Member States on sales to consumers. The Union scheme has a quarterly return, due by the end of the month after the quarter, even if you made no sales.

If I join the OSS, does it cover every country?

Yes. According to the European Commission's OSS portal, once you opt in, the scheme covers all qualifying supplies in all Member States: you can't use it for only some countries. The OSS return doesn't replace your domestic VAT return.

Does this apply to creators outside the EU?

Non-EU businesses have a separate OSS scheme (the non-Union scheme) and can't use the €10,000 threshold. This guide focuses on creators established in one EU country. If you're outside the EU, ask a tax adviser how EU VAT applies to your sales.

Sources

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