VAT Helper
Do you charge VAT when your client is abroad?
For freelancers and small businesses in Germany, the UK and the EU. Pick where you and your client are, business or private, and what you sell; you get the answer, the note for the invoice in German and English, and the rule behind it.
- Runs
- In your browser
- Signup
- Not needed
- Licence
- MIT, open source
- Topic
- Money and paperwork
- 1.
Use it free
Open it in your browser. The first result needs no signup.
- 2.
Run it yourself
Open source under MIT. Take the code to your own server.
- 3.
Stay in touch
One email when it gets a new feature. Nothing else.
What it does
- Says whether you charge VAT, at which rate (standard rates of all 27 EU countries and the UK, as of 19 October 2026) and whether reverse charge applies.
- Gives the exact invoice note in German and English, e.g. "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" / "Reverse charge", or the § 19 UStG note for Kleinunternehmer, with a button to copy it into the invoice.
- Tells you when to check the client's VAT ID (VIES, HMRC or the BZSt qualified check) and what else to do: Zusammenfassende Meldung, OSS registration, export proof.
- Covers B2B and B2C, consulting and IT services, automated digital services (OSS and the €10,000 threshold), other services and the basic goods cases.
- Every answer cites its rule (EU VAT Directive, UStG, HMRC); special cases like property, events or transport say "ask a Steuerberater" instead of guessing.
- Runs in your browser with a built-in self-test of every rule; your choices stay in your browser or in a share link.
Why I built it
My companies invoice across Germany and Portugal, and every cross-border invoice raised the same question: VAT or not, and what exactly do I write on it? The answers are spread over the EU VAT Directive, the UStG and HMRC notices, so I put the common cases into one place, with the source next to each answer. It is also the step before the invoice, which is why the note goes straight into my invoice tool.
Hafiz
Limits. Not tax advice. Rules and rates as of 19 October 2026, for the common cases only. Check important invoices with a Steuerberater (tax adviser).
Run it on your own server
Static files, no build step and no dependencies. Any web server works; tests run with Node.js 20+ (node --test tests/).
- Stack
- HTML, JavaScript
- Licence
- MIT
Also for your paperwork
Newsletter
Hear when VAT Helper gets better.
One email when VAT Helper or another tool gets a real update. A few times a year, no tracking.