When does a freelancer have to register for VAT in Europe?

When annual turnover crosses the national threshold. The lines differ widely: Greece exempts only up to EUR 10,000, Germany up to EUR 25,000, France EUR 37,500 for services, Italy's flat-rate regime reaches EUR 85,000, and the UK line is GBP 90,000. Spain has no exemption regime at all, so Spanish freelancers charge VAT from the first euro. Below the line, registration is usually optional.

Billingz Guides · VAT

VAT registration thresholds across Europe: when does a freelancer have to register?

Short answer

When your turnover crosses your country’s line. The lines differ more than most people expect: EUR 10,000 in Greece, EUR 25,000 in Germany, GBP 90,000 in the UK, and no exemption at all in Spain, where freelancers charge VAT from the first euro. Below the line, invoicing without VAT is normal and legal; registration is usually a choice.

The numbers below are the national registration or exemption thresholds as verified against tax-authority sources in August 2026. Several changed within the last eighteen months, so the date matters.

Western and Northern Europe

Germany - EUR 25,000 (previous year), with a EUR 100,000 in-year cap. New from 2025.
France - EUR 37,500 for services; the planned EUR 25,000 unified line was abandoned.
Austria - EUR 55,000 gross, new from 2025.
Belgium - EUR 25,000. Netherlands - EUR 20,000 (KOR). Luxembourg - EUR 50,000.
Ireland - EUR 42,500 for services, EUR 85,000 for goods.
United Kingdom - GBP 90,000 on a rolling 12 months.
Switzerland - CHF 100,000 worldwide turnover.
Nordics - Sweden SEK 120,000, Finland EUR 20,000, Denmark DKK 50,000, Norway NOK 50,000, Iceland ISK 2,000,000.

Southern Europe

Italy - the flat-rate regime (forfettario) covers revenues up to EUR 85,000, with VAT not applied.
Spain - no exemption regime exists. Every autonomo charges IVA from zero. A franchise is discussed, not enacted.
Portugal - EUR 15,000 (art. 53 CIVA).
Greece - EUR 10,000, the lowest line in the EU.
Cyprus - EUR 15,600. Malta - EUR 35,000 unified.

Central and Eastern Europe

Poland - PLN 240,000 from 2026 (raised from 200,000).
Czechia - CZK 2,000,000 per calendar year. Slovakia - EUR 50,000, with an immediate line at EUR 62,500.
Hungary - HUF 20 million in 2026, rising to 22 million in 2027 and 24 million in 2028.
Romania - RON 395,000, raised in September 2025. Bulgaria - EUR 51,130 with the 2026 euro switch.
Croatia and Slovenia - EUR 60,000 each, both raised in 2025.
Baltics - Estonia EUR 40,000, Latvia EUR 50,000, Lithuania EUR 45,000.

The Balkans and the East

North Macedonia - MKD 2,000,000 per calendar year.
Serbia - RSD 8,000,000 in any 12 months.
Bosnia and Herzegovina - BAM 100,000. Montenegro - EUR 30,000. Kosovo - EUR 30,000.
Albania - ALL 10,000,000.
Moldova - MDL 1,700,000 from March 2026, after two changes within one year.
Ukraine - UAH 1,000,000, though single-tax group 3 freelancers stay outside VAT regardless of turnover.

The United States has no VAT and no equivalent registration line; sales tax works by state and mostly spares professional services.

The part people learn too late

Nobody warns you when you approach the line. Tax authorities notice after you cross it, and crossing often means registering within days, sometimes with the exceeding invoice already owing VAT. The freelancers who get caught are rarely careless; they simply had no single place watching their running total against the threshold. That is a solvable problem, and it is exactly the kind of signal a financial control system should give you.

Common questions

What happens if I show VAT on an invoice while unregistered?

In many countries you then owe the tax you showed, and in some it is an offence. The UK, Ireland, Switzerland, the Nordics and most of the Balkans work as a prohibition: an unregistered issuer simply must not show VAT at all. The safe unregistered invoice is silent about VAT.

Do I have to write anything special on an invoice without VAT?

In some countries, yes, and the wording is prescribed. Germany references the small business rule of § 19 UStG, France prints "TVA non applicable, article 293 B du CGI", Slovenia and Croatia cite their VAT law articles, Bulgaria cites art. 113(9). Elsewhere no sentence is required, only the absence of VAT. This is per-country detail worth getting from software rather than memory.

What is the EU small business scheme from 2025?

Directive 2020/285, applied since January 2025, harmonises the frame: countries may exempt small businesses up to a domestic threshold of at most EUR 85,000, and a cross-border scheme lets you extend your home exemption to other EU countries while your EU-wide turnover stays under EUR 100,000, using an EX-suffixed number.

Can I register voluntarily below the threshold?

Almost everywhere, yes. It can make sense when your clients are VAT-registered businesses and you want to deduct input VAT. Some countries bind a voluntary registration for a minimum period, so it is a decision to make with your accountant, not a default.

Does the threshold reset every year?

It depends on the country. Some measure a calendar year, some a rolling 12 months, and some look at the previous and current year together. A few, like Moldova in 2026, changed the number twice within one year. Track the rule of your own country, not a generic one.

Built for this

Billingz knows your country’s threshold and sees your invoiced turnover, so you get a signal as you approach it, and again if you cross it. A signal about your position, not tax advice.

See how Billingz watches the line for you

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Figures are compiled from national tax-authority publications and primary legal texts, within the frame of Directive (EU) 2020/285, as verified in August 2026. Thresholds change, sometimes mid-year; Billingz does not warrant that this page reflects the rules on the day you read it. Confirm your country’s current rule with your tax authority or accountant before acting on it.