How VAT works for members on Patreon

What is VAT?

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax assessed on the value added to goods and services — including digital products. It’s charged as a percentage of a price (e.g., $1.00 membership with 23% VAT will have a final cost of $1.23).

Many countries and regions require that VAT (or similar indirect taxes, such as GST, HST, QST, JCT, or sales tax - together herein “VAT”) be charged based on the location of the customer rather than the location of the provider. This applies to digital services provided through platforms like Patreon. In Patreon’s case, members are the customers of the sales through the platform.

In jurisdictions where Patreon is legally required to collect VAT or similar taxes, Patreon calculates, collects, and remits those taxes on applicable payments.

Here’s a list of VAT rates by country that you can refer to, VAT rates.

How does Patreon collect my VAT?

In situations where Patreon collects VAT, members will have VAT added to their relevant membership payments. Your creators’ earnings are not affected by the VAT applied on such sales. The VAT charges are generally processed and remitted via Patreon, although this may depend on location and local rules. 

The VAT rate you’re charged depends on the location you set in your member settings. If this information is not provided, VAT will be applied based on your location at the time that you start your membership.

If you provide incorrect location information when joining, you may be charged the wrong amount of tax. You can update your member settings at any time so future payments are taxed correctly. However, we are generally unable to refund VAT already applied to processed payments. 

I have a VAT number for my business, can I be exempt?

Patreon generally operates as a business-to-consumer (B2C) platform and treats member purchases as consumer transactions. At this time, Patreon does not generally support disabling VAT based on a member’s business status or VAT registration number. However, we would be happy to review specific circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

Where can I find a record of the VAT I’ve paid?

We list the amount of VAT added to your membership payments directly on your account.

Here’s how you can access your billing record with VAT:

1. While logged in to your member profile, click the Manage Memberships button (pencil icon) in the left sidebar navigation
2. Click on Billing history from the top menu bar to review all payments we’ve processed
3. Your payments will be listed with VAT by the process date. You can select the year you’d like to review from the drop-down menu. Beginning December 1, 2021, you can also download a VAT-compliant invoice from this page

What is Patreon’s VAT number?

Patreon is registered in the following jurisdictions, with the following registration numbers:

I’m in the UK and not in the EU, where can I find out more information about sales taxes that apply to me? Brexit: How it impacts VAT for members and creators.