VAT on books
VAT on books in Portugal
Readers in mainland Portugal pay 6% VAT on books, whether they buy a paperback, an ebook or an audiobook. Ebooks have matched print since January 2019. Everything else is taxed at 23%.
This is general information, not tax advice. Rates and rules change, and your own situation matters. Check with Portugal's tax authority (AT, Portal das Finanças) or an accountant before you decide.
The rates
| What you sell | Rate | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printed books | 6% | Reduced rate | AT binding ruling 30004 |
| EbooksSince 1 January 2019. | 6% | Reduced rate | AT binding ruling 30004 |
| AudiobooksOn CD, DVD or as a download, unless it is mainly music or video. | 6% | Reduced rate | AT binding ruling 21546 |
| Most other goods and services | 23% | Standard rate | Your Europe, VAT rates |
What to know about Portugal
- The 2019 State Budget brought ebooks in line with print from 1 January 2019. Since then the format, paper or electronic, no longer changes the rate. AT ruling 30004
- The 6% rate covers books whose subject is mainly literary, educational, scientific, artistic, cultural, recreational or sporting. Obscene or pornographic works and books bound in leather or silk are left out and pay 23%. AT ruling 30004
- The tax office has ruled that a downloaded audiobook gets the same 6% as a printed book, as long as it is not mainly music or video. AT ruling 21546
- The 6% figure is for mainland Portugal. The Azores and Madeira set their own regional rates, which this page does not cover.
How EU VAT works when a reader in Portugal buys from you
Ebooks and audiobooks: the reader’s country
A download sold to a reader, not a business, is taxed where the reader lives. So a reader in Portugal pays the rate for Portugal, wherever you are. European Commission, place of taxation.
The €10,000 threshold
If your business is based in just one EU country, and your sales to readers in other EU countries stay at or under €10,000 a year (this year and last), you can charge your own country’s VAT instead. Digital sales and shipped print books count together. Sellers based outside the EU get no threshold for digital sales: VAT is due from the first sale. Commission OSS guide.
The One-Stop Shop (OSS)
Instead of registering in every country, you register once and file one return every quarter that covers all your EU sales. Your home tax office passes the VAT on to each country. EU-based sellers use the Union scheme. Sellers outside the EU use the non-Union scheme for ebooks and audiobooks. EU One-Stop Shop. OSS in plain words.
Paperbacks and hardcovers sent across a border
A printed book shipped from one EU country to a reader in another is a distance sale. It falls under the same €10,000 threshold. Over it, the rate is the one where the parcel ends up, here the rate for printed books in Portugal, and it goes on the same OSS return. Commission OSS guide.
Who charges the VAT when you sell on Lanternbee
You do. Each author connects their own Stripe account, so you are the seller and the money goes straight to you. At checkout, Stripe Tax works out the right rate for where the reader is and adds it to the order. It collects tax in the places where you have added a tax registration in Stripe, so you still register where you need to, file the returns and pay what you collected. Stripe on tax registrations.
We plan to take EU VAT on ebooks off your hands by acting as the merchant of record for digital editions. That is planned, not live. Today, you are the seller.
Questions authors ask about Portugal
What VAT rate do Portuguese readers pay on ebooks?
6%, the same as a printed book, since 1 January 2019. That applies when your sales to readers in other EU countries are over the €10,000 threshold, or when you are based outside the EU.
Are audiobooks taxed at 6% in Portugal?
Yes. Portugal's tax authority has ruled that audiobooks on CD, DVD or as a download are taxed at 6%, unless they are mainly music or video.
Does the rate change for readers in Madeira or the Azores?
The islands have their own regional VAT rates. We have not checked them here, so look them up before you sell there. Stripe Tax uses the reader's address at checkout.