You can probably register for value added tax today. The interesting question is not whether you can, it is whether you should.
Registration is a lever before it is an obligation
What it does to a registered client
For a business that reclaims the tax, your invoice rises in appearance and not in real cost. Your price therefore stays comparable to that of an unregistered supplier, and your invoice looks more like an agency's, which is not neutral in perception.
What it does to an unregistered client
For a small organisation that reclaims nothing, the tax is a straight cost. You become more expensive, or you absorb the difference. That is the main reason not to register too early when the clientele is made up of very small businesses.
What it gives back to you
You reclaim the tax on your professional purchases: camera, computer, lighting, software, subscriptions, travel expenses. For a creator kitting themselves out, that is a real share of the start-up budget, and it is often the deciding argument.
What changes the day you cross the threshold
Nothing, if you were already registered: that is precisely the point of having done it earlier. Otherwise you have to register within the applicable deadlines, tell your clients, redo your invoice templates and adapt your prices, all at once. It is that simultaneity that costs, not the tax itself.
Who you invoice, and what that implies
Seven situations to tell apart, all to be confirmed with an accountant.
A business established in the same country, the simplest case.
A business established elsewhere, where place-of-supply rules apply.
An individual, where the treatment often differs.
A marketplace invoicing on your behalf, with its own rules.
An agency re-invoicing its own end client.
A public or non-profit client, sometimes under a particular regime.
And a client outside the zone, where proof of status becomes a question.
Returns go through software
Returns are now filed electronically through compatible software, and no longer by hand. It is a practical constraint more than a difficulty: choose the tool before registering, not after, and get into the habit of recording each invoice as you go. The exact arrangements are checked with the competent administration.
Clients outside the country
Services invoiced to a client established abroad follow particular rules, which depend on the client's status and the nature of the service. It is the point creators most often get wrong, and the one that costs most to fix. It is settled in one conversation with an accountant, before the first foreign invoice.
The simplified scheme
Some simplified schemes let you pay over a flat percentage rather than calculating item by item, with limited reclaim on purchases in return. Whether it is worthwhile depends entirely on your cost structure: it is real for an activity with few purchases, often unfavourable for one that is buying equipment. The calculation is done with an accountant, with figures in hand.
The questions to ask an accountant
Seven questions, prepared in advance.
Does the make-up of my clientele justify voluntary registration?
Which scheme matches my cost structure?
Which expenses can I reclaim, and which not?
How do I invoice a client established abroad?
Which filing frequency suits me?
Which software is compatible and suited to my volume?
And what happens if my activity falls after registration?
What to put in place on registration day
Six actions, within the same week.
Redoing your invoice templates with the required mentions.
Telling your regular clients, with an effective date.
Updating your displayed prices, before and including tax.
Opening a separate account for the tax collected.
Recording the purchase invoices since the start of the period.
And putting the first return's date in your calendar.
What the tax changes in your quotes
Five adjustments to make once and for all.
Showing the price before tax, then the tax amount, then the total.
Stating your identification number on every document.
Specifying the date of the service, which determines the period.
Separating rebilled expenses, which follow their own treatment.
And writing the applicable regime when the client is established elsewhere.
What decides whether to charge the tax
| The client | The usual treatment | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| A company in the same country | The local tax | Its registration number |
| A company abroad | Often out of scope | Proof of its establishment |
| A private individual | Per the applicable rules | Their country of residence |
What triggers registration
A turnover threshold reached over a rolling period, or a voluntary option. The exact threshold and the switch date are confirmed with an accountant; they change and are calculated, not estimated.
What is kept with every invoice
The accepted quote, proof of delivery, evidence of the client's status and the payment statement. An audit asks for those four, never the invoice alone.
The most frequent mistakes
Six situations that come up constantly.
Registering without looking at the make-up of the clientele.
Forgetting to update publicly displayed prices.
Confusing cash received with turnover invoiced.
Not keeping purchase receipts, which condition the reclaim.
Waiting until the eve of the return to enter a year of invoices.
And treating a foreign client like a local one, dealt with above.
One last marker: this question is decided on your client list and your purchases, not on a general rule. An hour with an accountant, before registering, beats three returns spent correcting a choice made at random.
Sources
Checked on 27 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
