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Now You're Registered for IOSS

Newly registered or just switched over? Here's what you need to do and know next.

Using your IOSS Number

Now that you have your IOSS number, make sure to securely provide it to your customs declarant (typically your postal officer). Your IOSS number informs EU customs that you've already charged your customer VAT, so they won't hold your shipment at the border.

You can't use IOSS to reclaim VAT. Instead, you'll need to use an EU refund mechanism or claim it back through your VAT return in the country where you paid the VAT.

You'll also now need to start charging your EU-based customers their local VAT rate when they purchase up to €150 worth of goods (provided you're shipping them those goods from outside the EU). When it comes time to file your IOSS return, you'll pay all the VAT you've charged your customers to the Tax Authority.

IOSS registrations don't require you to issue your customers VAT invoices, but if you're asked for one (or you want to), just make sure to follow the invoice rules for the country where they're based.

What You Can Report on IOSS

You can only use your IOSS number to report sales that are:

  • B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
  • Distance sales (not sold in person)
  • Goods stored outside the EU when they're sold
  • Shipped in consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less
  • Not goods that are subject to excise duties

Any sale you make that's eligible for IOSS has to be reported on your IOSS return.

If you haven't made any eligible sales in a reporting period, you'll still have to file a NIL return, which confirms that's the case.

If you're registered for VAT in the UK and making sales that qualify for IOSS to Northern Ireland, you need to report those sales on your GB VAT return instead.
If you registered for VAT in the UK with us, we'll do this for you.

Marketplace Sales (Amazon, eBay, Zalando, etc.)

When you sell goods worth up to €150 on an online marketplace, the marketplace will handle the VAT. You'll need to supply your customs declarant with the marketplace's IOSS number instead of yours.

IOSS Filing Frequency and Deadline

IOSS returns are filed monthly, the month following the reporting period. For example, March's IOSS return is filed in April. We need your data by the 10th of the month to prepare your return and the VAT payment by the 17th.

Failing to meet the filing or payment deadline can result in penalties from both the country where you're registered for IOSS (Ireland) and the countries where your customers are based. If you receive two reminders for two missed deadlines in a row and still fail to submit those returns, you'll be de-registered and excluded from the scheme.

What's Included on an IOSS Return

An IOSS return will show the amount of VAT you owe to each EU country, based on the sales you've reported. You'll give us the total amount, which we'll pass to the Irish Tax Authority. They'll then distribute it to the countries where you've had sales.

Once an IOSS return has been submitted, a unique reference number for that return will be issued, which you'll use for the VAT payment. Typically, this number is made up of:

  • The code for the country where you're registered (in your case, IE)
  • Your VAT number
  • The relevant return period

If you need to raise a credit note after an IOSS return has been filed, you can correct the IOSS return for the month in which the sale was declared.

What's required for an IOSS return?

  • Your IOSS number
  • The date the eligible sale was made
  • The monetary amount in Euros
  • The VAT numbers of your businesses from which the goods are shipped (if applicable)

If you need to exchange your figures into Euros, you need to use the exchange rate published by the European Central Bank on the last date of the reporting period.

We automatically convert your non-euro sales into euros. If you're using our APIs we collect your sales data automatically. Otherwise, you'll need to fill out and upload our sales data template.

For each EU country where you have customers, you'll also need:

  • The taxable amount split by VAT rate (Standard/Reduced)
  • The total VAT payable for the sales declared on IOSS

IOSS VAT Payments

We need to submit the return and your VAT payment together, so you will need to pay us your VAT liability before we can submit your return.

Please make sure your IOSS payment is made to us on or before the 17th of the month.

You'll get reminders from us and the tax authority if you miss the deadline. Please note that there aren't any payment plans or deferred payment options available for IOSS.

Record Keeping

You'll need to hold onto the information used to compile your IOSS return for 10 years from the end of the year in which the sales were made. For example, you'll need to keep the sales data for March 2025 until the 1st of January 2036.

If you're audited by a tax authority, you'll need to be able to present all this information, so keep it secured and organised.

Deregistering from IOSS

If you decide you no longer need your IOSS registration, tell us as soon as you're sure. We'll need to tell the Tax Authorities at least 15 days before the start of the next month, or you'll have to file a return for that month as well.