Tag: year-end roundup

2025 brought several substantial VAT changes. Slovakia and Romania changed their headline rate structures, Estonia increased both standard and selected reduced rates, and Finland moved many supplies into a different reduced-rate band.

Slovakia: standard rate 23%, with 19% and 5% reduced rates

From 1 January 2025, Slovakia increased its standard VAT rate from 20% to 23%. The former 10% reduced rate was replaced by two reduced rates: 19% and 5%, each applying to specified goods and services.

Source: Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic – 2025 VAT changes

Estonia: reduced-rate changes and a 24% standard rate

On 1 January 2025, Estonia increased VAT on accommodation (including accommodation with breakfast) from 9% to 13%, and on press publications from 5% to 9%. On 1 July 2025, the standard VAT rate increased again, from 22% to 24%.

Source: Estonian Tax and Customs Board – VAT changes

Finland: wider use of the 14% reduced rate

From 1 January 2025, most goods and services that had been taxed at Finland’s 10% rate moved to 14%. Newspapers, magazines and public broadcasting remained at 10%, while sanitary protection products and baby diapers moved from 25.5% to 14%.

Source: Finnish Tax Administration – rates of VAT

Romania: standard rate 21% and reduced rate 11%

From 1 August 2025, Romania increased its standard VAT rate from 19% to 21% and applied an 11% reduced VAT rate to qualifying supplies. The detailed list of goods and services is set out in the tax authority’s guidance.

Source: Romanian National Agency for Fiscal Administration – VAT changes from 1 August 2025

United Kingdom: private-school fees became taxable at 20%

From 1 January 2025, education, vocational training and boarding supplied for a charge by private schools became subject to the UK’s 20% standard VAT rate. This is a sector-specific change; it did not alter the UK’s general VAT rate table.

Source: HM Revenue & Customs – VAT on private school fees

What did not change?

No other permanent, nationwide headline-rate changes were identified in 2025 among the countries covered by VATCalculator.eu. These articles are summaries, not transaction-specific advice: the applicable rate can depend on the supply, date of supply and territory.

2024 was a busy year for VAT rate changes. Estonia and Finland increased their standard rates, the Czech Republic simplified its reduced-rate structure, Malta introduced a 12% rate, and Madeira changed its regional reduced rate.

Czech Republic: one reduced rate of 12%

From 1 January 2024, the Czech Republic replaced its two reduced VAT rates with one 12% reduced rate. The standard rate remained 21%.

Source: Financial Administration of the Czech Republic – 2024 VAT changes

Estonia: standard rate increased from 20% to 22%

Estonia’s standard VAT rate increased from 20% to 22% on 1 January 2024. Transitional rules applied to certain supplies connected with pre-2024 invoices or contracts.

Source: Estonian Tax and Customs Board – VAT changes

Finland: standard rate increased from 24% to 25.5%

Finland increased its general VAT rate from 24% to 25.5% on 1 September 2024. Its reduced rates were unchanged at that point; their scope changed later, in 2025.

Source: Finnish Tax Administration – rates of VAT

Malta: 12% reduced rate introduced

From 1 January 2024, Malta introduced a 12% reduced VAT rate for specified supplies, including the management of credit and credit guarantees by a person other than the credit provider. Malta’s standard rate remained 18%.

Source: Malta Tax and Customs Administration – 12% VAT guidance

Portugal: Madeira’s reduced rate set at 4%

From 1 October 2024, the reduced VAT rate in Madeira was set at 4%. Madeira’s intermediate and standard rates remained 12% and 22%. These regional rates are different from those in mainland Portugal.

Source: Portuguese Tax Authority – VAT rates in the autonomous regions

End of temporary measures

Luxembourg’s 2023 one-point rate reductions ended on 31 December 2023. Poland’s temporary 0% VAT rate on basic foods ended after 31 March 2024, returning the affected products to their normal treatment from April.

Sources: Luxembourg VAT Administration and Polish Ministry of Finance

What did not change?

No other permanent, nationwide headline-rate changes were identified in 2024 among the countries covered by VATCalculator.eu. Always check the supply category and, where relevant, the territory before applying a rate.

2023 combined targeted temporary reliefs with two meaningful changes to published VAT-rate tables: Cyprus added a new reduced rate and Luxembourg temporarily lowered most of its rates.

Cyprus: new 3% reduced VAT rate

Cyprus introduced a 3% reduced VAT rate on 21 July 2023 for specified supplies. The standard rate remained 19%, while the existing 5% and 9% reduced rates continued to apply to their own categories.

Source: Republic of Cyprus – VAT (Amending) Law No. 75(I)/2023

Luxembourg: temporary one-point reduction

For supplies from 1 January through 31 December 2023, Luxembourg temporarily reduced its normal rate from 17% to 16%, its intermediate rate from 14% to 13%, and its reduced rate from 8% to 7%. The super-reduced 3% rate did not change. This was explicitly a one-year measure, so the former rates returned from 1 January 2024.

Source: Luxembourg VAT Administration – Circular 812

Poland and Finland: temporary measures continued or ended

Poland continued its temporary 0% VAT rate on specified basic food products during 2023. Finland’s temporary measures ended on 30 April 2023: electricity returned from 10% to the general rate, and passenger transport stopped benefiting from the temporary 0% rate.

Sources: Polish Ministry of Finance and Finnish Tax Administration

What did not change?

No other permanent, nationwide headline-rate changes were identified in 2023 among the countries covered by VATCalculator.eu. This does not mean every supply had the same tax treatment: reduced rates, exemptions and territorial rules remain country- and product-specific.

2022 brought relatively few permanent changes to the headline VAT-rate tables used by VATCalculator.eu. The main developments were temporary anti-inflation measures. They are important for the affected supplies, but they did **not** replace the standard national VAT rate.

Poland: basic food reduced from 5% to 0%

From 1 February 2022, Poland applied a temporary 0% VAT rate to basic food products that had previously been taxed at 5%. The measure covered specified foods such as meat, dairy products, fruit, vegetables and cereal products. It was a temporary measure, not a replacement for Poland’s normal 23% standard VAT rate.

Source: Polish Ministry of Finance – 0% VAT on food

Finland: temporary 10% rate for electricity

Finland temporarily reduced VAT on electricity from the standard 24% rate to 10% from 1 December 2022 until 30 April 2023. The general Finnish VAT rate itself did not change in 2022.

Source: Finnish Tax Administration – rates of VAT

What did not change?

No permanent, nationwide change to the headline VAT rates was identified in 2022 for the other countries covered by VATCalculator.eu. Product-specific reliefs, exemptions and zero rates can still apply, so the rate for a particular transaction should always be checked against the relevant tax authority guidance.