If you sell a $50 course to a customer in Munich, you owe Germany 19% VAT — €9.50 — from the moment you make the sale. The same course to a customer in Sydney? Australia's 10% GST applies once you cross the AUD 75K threshold. The same course to a customer in Tokyo? Japan's 10% consumption tax applies once you're over JPY 10M in Japan sales.

For a business selling digital products globally, that pattern repeats across a dozen jurisdictions, each with its own rate, its own threshold, and its own registration mechanism.

Where You Owe, and From What Threshold

• EU
  Rate: 17–27% (varies by member state)
  Registration threshold: From first sale to EU consumers
  Notes: B2B sales use reverse charge if the customer holds a valid VAT number

• UK
  Rate: 20% standard rate
  Registration threshold: From first sale
  Notes: Non-UK sellers register directly with HMRC

• Australia
  Rate: 10% GST
  Registration threshold: AUD 75,000 (annual)
  Notes: Applies to non-residents

• New Zealand
  Rate: 15% GST
  Registration threshold: NZD 60,000

• Canada
  Rate: Federal GST 5%, HST provinces 13–15%
  Registration threshold: Varies by province
  Notes: Ontario HST 13%, Nova Scotia HST 14% (cut from 15% in April 2025); Quebec charges QST separately

• Singapore
  Rate: 9% overseas vendor GST
  Registration threshold: —
  Notes: Rose from 8% (2023) to 9% from 1 January 2024

• Japan
  Rate: 10% consumption tax
  Registration threshold: JPY 10,000,000

• Norway
  Rate: 25% VAT on digital services
  Registration threshold: NOK 50,000 (12-month turnover)
  Notes: Triggers VOEC/MVA registration for foreign sellers

• Switzerland
  Rate: 8.1% VAT (2026 rate)
  Registration threshold: CHF 100,000 (worldwide taxable supplies, with at least CHF 1 sold to a Swiss customer)

• India
  Rate: 18% GST (OIDAR)
  Registration threshold: —

A globally-selling digital product business can end up needing indirect tax registration in dozens of jurisdictions at once, which is exactly why almost nobody does this by hand.

Three Approaches

• Merchant of Record
  How it works: Paddle, LemonSqueezy, FastSpring, Gumroad become the legal seller. All indirect tax becomes their problem, not yours.
  Typical cost: 5–8% of revenue
  Best for: Businesses that want compliance off their plate entirely

• Automated compliance stack
  How it works: Stripe Tax, Anrok, Chargebee or similar collect tax at the right rate and handle registration and remittance for supported jurisdictions.
  Typical cost: Software fee plus your own filing time
  Best for: Businesses that want to keep the "seller of record" role

• DIY
  How it works: Register manually in each jurisdiction, file returns yourself.
  Typical cost: Staff time, real and ongoing
  Best for: Only viable at very high volume, with resources to dedicate

Region-Specific Notes

In the EU, the Non-Union OSS scheme lets you register in one member state, file one return, and have VAT distributed to the right countries for you — the single biggest simplification available to a non-EU seller.

The UK sits outside the EU post-Brexit. Non-UK sellers register directly with HMRC rather than through any EU mechanism.

Australia's AUD 75K threshold applies annually: under it, no obligation; over it, full compliance from that point.

Canada layers a federal 5% GST with provincial add-ons. HST provinces currently run 13–15% — Ontario at 13%, Nova Scotia at 14% since its rate cut took effect in April 2025 — and Quebec charges QST separately again. The complexity here is real, not exaggerated.

In the US, it's state-by-state economic nexus (see Article A21), with roughly 45 states charging sales tax and the taxability of digital products varying enormously between them.

Japan, Singapore and India each run their own regime for foreign digital sellers, summarised in the table above.

Common Digital Product Seller Mistakes

Ignoring the small jurisdictions because the threshold sounds too low to matter is the first one. Norway's threshold is NOK 50,000 and Switzerland's is CHF 100,000 in worldwide sales, with at least CHF 1 sold locally — both are neither zero, nor especially high, and a moderately successful digital product business clears them within its first year or two.

Assuming your platform handles it is the second. Gumroad and LemonSqueezy do, because they act as merchant of record. Stripe and PayPal don't — you remain the seller of record on those, indirect tax included.

Not distinguishing B2B from B2C sales is the third. EU B2B sales use reverse charge — you don't collect VAT if the customer supplies a valid VAT number — but B2C sales to the same country do require you to collect it.

Not pricing tax into the sticker price is the fourth. In the EU, UK and Australia, list prices to consumers must include VAT or GST. Sellers who don't build that in get checkout surprises and lower conversion, not a pricing advantage.

Picking Your Compliance Approach

Selling into ten-plus tax jurisdictions from one storefront gets complicated fast, and the right fix depends on your volume and margins, not a one-size answer. On a scoping call, FTR maps which of your markets need registration now versus later, and which of the three approaches above actually fits your business. Bring your last twelve months of sales by country, and you'll leave with a compliance plan rather than a spreadsheet of rates. Book one here.

General guidance only, current as of publication. Rates and thresholds change by jurisdiction and by year — verify current figures before registering anywhere, and get advice specific to your setup.