If you sell services from Ireland, two questions decide your VAT position: has your turnover passed the registration threshold, and where is your customer? An Irish business selling services to private customers in Ireland charges Irish VAT once it is registered. A sale to a business in another EU country is usually invoiced without Irish VAT, and the customer accounts for it under the reverse charge. Many services sold to customers outside the EU carry no Irish VAT at all.
This guide explains when you must register, how the place of supply rules work for business and private customers, and what to put on your invoices. Rules are as published by Revenue and checked on 2 November 2026.
The Turnover Threshold for Service Businesses
Revenue sets a lower threshold for services than for goods. According to Revenue's VAT thresholds page, registration is obligatory when your turnover in a calendar year exceeds:
| Type of business | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Services only | EUR 42,500 |
| Goods | EUR 85,000 |
| Goods and services, where 90% or more of turnover is from goods | EUR 85,000 |
Turnover here means the value of your taxable supplies before VAT. Occasional sales of business assets, such as a vehicle or a building, are left out of the count.
Three points catch new service businesses:
- Mixed businesses. If less than 90% of your turnover comes from goods, the services threshold of EUR 42,500 applies to the whole business.
- Voluntary registration. You may register below the threshold. This can make sense if most of your clients are VAT-registered businesses that reclaim the VAT you charge, and you want to reclaim VAT on your own costs.
- Services you buy from abroad. If your business is not registered and buys taxable services from a supplier outside Ireland, you may have to register and account for Irish VAT on them. Revenue states there is no registration threshold for received services.
If you trade as a sole trader, the same thresholds apply to you as to a company. Our VAT registration service covers the application with Revenue.
Where a Service Is Taxed: the Two General Rules
For VAT, a service is taxed in the country where it is treated as supplied. Revenue's general place of supply rules start from who the customer is:
- Business customer (B2B). The service is supplied where the customer's business is established, whether that is in the EU or outside it.
- Private customer (B2C). The service is supplied where you, the supplier, are established. For an Irish business, that means Ireland.
These two rules cover most consulting, design, marketing, software and professional work. A list of exceptions overrides them for certain types of service, covered further down.
Customers in Ireland
A sale to a customer in Ireland is supplied in Ireland under both rules. Once you are registered, you charge Irish VAT at the rate that applies to the service. Most professional and business services are at the standard rate of 23%, and some services have reduced rates. From 1 July 2026, hairdressing and food and drink supplied by hospitality businesses moved to 9% under Finance Act 2025. Rates change from time to time, so check the current rate for your service before you invoice. Our overview of VAT rates in Ireland and Europe lists the bands.
Business Customers in Other EU Countries
When you supply a VAT-registered business in another EU country, the service is supplied in the customer's country. You do not charge Irish VAT. The customer accounts for VAT in its own country under the reverse charge.
Revenue's guidance on supplying services to business customers abroad lists what you must do:
- Get the customer's VAT number and confirm it is valid, for example on the EU Commission's VIES website.
- Put the customer's VAT number on your invoice and keep records of the transaction.
- State on the invoice that the reverse charge applies.
- Check whether the service is exempt in the customer's country.
- Include the supply on your VIES return if it is taxable.
If the customer is a new business that does not yet have a VAT number, Revenue's guidance points to a letter from its tax authority as evidence. For a deeper look at how the customer self-accounts, see our explainer on the VAT reverse charge.
Business Customers Outside the EU
Revenue states that, in general, supplies of services to business customers outside the EU are not subject to VAT. A design agency in Cork invoicing a company in New York does not add Irish VAT.
You still need evidence that the customer is a business established outside the EU. Revenue accepts, for example:
- confirmation from the customer's tax authority;
- an order form showing a business address and a trade registration number;
- a printout of the customer's website showing its business activity.
If you treat a customer as a business without this evidence and Revenue later disagrees, you are liable for the VAT, with interest and possible penalties on audit.
Private Customers in Other EU Countries
Under the general B2C rule, a service you supply to a private person in France or Germany is supplied in Ireland, so you charge Irish VAT. This covers most professional and consulting work for individuals.
The main exception is telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services, such as apps, online courses delivered automatically or downloadable content. These follow the customer's location once your cross-border sales of such services to private customers in the EU exceed EUR 10,000 a year. Below that figure you charge Irish VAT, unless you choose to apply the customer's country rule. Businesses in this position usually report the foreign VAT through the One Stop Shop (OSS) rather than registering in each country.
Private Customers Outside the EU
Here the answer depends on the service. Revenue publishes a list of services supplied to non-business customers outside the EU that are treated as supplied where the customer is, so no Irish VAT is charged. The list includes:
- the services of consultants, engineers, lawyers and accountants, data processing and the provision of information;
- advertising services;
- transfers of copyrights, patents, licences and trademarks;
- supply of staff;
- hire of movable goods, other than means of transport;
- telecommunications, broadcasting and electronically supplied services.
For services not on the list, the general B2C rule applies and you charge Irish VAT. Revenue notes that use and enjoyment rules can change the answer for some of these services, so check the rule for your service before you rely on it.
Services With Their Own Place of Supply Rules
Some services ignore the general rules and are taxed where something physically happens. Revenue's list of exceptions includes:
| Service | Where it is taxed |
|---|---|
| Services connected with land or buildings, such as building work, estate agency or architects' work on a specific property | Where the property is |
| Passenger transport | Where the transport takes place |
| Admission to events, such as a conference ticket | Where the event takes place |
| Restaurant and catering | Where the service is carried out |
| Short-term hire of a vehicle | Where the vehicle is handed over |
If your work falls into one of these groups, you may need to deal with VAT in another country even when your customer is a business. A non-established business carrying out such services in Ireland must register here regardless of turnover.
A Worked Example
Aoife runs a marketing consultancy in Galway as a limited company. In a calendar year she invoices:
| Customer | Amount | VAT treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Irish companies | EUR 30,000 | Irish VAT at 23% |
| A VAT-registered company in the Netherlands | EUR 12,000 | No Irish VAT, reverse charge, on the VIES return |
| A company in Canada | EUR 6,000 | No Irish VAT, outside the EU |
| A private client in Spain | EUR 1,500 | Irish VAT at 23% (general B2C rule) |
Her total turnover is EUR 49,500, which is above the services threshold of EUR 42,500, so she must be registered. She charges VAT only on the Irish sales and the Spanish private client. The Dutch customer accounts for VAT in the Netherlands.
Keeping Your Invoices Right
A few habits prevent most VAT problems for service businesses:
- Classify every customer as business or private, and EU or non-EU, before the first invoice.
- Validate EU VAT numbers on VIES and keep a record of the check.
- Keep evidence for non-EU business customers, such as a registration number or a tax authority letter.
- Use the right invoice wording: the customer's VAT number and a reverse charge note for EU business sales.
- Watch your turnover against the EUR 42,500 threshold during the year, not only at the year end.
If your business is growing and you are close to the threshold, our team can handle your VAT registration with Revenue so that you are registered before you need to charge VAT.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add VAT to my invoices below the threshold?
No. You can only charge VAT once you are registered. You must register when your turnover from services exceeds EUR 42,500 in a calendar year, or earlier if you choose to register voluntarily.
Do I charge Irish VAT to a business customer in another EU country?
Usually not. The service is supplied where the customer is established, the customer accounts for VAT under the reverse charge, and you put its VAT number and a reverse charge note on the invoice.
Do I charge VAT to a customer in the UK?
The UK is outside the EU. For a UK business customer, no Irish VAT is charged under the general rule. For a UK private customer, it depends on whether the service is on Revenue's list of services supplied where the customer is, such as consultancy or advertising.
Are all services taxed at the same rate?
Most services are at the standard rate of 23%. Some services have reduced rates, for example hairdressing at 9% from 1 July 2026. Check the rate for your specific service with Revenue before invoicing.
Is the threshold for services different from the threshold for goods?
Yes. The threshold is EUR 42,500 for services and EUR 85,000 for goods. A business selling both uses the goods threshold only if 90% or more of its turnover comes from goods.
I buy software and advertising from suppliers abroad. Do I need to do anything?
Yes. A VAT-registered Irish business accounts for Irish VAT on services received from abroad in its own VAT return, and can usually reclaim it in the same return. A business that is not registered may have to register, as Revenue sets no threshold for received services.
