VAT in Europe and How It Works in OCE
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Collectives hosted by Open Collective Europe (OCE) are unincorporated initiatives primarily funded through donations. As such, they are not eligible for VAT refunds and must always pay VAT on goods and services purchased.
VAT (Value Added Tax) is a general consumption tax that applies to most goods and services within the European Union. Even if your Collective is not a registered entity, VAT is still due on your expenses.
Invoices issued within your country (e.g. Belgium) must include VAT unless the supplier is legally exempt.
OCE itself is not VAT-exempt, so if it issues an invoice (e.g. for services), VAT will be applied based on the applicable Belgian rate.
The reverse charge mechanism lets VAT-registered businesses handle cross-border VAT internally (by declaring both output and input VAT).
However, this mechanism only applies between two VAT-registered businesses. Because OCE-hosted Collectives are not legal entities, they cannot apply the reverse charge mechanism.
This means you must pay VAT on cross-border invoices from EU-based suppliers — just like any individual or unregistered group.
Collectives must pay VAT on all eligible purchases, whether national or cross-border.
Reverse charge rules do not apply.
If an invoice omits VAT but you are not VAT-registered, ask the vendor to correct it — or justify the exemption clearly.
Still unsure about VAT or invoicing rules? Email us at — we're happy to help!