# VAT in Europe and How It Works in OCE

### 🧾 General Principles

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.

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Learn more: [VAT explained – European Commission](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/vat_en)
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### 🇧🇪 VAT Within the Same Country

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.

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Belgian VAT details: [Finance Belgium](https://finance.belgium.be/en)
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### 🌍 Cross-Border VAT and Reverse Charge

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.

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This means you **must pay VAT** on cross-border invoices from EU-based suppliers — just like any individual or unregistered group.
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Learn more: [EU VAT rules – Your Europe](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-rules-rates/index_en.htm)
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### 🧮 Summary

* 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.

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### 📬 Questions?

Still unsure about VAT or invoicing rules? Email us at <oce@opencollective.com> — we're happy to help!