# EU VAT Rates 2026: Standard & Reduced Rates for All 28 Countries
> Complete 2026 VAT rate table for all 27 EU member states and the United Kingdom: standard and reduced statutory rates, an explicit effective-year stamp, and the national VIES validator for every jurisdiction.

- **Canonical URL:** https://stanzaapi.com/tools/vat-validator/rates/eu-vat-rates-2026
- **Governing Standard:** EU Council Directive 2006/112/EC (European Commission Taxation & Customs Union (VIES))
- **Latency:** <1ms Edge
- **Privacy:** In-memory execution only (zero data stored or logged)

## Technical Overview & Governing Rules
Value Added Tax across the European Union is governed by Council Directive 2006/112/EC, which sets a minimum standard rate of 15% and a minimum reduced rate of 5%. Each member state sets its own statutory rates within those floors, while the United Kingdom applies its own regime.

For 2026 the standard rate ranges from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. Reduced rates apply to qualifying supplies such as food, medicines, books, and passenger transport, and range from zero-rated categories to rates close to the standard rate.

Rates are a maintained 2026 snapshot with an explicit effective year. Recent statutory changes include Romania moving to 21% in August 2025, Estonia to 22%, and Finland to 25.5%; confirm the rate in force on the invoice date before billing.

Every jurisdiction below has a dedicated VIES validator page with its national number format, checksum algorithm, and the same rate lookup, available programmatically from GET /api/v1/vat/rates/{country}.

## Specification Matrix
| Country | Code | 2026 Standard Rate | Reduced Rates |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Austria | AT | 20% | 10%, 13% |
| Belgium | BE | 21% | 6%, 12% |
| Bulgaria | BG | 20% | 9%, 5% |
| Cyprus | CY | 19% | 9%, 5% |
| Czechia | CZ | 21% | 12% |
| Germany | DE | 19% | 7% |
| Denmark | DK | 25% | None |
| Estonia | EE | 22% | 9% |
| Greece | EL | 24% | 13%, 6% |
| Spain | ES | 21% | 10%, 4% |
| Finland | FI | 25.5% | 14%, 10% |
| France | FR | 20% | 10%, 5.5%, 2.1% |
| United Kingdom | GB | 20% | 5% |
| Croatia | HR | 25% | 13%, 5% |
| Hungary | HU | 27% | 18%, 5% |
| Ireland | IE | 23% | 13.5%, 9%, 4.8% |
| Italy | IT | 22% | 10%, 5%, 4% |
| Lithuania | LT | 21% | 9%, 5% |
| Luxembourg | LU | 17% | 14%, 8%, 3% |
| Latvia | LV | 21% | 12%, 5% |
| Malta | MT | 18% | 7%, 5% |
| Netherlands | NL | 21% | 9% |
| Poland | PL | 23% | 8%, 5% |
| Portugal | PT | 23% | 13%, 6% |
| Romania | RO | 21% | 11%, 9% |
| Sweden | SE | 25% | 12%, 6% |
| Slovenia | SI | 22% | 9.5% |
| Slovakia | SK | 23% | 19%, 5% |

## Standard JSON Response Model
```json
{
  "countryCode": "DE",
  "countryName": "Germany",
  "standardRate": 19,
  "reducedRates": [
    7
  ],
  "effectiveYear": 2026
}
```

## Frequently Asked Questions & Edge Cases
### Q: Which EU country has the highest and lowest standard VAT rate in 2026?
**A:** Hungary has the highest standard VAT rate in the EU at 27%, and Luxembourg the lowest at 17%. Across the full table, the United Kingdom applies a 20% standard rate.

### Q: Can EU VAT rates change mid-year?
**A:** Yes. Member states can change rates during the year: Romania raised its standard rate from 19% to 21% on 1 August 2025, and Finland moved to 25.5%. This table is a maintained 2026 snapshot with an explicit effective year; always confirm the rate in force on the invoice date.

### Q: What are the EU minimum VAT rate thresholds?
**A:** Under Council Directive 2006/112/EC the standard rate may not be lower than 15%, and the reduced rate may not be lower than 5%. Reduced rates may apply only to the categories listed in Annex III, such as food, medicines, books, and passenger transport.

### Q: How do I validate a VAT number before applying a rate?
**A:** Each jurisdiction in the table links to its VIES validator page with the national format rules and checksum algorithm. The same offline validation is available from POST /api/v1/vat/validate, which returns the applicable 2026 rates alongside the validation result.