Collecting VAT or GST

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Collecting VAT or GST

Last updated March 20, 2026 05:12

Enable tax-inclusive pricing, customize order invoices, and include your VAT registration number for European customers.

You can collect VAT or GST through Squarespace Commerce by setting tax rates, enabling tax-inclusive pricing, and customizing price and tax details for your receipts.

Note: This guide offers useful information, but it isn't legal or accounting advice. Squarespace doesn't provide advice about laws applicable to your site or business, as stated in our Terms of Service. If you have questions about collecting taxes, consider speaking with a tax advisor.

Before you begin

  • This guide covers charging VAT through Squarespace Commerce. For information about VAT collected for your Squarespace subscriptions, visit VAT and Squarespace billing.
  • It's not possible to set different tax rules based on the product.
  • It's not possible to exempt certain customers from paying VAT.
  • Some settings may be enabled by default based on the country you entered at signup. You can follow the steps in this guide to make any changes.

Step 1 - Set up tax rates

Before you can enable tax-inclusive pricing, you'll need to add tax rates to your store.

Note: If you have questions about your tax rates, please consult with your tax advisor.

Step 2 - Enable tax-inclusive pricing

Tax-inclusive pricing allocates a portion of an order's total for VAT tax, instead of adding the VAT tax to the order's total at checkout. Enabling tax-inclusive pricing doesn't affect the prices listed in your store. At checkout and in order confirmation emails, the portion of the order's total that's allocated for VAT tax displays as a line item. This portion changes based on the tax rules you set up.

For example, let's say you offer a product for €100 and you charge a 10% VAT tax for customers in Spain. The product will be listed for €100 in your store. At checkout, after the customer enters their Spanish billing address, the order's grand total remains €100, and the customer will see that €9.09 out of the €100, is allocated for VAT tax. The order's actual subtotal is €90.91, because €90.91 x (1+(10/100)) = €100.

After you set up tax rates, enable tax-inclusive pricing:

  1. Open the Taxes panel.
  2. Under Settings, click How tax is added.
  3. Click Include in price, then click Save.

How VAT displays on invoices.

Step 3 - Edit receipt details

You can customize the information that appears in your order receipts—including order confirmation emails and printable order summaries—based on your local requirements.

  1. Open the Checkout panel.
  2. Scroll down and click Receipt details.

You can enable these options:

  • Show Pre-Tax Price with item Price - Displays pre- and post-tax prices for each item.
  • Show Tax for Each Item - Displays tax rate and amount charged for each item.
  • Show net total - Displays sum of item and shipping totals before tax.
  • Show a Tax Breakdown Table - Displays a table below the Order Summary of tax rates and amounts charged.

Add custom details

If you need to include more information than the default fields allow, you can add custom text to your email footer:

  1. In the Customer Notifications panel, click Global Email Styles.
  2. Click Edit, then under Sections, click Footer.
  3. Switch the Footer Text toggle on and enter your specific details in the text field.

Display the full order summary breakdown

The order confirmed email can display a full tax breakdown, including pre-tax totals and specific tax rates.

Note: If you have questions about your local formatting requirements, consult with your tax advisor. Squarespace can't provide you with tax advice.

Step 4 - Add a VAT Registration Number (optional)

If you have a VAT Registration Number, you can enter it in the Business settings panel. This number will appear on your receipts.

In many regions, your order confirmation email may need to include specific details, like a tax registration ID (VAT/GST) and a full tax breakdown, to serve as an invoice or receipt. To ensure these emails meet local requirements, you can add your VAD ID to the Customer Notifications panel.

To add a VAT Registration Number:

  1. Open the Customer Notifications panel.
  2. Click Business settings.
  3. Add your VAT ID to the Tax Registration ID (Optional) field.

Step 5 - Confirm your location (optional)

Your Business Address will also appear on receipts. Depending on your location, you may need to include this information in your receipts. To confirm your location is correct, scroll down in the Business Information panel to Business Address.

Step 7 - Add business information and tax ID

Step 6 - Preview your receipt (optional)

To preview your receipt:

  1. Open the Customer Notifications panel.
  2. Scroll down to Customize Emails, and click Order Emails.

On the right, you'll see a preview of your order confirmation email. The Order Summary includes a tax breakdown based on your receipt format.

The order summary, including tax.

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Collecting VAT or GST