VAT on Event Tickets in Europe: Rates 2026

Event tickets in Europe carry the VAT rate of the country where the event takes place, which for concerts and theatre is usually a reduced rate: 7 % in Germany, 5.5 % in France, 9 % in the Netherlands, 13 % in Austria. Sport, parties and livestreams are often taxed differently. Rates and rules below are as of November 2026.

Key takeaways

Physical events: admission is taxed where the event takes place (VAT Directive Art. 53 for B2B, Art. 54 for B2C).

Virtual events since 2025: B2C tickets are taxed where the consumer lives; B2B virtual admission follows the customer's location.

Reduced rates for concerts and theatre in most EU countries; sport, DJ parties and dinner packages often differ. Denmark taxes concerts and theatre at 25 %, and Ireland exempts many live performances.

Events in another EU country mean charging that country's VAT. B2C admission can be declared via the OSS; check local registration duties.

Booking fees you charge as organiser usually follow the ticket's rate; a platform's own service fee is a separate supply.

This guide is not legal or tax advice.

Where is VAT due on an event ticket?

Place of supply is the country whose VAT applies. For admission tickets, the EU VAT Directive (2006/112/EC, consolidated 14 April 2025) overrides the usual "where the customer is" logic.

Ticket	Buyer	Place of supply	Rule
Physical event	business (B2B)	where the event actually takes place	Art. 53
Physical event	consumer (B2C)	where the event actually takes place	Art. 54(1)
Streamed or virtual event	business (B2B)	where the business customer is established (general rule)	Art. 44, since Art. 53 no longer applies to virtual attendance from 2025
Streamed or virtual event	consumer (B2C)	where the consumer is established, has their permanent address or usually resides	Art. 54(1), as amended from 1 January 2025

Admission covers entry to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events, from concerts and matches to conferences and fairs, plus ancillary services such as cloakrooms.

So a Dutch promoter selling tickets for a show in Antwerp charges Belgian VAT, while a German club streaming to fans in France and Spain charges each buyer's local rate.

An orchestra plays in a festively lit concert hall before an attentive audience in red velvet seats

What VAT rates apply to event tickets in each country?

Rates mainly come from the European Commission's TEDB database (mid-2026), plus national sources for Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland and the UK. "Check national guidance" marks cells we could not confirm. Exemptions often depend on who organises, for example public or non-profit bodies.

Country	Standard rate	Concerts, theatre, shows	Sporting events (spectators)	Notes
Germany	19 %	7 % (concerts, theatre, comparable performances by performing artists)	19 %; non-profit clubs 7 % or exempt in some cases	DJ parties without concert character 19 %
Austria	20 %	13 % (if not exempt)	13 %
Netherlands	21 %	9 % (music and stage performances, circus)	9 %
Belgium	21 %	6 %; exempt for recognised non-profit bodies	6 %; exempt for non-profit bodies
France	20 %	5.5 % (shows, theatre, circus, concerts)	5.5 %	10 % for exhibitions and cultural sites
Italy	22 %	10 % (theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, circus)	check national guidance
Spain	21 %	10 %	10 % for amateur sport only; professional sport 21 %	Canary Islands use IGIC instead of VAT
Poland	23 %	8 %	8 %
Ireland	23 %	exempt for live theatrical and musical events where no food or drink is available during the performance; reduced rate (13.5 % per TEDB) where it is	exempt	dances are standard-rated (23 %)
Portugal	23 %	check national guidance	check national guidance	Madeira and the Azores have their own rates
Denmark	25 %	25 % (no reduced rate; the cultural exemption excludes concerts and theatre)	exempt only for non-profit organisers without professional athletes, otherwise 25 %	charity events can be exempted on prior application to Skattestyrelsen
Sweden	25 %	6 %	6 %; often exempt for public or non-profit bodies
Czechia	21 %	12 %	12 %
Switzerland (non-EU)	8.1 %	excluded from VAT (theatre, music, dance, film); option to tax at 8.1 %	excluded
UK (non-EU)	20 %	20 %; exempt for eligible cultural bodies and public authorities	20 %; some supplies by eligible bodies exempt	a temporary reduced rate for children's admission applied from 25 June to 1 September 2026 and has expired

Rates as of November 2026. Reduced rates and exemptions depend on the type of performance: in Germany a concert is 7 % but a DJ party is 19 %, and in Ireland the same concert is exempt or 13.5 % depending on whether food or drink is served. The German-language guide Umsatzsteuer auf Eintrittskarten covers the German details.

Do foreign organisers need to register for VAT in the event country?

If you're a VAT-registered business and sell tickets for an event in another EU country, you owe that country's VAT. How you pay it depends on who buys.

Sales to consumers: the One-Stop Shop

Since 1 July 2021, the Union OSS scheme lets an EU business declare B2C services supplied in other Member States through one quarterly return at home. The Commission's OSS explanatory notes list "admission to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events" among the B2C services that can be declared under the scheme. If you use the OSS, you must declare all eligible supplies through it.

Three caveats:

No OSS threshold for admission. The EUR 10,000 threshold only covers electronic services and distance sales of goods. Admission abroad is taxable from the first euro.
Local VAT on your costs (venue hire, catering, staging) can't be deducted via the OSS return. You reclaim it through the EU refund procedure or a local VAT return.
Local practice and other duties. Some countries may still expect local registration, for example if you also sell to businesses, run a bar or have a fixed establishment there. Check before you go on sale.

Sales to businesses

For B2B admission (Art. 53), VAT is also due in the event country. Whether the buyer accounts for it (reverse charge) or you must register locally depends on that country's rules, so check national guidance.

Organisers outside the EU

Non-EU organisers, including UK organisers selling tickets for EU events, can use the non-Union OSS scheme for B2C services, according to the same notes. EU organisers running events in the UK or Switzerland must follow UK or Swiss rules.

How is VAT applied to booking and service fees?

As a rule of thumb:

Fee	Typical VAT treatment	Basis
Booking fee that the organiser charges as part of the ticket price	ancillary to admission, so same place and rate as the ticket	in Germany: BFH V R 16/09
Platform service fee charged to the buyer in the platform's own name	separate supply by the platform, usually at the standard rate	derived from German case law; check national guidance
Platform fee charged to the organiser (B2B)	service to the organiser, usually standard rate; cross-border B2B fees are generally reverse-charged	in Germany: BFH V B 98/25
Cancellation or refund fee	depends on whether it is consideration for a service; check national guidance

Show the total price including all unavoidable fees to consumers. That's an EU consumer law rule independent of VAT.

Worked examples

All examples use a gross ticket price that includes VAT. VAT = gross price × rate ÷ (100 + rate). Example figures only.

One €40 concert ticket across Europe

Event country	Rate (concert)	Net price	VAT
France	5.5 %	€37.91	€2.09
Belgium	6 %	€37.74	€2.26
Germany	7 %	€37.38	€2.62
Poland	8 %	€37.04	€2.96
Netherlands	9 %	€36.70	€3.30
Italy, Spain	10 %	€36.36	€3.64
Austria	13 %	€35.40	€4.60
Ireland (food or drink available; otherwise exempt)	13.5 %	€35.24	€4.76
Denmark (unless an approved charity event)	25 %	€32.00	€8.00

On 500 tickets, the gap between France and Denmark is €2,955 of VAT on the same gross revenue. Work backwards from the gross price, using the event country's rate.

German organiser, concert in Vienna

A VAT-registered German promoter sells 300 tickets at €30 for a concert in Vienna to consumers. The place of supply is Austria, so Austrian VAT at 13 % applies, not German 7 %. Per ticket: net €26.55, VAT €3.45, so €1,035 of Austrian VAT in total. The promoter declares it via the Union OSS from Germany or registers in Austria, and reclaims Austrian VAT on the venue hire separately.

Livestream sold to several countries

A Belgian theatre company sells a €10 livestream ticket to consumers. Since 2025, each sale is taxed in the buyer's country, and whether a reduced rate covers streams varies (Ireland, for example, taxes streamed events at the standard rate). At 21 %, VAT is €1.74 per ticket; at 20 %, €1.67. The company can declare all foreign B2C sales through the OSS in Belgium.

An enthusiastic crowd cheers the encore of a pop concert, golden confetti over raised hands

Checklist: VAT before you go on sale abroad

Event type defined: concert, theatre, sport, party, conference, livestream
Place of supply confirmed: event country (physical) or buyer's country (virtual B2C)
Rate confirmed with the event country's tax authority or an adviser
Exemptions checked if you are a public, cultural or non-profit body
Decided between OSS and local registration; noted the quarterly OSS deadlines
Plan for reclaiming foreign VAT on venue and supplier costs
Booking fees and bundles (ticket plus dinner or drinks) priced and taxed separately where needed
Ticket prices shown to consumers as totals including all fees
Invoices for business buyers set up; e-invoicing duties checked for each country

For structured e-invoices to business buyers, see e-invoicing for event organisers.

How to do this with Eventoren

Eventoren's fee is 3.9 % of the gross ticket price plus €0.49 per paid ticket, including VAT and payment processing. Free tickets cost nothing. At onboarding, your organisation decides whether buyers or you pay the fee. You remain responsible for the VAT on your own ticket sales, so set your gross ticket prices with the event country's rate in mind.

To keep VAT rates apart, create separate ticket types, each with its own capacity, for parts of an offer that may be taxed differently, such as admission and a dinner package. Export orders as CSV, XLSX or PDF and assign revenue per ticket type to the right rate. The "Finanzen" (finance) team role gives your treasurer or tax adviser access to the figures. Payouts go by bank transfer to your IBAN at the latest on the 7th bank working day after the event ends. Eventoren sells in EUR only and its interface is German. Compare it with other platforms in our ticketing fee comparison, or contact us with questions.

Frequently asked questions

Do you charge VAT on event tickets?

Yes, if you're a VAT-registered business, unless an exemption applies, for example to some non-profit bodies or, in Ireland, to many live performances. Small businesses under their home small-business scheme may not charge VAT at home; whether that also covers an event abroad depends on the event country, so check national guidance.

Which country's VAT applies to a ticket for an event abroad?

The country where the event physically takes place, for both consumers and businesses. Only streamed or virtual events differ: since 2025, B2C tickets are taxed in the buyer's country.

Can I use the OSS for tickets to an event in another EU country?

According to the European Commission's OSS explanatory notes, B2C admission to events can be declared through the OSS by a business not established in the event country. Local VAT on costs can't be reclaimed through the OSS, and sales to businesses are not covered. Confirm the set-up with the event country's tax authority.

What VAT applies to a livestream ticket?

Since 1 January 2025, a livestream ticket sold to a consumer is taxed where the consumer lives, at that country's rate. Whether the reduced rate for live performances also covers streams depends on the country, so check national guidance.

Is VAT on concert tickets the same as on sports tickets?

Not always. Many countries tax both at the same reduced rate (Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland). Germany applies 19 % to commercial sports events but 7 % to concerts, Spain applies 10 % only to amateur sport, and Denmark taxes concerts at 25 % unless a charity event exemption has been approved. In Ireland, both are often exempt.

VAT on Event Tickets in Europe 2026: Rates by Country

Where is VAT due on an event ticket?

What VAT rates apply to event tickets in each country?