Operational framework for European & cross-border VAT (TVA / BTW / VAT / MwSt): qualify the transaction, find the place of taxation, determine who collects, produce the correct invoice — answering in the user's language (FR / NL / EN / DE).
This skill produces general analysis, not tax advice. VAT is treacherous and jurisdiction-specific. Rates, national thresholds, filing dates, e-invoicing calendars and penalties change frequently — the skill is built to never state them from memory and to require web verification before any operational answer. Always validate high-stakes decisions (VAT registration in another Member State, OSS/IOSS choice, flow structuring, stock abroad, marketplace, margin scheme, UK/NI, fixed establishment) with a qualified accountant or tax lawyer in the relevant countries.
european-vat is a Claude Skill
that gives Claude a structured decision framework for EU VAT questions:
- B2B / B2C intra-EU supplies of goods and services
- SaaS & electronic services (place of supply, location evidence, OSS stack)
- Distance sales, the €10,000 pan-EU threshold, OSS / IOSS / Non-Union OSS
- Reverse charge, intra-Community supplies & acquisitions, recapitulative statements
- VIES validation (robust SOAP integration pattern, proof storage, fallback)
- Cross-border SME scheme 2025 (Directive 2020/285) — distinct from the OSS threshold
- ViDA timeline (VAT in the Digital Age) and national e-invoicing mandates
- Brexit / Northern Ireland dual regime (Windsor Framework)
- Invoicing: mandatory mentions (4 languages), formats, archival, national specifics
- Special regimes: margin scheme, TOMS travel agents, investment gold, VAT warehouses, flat-rate farmers, sensitive-goods reverse charge
- Belgium: Intervat, Peppol, listings, VAT-chain reform
It answers in the user's language (French, Dutch, English, German) and switches to a fast "Mode rapide" for purely conceptual questions (no mandatory web search), while keeping web verification mandatory for any volatile figure.
european-vat/
├── SKILL.md # Entry point: decision framework, routing, response format
└── references/
├── place-of-supply.md # Place-of-taxation rules (Dir. 2006/112 art. 31–59 ter)
├── saas-digital.md # SaaS / electronic services: qualification, OSS, CJEU
├── sme-cross-border.md # Cross-border SME scheme 2025 (Dir. 2020/285)
├── oss-ioss.md # OSS / Non-Union OSS / IOSS procedures
├── vida.md # ViDA timeline + impact by business archetype
├── brexit-uk.md # UK post-Brexit + Northern Ireland dual regime
├── vat-numbers.md # VAT number formats per MS + robust VIES integration
├── special-regimes.md # TOMS, investment gold, warehouses, farmers, art. 199 bis
├── belgium.md # Belgian procedures (Intervat, Peppol, listings)
└── invoicing.md # Mandatory invoice mentions, formats, archival
SKILL.md is always loaded; the references/*.md files are opened on demand when a case
leaves the standard patterns.
| Topic | Reference |
|---|---|
| Where is VAT due? (goods & services, exceptions, events, real estate, triangulation) | references/place-of-supply.md |
| SaaS / digital products, location evidence, MoR vs self-managed, CJEU | references/saas-digital.md |
| Small-enterprise cross-border exemption (€100k EU cap, EX number, quarantine) | references/sme-cross-border.md |
| One-Stop-Shop registration, returns, corrections, deregistration/exclusion | references/oss-ioss.md |
| VAT in the Digital Age (DRR, single VAT registration, platform economy) | references/vida.md |
| Selling to/from the UK, XI numbers, Windsor Framework, MTD for VAT | references/brexit-uk.md |
| VAT-number formats, VIES SOAP pattern, proof, retries, fallback | references/vat-numbers.md |
| Margin scheme, travel agents (TOMS), investment gold, VAT warehouses | references/special-regimes.md |
| Belgian VAT procedures and obligations | references/belgium.md |
| Invoice mandatory mentions (FR/NL/EN/DE), formats, archival periods | references/invoicing.md |
Copy the european-vat/ folder into your personal skills directory:
- macOS / Linux:
~/.claude/skills/european-vat/ - Windows:
C:\Users\<you>\.claude\skills\european-vat\
git clone https://github.com/angellaudde/european-vat.git
cp -r european-vat ~/.claude/skills/european-vat # Windows: copy into %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\The result must be …/.claude/skills/european-vat/SKILL.md with references/ alongside.
Place the folder at .claude/skills/european-vat/ inside your project and commit it.
- Download
european-vat.zipfrom the repository Releases. - In claude.ai go to Settings → Capabilities (Skills).
- Upload the zip and enable the skill.
The zip's internal layout is european-vat/SKILL.md + european-vat/references/*.
Reference the skill directory via the Agent Skills mechanism of the Claude Agent SDK.
| Prompt | Expected behaviour |
|---|---|
| "Belgian SaaS, B2B sale to a German company with a valid VIES number — how do I invoice?" | Art. 44 place of supply = customer; invoice without VAT; reverse charge — Article 196 mention; recapitulative statement; keep VIES proof. |
| "We sell a conference ticket to a company for an event in Berlin." | Physical B2B admission = Article 53, place where the event takes place (German VAT) — not Art. 44; virtual attendance since 2025 (Dir. (EU) 2022/542) shifts to the customer. |
| "What's the difference between OSS and the SME cross-border scheme?" | Mode rapide — conceptual answer from the framework, no web search forced. |
| "NI-based business wants the EU cross-border SME regime." | Excluded — the scheme is reserved to businesses established in an EU Member State; Non-Union OSS / IOSS / local registration instead. |
| "Journal entry to book a purchase invoice." | Out of scope — defers to an accounting skill (the description excludes pure bookkeeping). |
Claude selects the skill from its description. This skill triggers when a
cross-border European operation raises a VAT question (qualification, place of
taxation, who collects, rate, invoice mention, return) — even if the word "VAT" is not
used — and explicitly does not trigger for pure bookkeeping/journal entries, income
or corporate tax (IPP/ISOC), customs tariff classification without a VAT question, or
generic cross-border HR/pricing/contract questions.
A repeatable 12-prompt suite is used to score changes (Accuracy / Reliability / Safety / Speed / UX clarity, 1–5 each):
- Belgian SaaS, B2B to Germany, valid VIES.
- Belgian SaaS, B2C to France, under €10k threshold.
- Belgian SaaS, B2C to multiple EU countries, above €10k.
- B2B conference ticket for an event in Berlin. (must give Art. 53 + virtual nuance)
- VIES unavailable at checkout time.
- US company selling digital services to EU consumers.
- NI-based business asking about the SME cross-border regime. (must say excluded)
- Amazon FBA stock in Germany with sales in France/Italy.
- Marketplace deemed-supplier scenario (imports ≤ €150).
- Pure bookkeeping entry question. (must NOT trigger / hand off)
- Dutch-language VAT prompt. (language behaviour)
- Prompt with missing key facts. (short conditional answer + 2–3 targeted questions)
- Directive 2006/112/EC (recast VAT Directive) — EUR-Lex
- Council Directive (EU) 2020/285 — cross-border SME scheme
- Council Directive (EU) 2022/542 — rates & virtual events
- Implementing Regulation 282/2011 — electronic services, location evidence
- European Commission:
taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu,vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu,sme-vat-rules.ec.europa.eu - TEDB (Taxes in Europe Database) — for VAT rates only
- National administrations for filing calendars and e-invoicing mandates
The skill deliberately stores no static rate/threshold/date tables (they drift too fast). Volatile parameters are tagged "verify by web search". Keep this invariant when contributing: prefer conceptual framing + a verification pointer over a hardcoded number.
Issues and PRs welcome. For any substantive VAT change, cite the authoritative source (EUR-Lex article, Commission Explanatory Notes, national administration) and re-run the 12-prompt suite. Keep the FR/NL/EN/DE invoice-mention tables in sync.
See CHANGELOG.md. v1.0.0 is the first public release, incorporating an
independent multi-source audit (May 2026).
MIT © 2026 angellaudde.
Built and corrected through an independent audit cross-checked against EUR-Lex and the European Commission VAT / OSS / SME portals (May 2026).