France VAT Calculator (2026) — Add or Reverse VAT
France's standard VAT rate is 20%, with reduced rates of 2.1% and 5.5% and 10% on certain goods and services. Use the calculator below to add VAT to a net price, or reverse a VAT-included gross price to find the net amount.
How to use this calculator:
- Adding VAT — enter a net (pre-VAT) price, pick "Add VAT to net price," and the calculator applies France's rate to show the VAT amount and gross total.
- Reversing (removing) VAT — enter a gross price that already includes VAT, pick "Remove VAT from gross price," and the calculator divides by 1 + the rate to isolate the net price and the exact VAT paid.
Understanding France VAT
France charges a standard VAT rate of 20%, alongside reduced rates of 2.1% and 5.5% and 10% for specific categories of goods and services.
Most food and books at 5.5%; restaurants and transport at 10%; a super-reduced 2.1% applies to some medicines and press.
VAT registration threshold
€87,000
EU distance-selling threshold
€10,000/year (EU-wide, applies once combined cross-border B2C sales exceed this)
Bloc
European Union member
Why Reverse VAT Calculation Matters
Invoices and receipts usually show only the VAT-included gross price — not the net amount. Reversing the calculation matters for bookkeeping (separating revenue from VAT collected), expense claims, and cross-border price comparisons. Because dividing by (1 + rate) isn't the same as simply subtracting the rate, doing this by hand is a common source of errors — the calculator above handles it exactly.
History & How the Rate Is Built
France invented VAT. Economist Maurice Lauré, working at the Inspection générale des finances, designed the taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (TVA), which France adopted into law on April 10, 1954. France extended it to services in 1968 and to nearly all economic activity by 1970, and the model was so successful that the EEC required all member states to adopt VAT by directive in 1967.
As the birthplace of VAT, France's TVA remains one of the largest single sources of French government revenue, and its three-tier reduced-rate structure (2.1%, 5.5%, 10%) — one of the more granular in Europe — reflects seven decades of incremental carve-outs for food, culture, health, and press.
Business Use Case: Registering for VAT in France
A French bakery must apply the 5.5% reduced rate to most bread and pastries sold for takeaway, but the 10% rate to prepared food consumed on-site or the full 20% standard rate to certain confectionery — a three-way split that requires careful point-of-sale categorization even within a single small business.
Real-World Example
A €100.00 net price in France at the standard rate of 20%:
- VAT amount: €100.00 × 20% = €20.00
- Gross price: €100.00 + €20.00 = €120.00
France VAT Compliance & Registration
Domestic businesses in France generally must register for VAT once annual taxable turnover exceeds €87,000. Below that threshold, small businesses can often trade without charging VAT, though voluntary registration is usually available. For cross-border EU sales, the €10,000 distance-selling threshold and the One-Stop Shop (OSS) apply regardless of France's domestic threshold — once total EU-wide B2C sales exceed €10,000, VAT is charged at the buyer's country rate and reported through a single OSS return.
Frequently Asked Questions — France VAT
What is the VAT rate in France?▾
What is the VAT registration threshold in France?▾
How do I remove VAT from a France price?▾
Do I charge France VAT rates when selling from another EU country?▾
Is France in the EU VAT area?▾
References & Sources
Rates last verified January 2026. VAT rates and thresholds are set by national legislation and can change — always confirm current figures with France's national tax authority before invoicing. This tool is for estimation and educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Jordan Hayes
Verified AuthorLead Content Editor & Personal Finance Specialist
Jordan Hayes is a personal finance content strategist with 9+ years building educational finance and health resources. He has written and fact-checked over 200 personal finance guides covering mortgage amortization, retirement planning, tax strategy, and budgeting. His work applies IRS publications, Federal Reserve data, and peer-reviewed research to make complex calculations accessible.