Reference · 2026
EU VAT rates, and what they do to your referral fee
Most sellers look up the VAT rate to work out what they owe. On Amazon there is a second, quieter consequence: VAT changes the amount the referral fee is calculated on.
| Marketplace | Store | Standard rate | Reduced rate(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Amazon.de | 19% | 7% |
| France | Amazon.fr | 20% | 5.5% / 10% |
| Italy | Amazon.it | 22% | 4% / 10% |
| Spain | Amazon.es | 21% | 4% / 10% |
| Netherlands | Amazon.nl | 21% | 9% |
| Belgium | Amazon.com.be | 21% | 6% / 12% |
| Poland | Amazon.pl | 23% | 5% / 8% |
| Sweden | Amazon.se | 25% | 6% / 12% |
| United Kingdom | Amazon.co.uk | 20% | 5% / 0% |
Standard rates only. Whether your specific product qualifies for a reduced rate is a tax question, not a pricing one — confirm it with your accountant before you build a margin model on it.
The part that changes your fee
On every European marketplace, list prices are quoted VAT inclusive. A €29.99 price on Amazon.de is not €29.99 of revenue. It is €25.20 of revenue and €4.79 of VAT that was never yours.
Amazon charges the referral fee on the VAT-exclusive amount. So the 15% Home & Kitchen rate does not cost you 15% of €29.99 (€4.50). It costs you 15% of €25.20 (€3.78).
That looks like good news, and it is — but it also means the fee moves every time the VAT rate moves, every time a customer ships cross-border into a different rate, and every time a product reclassifies into a reduced rate. Which is why a margin model built on one flat percentage will drift without anyone noticing.
A worked example across four storefronts
Same product, same €29.99 shelf price, 15% referral category, offered in four markets:
- Germany (19%): fee base €25.20, referral fee €3.78
- France (20%): fee base €24.99, referral fee €3.75
- Italy (22%): fee base €24.58, referral fee €3.69
- Sweden (25%): fee base €23.99, referral fee €3.60
Spread across the four is only about €0.18 per unit. On a 10% net margin that is still real money at volume — and it is money no marketplace calculator will show you, because they all assume you list in one country.
The counter-intuitive bit. A higher VAT rate is not automatically worse for you. It lowers the referral fee in absolute terms, because the fee is charged on a smaller ex-VAT base. What it does cost you is customer demand at the higher shelf price.
What changed in 2026
Amazon cut fees across European stores with effect from 15 December 2025: FBA parcel fees fell by an average of €0.32, and clothing referral fees dropped to 5% on items up to €15 and 10% between €15 and €20. From 5 January 2026 a new household-goods category started at 8% for items up to €20. From 17 April 2026 a 1.5% fuel and logistics surcharge applies to FBA fulfilment fees in the German, UK, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Irish and Belgian stores.
If your model was built before December 2025, it is probably overstating your European cost on apparel and understating it on fulfilment.