How does Nova take VAT out of your sales?
In Europe, the UK and Mexico, your prices include VAT, and VAT is not yours to keep. Nova takes it out of Sales to give Net sales. When Amazon calculates the tax for you, Nova uses Amazon's figure. Otherwise it applies the VAT category you set for each product, at the rate of the country the order ships to.
Checked against Nova's code on October 29, 2026
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When does Nova use Amazon's figure?
When Amazon's VAT Calculation Service (VCS) prices the tax on your orders, every order line carries the VAT amount, and Nova takes it as it is. Nova checks this per account and region over the last 90 days: a region counts as handled by Amazon when at least 80% of your taxable sales carry Amazon's tax.
The VAT page shows each region as Amazon VCS or Your rates apply.
When do your VAT categories apply?
When Amazon does not price the tax, Nova needs the VAT category of each product: standard, reduced, zero, or one of Amazon's product tax codes. The rate comes from the country the order ships to, from Nova's table of VAT rates for 30 countries: the 27 EU countries, the UK, Switzerland and Mexico.
You can set a category per SKU, or one default for the whole account. Nova's own codes cover the common cases:
| Code | Rate applied |
|---|---|
A_NOVA_STANDARD | The country's standard rate |
A_NOVA_REDUCED | The country's reduced rate |
A_NOVA_ZERO | Zero everywhere, for sellers who handle VAT outside Nova or sell VAT-free |
The 77 Amazon product tax codes, such as A_GEN_STANDARD or A_BOOKS_GEN, apply the rate Amazon's code carries in each country.
In which order does Nova decide?
For each order line, the first rule that applies wins:
| # | Situation | VAT taken out |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vine order | 0 |
| 2 | US or Canada: sales tax sits outside the price | 0 |
| 3 | Amazon reported the tax on the line | Amazon's figure |
| 4 | Mexico, shipped without tax reported | 0 |
| 5 | Shipped outside the VAT area | 0 |
| 6 | Business buyer, reverse charge | 0 |
| 7 | Account handled by Amazon, no tax on this line | 0 |
| 8 | The SKU has a VAT category | Category rate of the delivery country |
| 9 | The account has a default category | Default rate of the delivery country |
| 10 | Amazon's tax on this product's fees or other orders | The rate seen there |
| 11 | Nothing else | The delivery country's standard rate |
Rule 11 keeps margins realistic while a category is missing, but it is a guess: set the category for products sold at a reduced or zero rate.
Worked example
A €24.00 sale shipped to Germany, standard rate 19%, on an account where Amazon does not price the tax:
€24.00 ÷ 1.19 = €20.17 of net sales, and €3.83 of VAT taken out.
How do you set VAT categories?
On the VAT page, by region, line by line or by spreadsheet, or from your AI assistant through the MCP. Only SKUs sold in the last 24 months are listed, and the Missing view shows those without a category in a region where your rates apply.
Ask your AI
Which products sold in Europe last month have no VAT category, and how much of my VAT was estimated at the standard rate?
Something missing or unclear? Write to contact@novadata.io. New to Nova? Start a free trial.