--- id: "prices-and-vat" lang: "en" title: "How prices and tax work: VAT or sales tax" summary: "Your shop charges no tax, adds it at the till, or has it inside its prices, as VAT or as sales tax in the United States. The choice sets what a Price means and locks at your first sale with tax." area: "Money & accounting" kind: "concept" url: "https://zeropos.shop/help/prices-and-vat" alternate: "https://zeropos.shop/help/prices-and-vat?lang=es" markdown: "https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/prices-and-vat.md" screens: ["/backoffice/products","/backoffice/settings/company"] where_to_find: ["BACKOFFICE › Inventory › Products","MANAGE › Settings › Company info"] related: ["company-info","products-and-stock","make-a-sale","set-up-pay","discounts-and-deals"] updated: "2026-10-21" --- # How prices and tax work: VAT or sales tax Your shop charges no tax, adds it at the till, or has it inside its prices, as VAT or as sales tax in the United States. The choice sets what a Price means and locks at your first sale with tax. The tax is set once for the whole workspace, on [MANAGE › Settings › Company info](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/settings/company). Two things decide it: the **VAT rate (%)** and the answer to **Do your prices include VAT?** A shop in the United States reads sales tax in both. Where to find it: BACKOFFICE › Inventory › Products; MANAGE › Settings › Company info. ## Before you start - By default only the owner and administrators can change company settings. - Decide before your first sale with VAT: after it, the answer can no longer be changed on screen. ## Steps 1. Open [MANAGE › Settings › Company info](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/settings/company). 2. Under **Tax & timezone**, type your **VAT rate (%)**. Leave 0 if you charge no VAT. 3. With a rate above 0, answer **Do your prices include VAT?** 4. Tap **Save**. ## What happens next - New sales use the rate and mode straight away. Each invoice keeps the mode it was sold under, so changing the setting never rewrites an old receipt or refund. - The **Price** box on every product now says which side of VAT its number sits on. ## The three ways a shop can price No VAT: the **VAT rate (%)** is 0. Type 100 and the customer pays 100. The question about VAT is greyed out because it makes no difference. VAT included (**Yes — the price is the price (Europe)**): type 100 and the customer pays 100, with the VAT inside it. This is what shelf prices must show in Europe. VAT added at the till (**No — add VAT at the till (US / Canada)**): type 100 and the till adds the VAT on top, so at 21% the customer pays 121. ## VAT, sales tax or a name of your own **Tax name** follows your **Country**: Sales tax in the United States and its territories, VAT anywhere else. Type your own, such as GST or IVU, and the till, receipts, emailed receipts, invoices and reports all use it ([Company info: name, time zone and tax](https://zeropos.shop/help/company-info)). Only the name changes; the rate, the prices and every figure stay as they are. American prices are usually written before tax, so a new workspace in the United States starts on **No — add sales tax at the till (US / Canada)**. An existing shop's answer never changes by itself. ## Why the choice locks Once a sale with VAT exists, the answer is locked. Switching would silently change what every product costs the customer: 100 plus VAT would suddenly become 100 with VAT inside. Until then you can change it freely. If it was set up wrongly after trading started, Zero POS support can change it for you. ## What the Price box tells you VAT included: under **Price** the product form says **What the customer pays. VAT is already inside it.** VAT added at the till: it says the price is before VAT and shows what a customer will pay for the number you type. No VAT: no note appears, because the price is simply what the customer pays. Importing products shows the same rule above the price column ([Import your product list](https://zeropos.shop/help/import-products)). ## On the till and the receipt With a rate above 0, the till shows a **VAT** line with the rate above the **Total**, or a **Sales tax** line in the United States. The receipt prints **incl. VAT** with the rate when VAT is inside the prices, and **VAT** with the rate when it was added. At 0% no VAT line prints. A shop with another tax name prints that name instead. ## Discounts, gift cards and commission Discounts come off first and VAT is worked out on what is left, so the customer never pays VAT on money you gave away ([Discounts at the till](https://zeropos.shop/help/discounts-and-deals)). A gift card carries no VAT when it is sold: the VAT is due on the goods when the card is spent. Commission is always counted on the sale without VAT. A gift card counts at its full value ([Set someone's pay: hourly rate and commission](https://zeropos.shop/help/set-up-pay)). ## Common questions ### Which answer should I pick? If the price on your shelf is what the customer pays, pick **Yes — the price is the price (Europe)**. Pick **No — add VAT at the till (US / Canada)** only if your prices are written before tax, as they usually are in the United States. ### Can I change the VAT rate later? Yes. Only the included or added answer locks; the rate can still be changed. New sales use the new rate, and old invoices keep theirs. ### Do the reports show figures with or without VAT? Both. **Revenue** is what came in, VAT included; **Net revenue ex. VAT** is what the shop keeps, and margins are worked out on it ([Read the Accounting overview](https://zeropos.shop/help/accounting-overview)). ## If you see this - “**Locked since your first sale with VAT — changing it would silently reprice everything in the shop. Support can change it for you if it was set up wrongly.**” — What to do: Leave it as it is, or contact Zero POS support if the answer was set up wrongly. - “**VAT rate must be between 0 and 100**” — What to do: Type the rate as a plain number, for example 21, without the % sign. ## Good to know - Prices you typed before changing the answer are not converted. Check a few products afterwards. ## Related guides - [Company info: name, time zone and tax](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/company-info.md) - [Products and stock](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/products-and-stock.md) - [Make a sale](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/make-a-sale.md) - [Set someone's pay: hourly rate and commission](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/set-up-pay.md) - [Discounts at the till](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/discounts-and-deals.md)