Tax reporting and VAT for Shopify Payments in France

As a Shopify merchant, it's important to understand the tax reporting requirements and Value-Added Tax (VAT) implications when using Shopify Payments in France. This article will guide you through the process of tax reporting, VAT charges, and how to download invoices or export transaction information for accurate record-keeping and compliance.

Tax reporting

As a merchant, you're responsible for complying with all applicable tax regulations, including tax reporting. Depending on your jurisdiction, Shopify Payments may also be required to report your sales to the local tax authorities. It's crucial to stay informed about your specific tax obligations and consult with local tax authorities or a tax professional for guidance.

VAT on processing fees in France

For merchants in France, VAT is charged at 0% on processing fees. However, you should check with your local tax authority regarding tax compliance. When entering your VAT number during Shopify Payments setup, you're required to prefix the number with FR. VAT numbers in France consist of 11 digits, for example, FR12345678912.

VAT for European stores (excluding Ireland)

Shopify Payments fees for stores in Europe (excluding Ireland) don't include VAT. As a merchant, you might need to account for VAT at the local applicable tax rate on your VAT return. To obtain this information, you have two options. You can either download a generated invoice or export a file with your transaction information.

Learn more about tax assessment on Shopify Payments fees and reverse charges.

Download a generated invoice

You can download monthly invoices to submit with your tax claim. Each invoice includes the total VAT paid on transaction fees for all orders made in your store that month. Generated invoices use the UTC time zone, which might be different from your store's time zone. If you want a report that uses your store's time zone, then you can export a list of your store's transactions as a CSV file.

The invoice for each month generates on the 5th of the following month. For example, the invoice for June generates on July 5th. If there aren't any transactions with Shopify Payments for a month, then no invoice generates for that month.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
2. In the Shopify Payments section, click View payouts.
3. Click Documents.
4. In the Tax documents dialog, for the invoice that you want to download, click Download PDF.

Export transactions

You can export a list of your store's transactions as a CSV file. The CSV file includes a VAT column for European merchants.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
2. In the Shopify Payments section, click View payouts.
3. Click Transactions.
4. Click Export. A CSV file downloads in your browser.
5. Open the CSV file in a spreadsheet editor.
6. The last column of the CSV file displays the amount of VAT collected on each transaction.
7. Use the SUM tool to calculate the total amount of VAT that you've collected.