WemXTaxes
Charge VAT or sales tax by country and state, handle business exemptions and verify EU VAT IDs.
WemX can calculate sales tax or VAT at checkout based on the customer's billing country (and state, for the US and Canada). The tax is recorded on the payment, printed on the invoice and included in the Sales tax / VAT report in Data Export.
WemX calculates tax from the rates you enter. You're responsible for using correct rates and meeting your local tax obligations. If you're unsure, ask a tax advisor.
1. Enable tax calculation
Go to Admin → Settings → Taxes and turn on Enable Sales Tax. Then decide how prices behave:
- Include Tax In Price: off. Your package prices are net, and tax is added at checkout. A €10.00 package with 21% VAT costs the customer €12.10.
- Include Tax In Price: on. Your package prices already include tax, and WemX works out the tax portion. A €10.00 package with 21% VAT costs the customer €10.00, of which €1.74 is tax.
2. Add tax countries
Go to Admin → Tax Countries → Create and add every country where you need to charge tax:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Country | The customer's billing country. |
| Tax Name | Shown on invoices, for example VAT, BTW or GST. |
| Rate | The percentage, for example 21. |
| States (US & Canada) | Add a row per state or province with its own code, tax name and combined rate. |
Customers from countries that aren't listed, or are inactive, aren't charged tax. In the US and Canada, tax is only charged when the customer's state has an active row.
3. Business exemptions (reverse charge)
At checkout, customers can enter a company name and tax ID. With Enable Sales Tax Exemption on, a customer who gives a tax ID isn't charged tax.
To keep this from being abused:
- Turn on Verify VAT ID to check EU VAT numbers against the European Commission's VIES service. The exemption is only applied if the number is valid.
- Add your own country, and any others where the exemption shouldn't apply, to Always Taxable Countries.
4. Gateways that handle tax themselves
Some payment providers calculate tax on their side. Add those gateways to Exclude Gateways for Tax Calculation so WemX doesn't add tax a second time. The Balance gateway is excluded by default: tax is charged when an order is paid, not when a customer tops up their balance.
How tax is calculated
Is sales tax enabled? ── no ──▶ no tax
Is the chosen gateway excluded? ── yes ─▶ no tax
Is the billing country an active tax country? ── no ──▶ no tax
US/CA: is there an active row for the state? ── no ──▶ no tax
Did the customer enter a tax ID, is exemption on,
and is the country not "always taxable"? ── yes ─▶ (VIES check if enabled) ─▶ no tax
Otherwise ─────────▶ charge the country/state rate