Upwork VAT Charge

montgomerydump

Hi there,

Is anybody else a user of Upwork.com? I received an email from them stating they will be adding charges for EU VAT, which is apparently a tax directive? I'm not allow to post the full URL, but if you search Google for articles/211061278-VAT you can review it.

This doesn't sound right, and the whole seems very fish! Why would a company operating out of Mountain View, California need to claim EU VAT on each every job, completed by a EU/UK registered user. Surely as an overseas job marketplace it is exempt from VAT in any country?

Any tax experts out there care to weigh in? This seems like daylight robbery another way of adding 20% on jobs completed by the freelancers. I can't see how a business from California willing be collecting VAT for the tax man and hand over it. How it will be calculated I mean how will they know how many jobs are made per day, per month, per year.

It doesn't make sense....And the fact some countries outside EU are exempt. !!!!!!?

magpiecottage

This does not seem to relate to the misselling of PPI or any other insurance, so I think it is on the wrong board.

antrobus

magpiecottage wrote: »

This does not seem to relate to the misselling of PPI or any other insurance, so I think it is on the wrong board.

On the basis that Upwork appears to be some kind of clearing house for freelancing, I believe that you are 100% correct.

antrobus

But anyway,

montgomerydump wrote: »

Hi there,

Is anybody else a user of Upwork.com? I received an email from them stating they will be adding charges for EU VAT, which is apparently a tax directive? I'm not allow to post the full URL, but if you search Google for articles/211061278-VAT you can review it.

This doesn't sound right, and the whole seems very fish! Why would a company operating out of Mountain View, California need to claim EU VAT on each every job, completed by a EU/UK registered user. Surely as an overseas job marketplace it is exempt from VAT in any country?

Any tax experts out there care to weigh in? This seems like daylight robbery another way of adding 20% on jobs completed by the freelancers. I can't see how a business from California willing be collecting VAT for the tax man and hand over it. How it will be calculated I mean how will they know how many jobs are made per day, per month, per year.

It doesn't make sense....And the fact some countries outside EU are exempt. !!!!!!?

Upwork say that;

Upwork will soon charge the country-specific Value Added Tax (VAT) to freelancers and agencies in the European Union (EU), unless you provide a valid VAT number. VAT will be assessed on services provided by us, not on services you provide your clients.

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211061278-VAT

This is also 100% correct. Under the VAT place of supply rules, the supply of services by Upwork to you is being made where you belong as it is a business to business sale.