Tax Setup / Scenarios / Cross-border as a small business (EX)
Cross-border as a small business (EX)
A worked example, end to end — which settings to pick and exactly what each buyer pays.
Is this you? You're a small business — often VAT-exempt at home — and you want to sell to consumers in a few specific EU countries without becoming a VAT payer. The EX scheme (the EU's small-business cross-border exemption) lets you charge 0% VAT to the countries you declare, as long as your total EU-wide turnover stays under €100,000 a year.
Check eligibility first. EX isn't available to sellers based in Great Britain or Spain (no SME scheme there), and you can't declare your own home country (EX is cross-border only) or Spain as a destination. Onelo greys those out for you.
Step 1 — get your EX number (outside Onelo)
You apply with your own country's tax authority, declaring which EU countries you'll sell to. You receive an identifier ending in EX (for example PL1234567890EX). That number goes on your invoices.
Step 2 — turn it on in Onelo
WhereDashboard→Settings→Payments & Tax→Tax Setup→3 · Registrations→Consumers (B2C)
In the LV2 row choose “EX — 0% to declared countries”. Enter your EX identifier, then tick the destination countries you declared in the country grid (your home country and Spain are greyed out). Keep “Block sales once you hit €100k (recommended)” on, and Save changes.
The Thresholds bar switches to €100k. The cap counts your entire EU-wide turnover — home sales, cross-border sales and business sales together, across every app on this Stripe account. Onelo tracks it and warns you as you approach the ceiling.
What happens at checkout
| Buyer | What they pay | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Someone in your country | 0% · exemption | Your home exemption, with the legal clause on the invoice (or your home VAT if you’re registered) |
| Consumer in a declared country | 0% · EX | The EX scheme — your EX number and the exemption note go on the invoice |
| Consumer in any other EU country | blocked | Not on your declared list — add the country to EX (via your tax authority), or switch to OSS |
| EU business | blocked | Off until you enable VAT-EU — exempt sellers can hold one too; see Selling to businesses |
| Anyone in the UK | UK off | The UK is outside the EU scheme — it needs its own registration |
Good to know
- Declared countries only. A blocked buyer sees a polite “not available in your country” message — never a wrong charge. To reach more countries, extend your EX declaration or move up to OSS.
- Past €100k the exemption ends EU-wide. With the recommended block on, Onelo stops cross-border consumer sales at the ceiling so you never issue an illegal 0% invoice. Home sales keep working.
- Outgrowing EX? Register for VAT + OSS and switch the LV2 choice — the whole flow updates, no other changes needed.