Hello! Wellington here! Your LearnDash developer in the UK bringing you important information about how VAT works for LearnDash course platforms in the UK.
Brexit and VAT (MOSS / OSS)
After Brexit, the UK stopped participating in the EU’s MOSS/OSS system.
UK companies selling digital services to EU customers now need to use the Non-Union OSS, registering in an EU country.
Known as MOSS (Mini One Stop Shop), created in 2015 only for digital services such as online courses, it was a system designed so that a course platform could declare VAT for all EU customers in a single portal in its home country, instead of registering for VAT in each country.
To better understand VAT for a LearnDash course platform in 2026, you need to understand these two situations:
Students in the UK
The current rule in 2026 says that you are only required to register if your business makes more than £90,000 per year. Before that, registration is optional for digital services (electronically supplied services) – which is how LearnDash courses are classified in the UK.
The rate is 20% and is added to the final price. So if your course costs £100, the student will pay £120, with £20 being VAT.
What if I don’t make more than £90,000 per year?
If your business does not make more than £90,000 per year, you are not required to register for VAT.
That means the price set in WooCommerce will be the final price. If your platform charges £100, the student pays £100.
This way, you avoid bureaucracy, with no need for VAT invoices or quarterly returns to HMRC.
The downside is that you cannot recover VAT on things you bought for the platform, such as LearnDash subscriptions, developer payments, maintenance, hosting, etc.
But what if I want to charge VAT even earning less than £90,000?
Yes, you can. This is called Voluntary VAT Registration. Any company in the UK can choose to enter the VAT system at any time.
However, it’s important to see if it’s worth it. If your course is small and your goal is to reduce costs, it may not be the best option. But there are some advantages:
- Tax recovery: you can reclaim VAT on everything you bought for the business.
- Credibility: having a VAT number makes your company look more professional, especially for B2B.
- Predictability: if you know you will pass £90k soon, registering early helps you avoid rushing and changing all prices suddenly.
Students in the European Union
This is where OSS comes in, with some important details:
In this case, VAT is charged based on the student’s country. If your course is sold for £100 to a student in France, even if they pay in pounds, you must pay French VAT, and the same applies for each country.
Since the UK is no longer part of the EU, you use the Non-Union OSS to declare VAT for EU countries. Before OSS, you would need to register in every EU country where your course was sold. That was a lot of bureaucracy, registering in Portugal, Spain, France, Germany.
Unlike EU companies, UK companies do not have a minimum threshold.
From the first sale to an EU customer, VAT must be applied based on the customer’s country.
You can choose one “main country” to register for OSS. For example, Ireland is common because of the language, but you can choose any EU country.
You register once in the Non-Union OSS portal and receive an OSS identification number to declare EU VAT. This does not replace a local VAT number, but it allows you to comply with EU VAT rules for digital services.
Then, besides your UK obligations, you submit quarterly returns in that country (for example, Ireland), make one payment, and that country distributes the VAT to each EU country.
In short: with OSS, you deal with one country and one portal. If you choose Ireland, it acts as your representative in the EU.
What if I sell to countries inside and outside the EU?
If you sell your course to countries outside the UK and EU, such as Mexico, the sale is generally treated as outside the scope of UK VAT, meaning no UK VAT is charged.
Important: Some countries (like Australia with GST or Mexico with VAT on digital services) may require foreign companies to register if sales grow. But for a small creator, the general rule is: you don’t charge UK VAT outside the UK/EU.
This is too confusing. Is there an easier way?
Yes. I get it, going through all this just to sell low-cost courses in Europe is frustrating. 😆
As a LearnDash developer in the UK, here’s what I suggest:
If you don’t want to deal with EU VAT for now, you can simply restrict the countries where your course is sold. So if someone from Spain tries to buy, they won’t be able to.
But many courses, especially in English, are global. If you want to sell worldwide, you can use an intermediary.
Using a Merchant of Record (MoR)
You can use a Merchant of Record like Paddle or Lemon Squeezy. Instead of using Stripe with WooCommerce, they act as authorised resellers, like a layer between your LearnDash course and the customer.
How it works
In the traditional model, you handle everything: payments (Stripe/PayPal), VAT calculation per country, collecting money, and paying HMRC and OSS. It’s a headache.
With a MoR (Paddle or Lemon Squeezy), you technically sell the product to them, and they sell it to the customer.
If you don’t use a MoR, you may need tools like WooCommerce VAT plugins (such as WooCommerce Tax or external solutions) to calculate VAT automatically.
With a MoR, they calculate VAT based on the customer’s location, handle tax obligations in countries like France and Germany, and charge a fee (usually between 5% and 10%). You receive your net profit monthly.
Why use it with LearnDash?
- Less bureaucracy: you may still need UK VAT depending on your case, but it removes international VAT obligations.
- Optimised checkout: systems detect the customer’s country and apply the correct VAT.
- Legal safety: if a tax authority (like Spain) questions something, it’s their responsibility, not yours.
Important legal points
For digital VAT, you need two non-contradictory pieces of evidence, such as IP address, billing address, and card country. This is required in the EU.
If you sell to businesses in the EU, you can apply the reverse charge, meaning no VAT is charged if the client has a valid VAT number.
Conclusion
If you make less than £90,000 and want to sell your course globally without dealing with tax complexity, using Paddle or Lemon Squeezy is a great option.
They already have integrations with WooCommerce that replace Stripe/PayPal, so you outsource all VAT complexity and focus on creating your LearnDash courses.
🚨 This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace advice from a qualified accountant specialising in international VAT. But understanding this is essential to correctly set up your LearnDash platform and avoid problems.
For your reference, I designed an infographic (PDF):
Download our earnDash VAT UK Guide (2026): How to Sell Online Courses in the UK & EU in PDF. 📃
