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Stripe EU VAT Validation API

Use the TaxID API to validate EU VAT numbers inside Stripe Checkout before applying zero-rate treatment. Avoid VAT liability on unverified B2B customers and maintain an auditable validation record on every Stripe invoice.

Quick start

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  http://localhost:3000/api/v1/validate/DE/DE123456789

Code example

Full integration example including error handling for service_unavailable responses from VIES.

// After collecting the VAT number from your Stripe checkout form
const validateVAT = async (country, vatNumber) => {
  const res = await fetch(
    `http://localhost:3000/api/v1/validate/${country}/${vatNumber}`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.TAXID_API_KEY}` } }
  );
  return res.json();
};

// In your Stripe payment_intent creation handler
const { valid, company_name } = await validateVAT('DE', req.body.vatNumber);
if (valid) {
  // Customer is a valid EU business — apply zero-rate / reverse charge
  await stripe.customers.update(customerId, {
    tax_exempt: 'reverse',
    metadata: { vat_number: req.body.vatNumber, vat_company: company_name }
  });
}

import requests
import stripe

def validate_vat(country: str, vat_number: str) -> dict:
    response = requests.get(
        f"http://localhost:3000/api/v1/validate/{country}/{vat_number}",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {TAXID_API_KEY}"}
    )
    return response.json()

# In your checkout handler
result = validate_vat("DE", request.json["vat_number"])
if result["valid"]:
    stripe.Customer.modify(customer_id, tax_exempt="reverse",
        metadata={"vat_number": vat_number, "company": result["company_name"]}
    )

API response

The TaxID API returns a consistent JSON response for every validation:

{
  "valid": true,
  "status": "active",
  "country_code": "DE",
  "vat_number": "DE123456789",
  "company_name": "Example GmbH",
  "company_address": "Musterstraße 1, 10115 Berlin",
  "request_date": "2026-05-10T00:00:00.000Z",
  "cached": false,
  "request_id": "req_01j..."
}

Implementation steps

1. 1

   Get a free TaxID API key

   Sign up at taxid.dev/signup — no credit card required. The free plan includes 100 validations per month. Your API key is available immediately after email confirmation.

2. 2

   Add a VAT number field to your Stripe checkout form

   Add a text input for EU VAT numbers to your Stripe Payment Element or custom checkout form. Label it clearly as optional for consumers and required for B2B reverse-charge treatment. Place it in the billing-address section.

3. 3

   Validate server-side before charging

   On form submission, call GET /api/v1/validate/:country/:vat from your server (never from the browser — this protects your API key). Check that status === 'active' before proceeding. If status is 'invalid', return a form error. If status is 'service_unavailable', log a warning and fall back to charging standard VAT rather than silently exempting.

4. 4

   Apply zero-rate on the Stripe customer

   When the API returns status: 'active', call stripe.customers.update({ tax_exempt: 'reverse' }) to enable reverse-charge treatment on the Stripe customer object. Also store the validated VAT number, company_name, and company_address from the TaxID response in Stripe customer metadata for audit purposes.

5. 5

   Re-validate on a schedule for subscriptions

   For subscription businesses, schedule a background job that re-validates all customers with tax_exempt: 'reverse' at least monthly. VAT registrations can be cancelled between billing cycles, and a tax audit will ask for proof that the number was valid at the time of each invoice — not just at signup.

Frequently asked questions

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