Free VAT & tax tools
Practical, no-sign-up tools for VAT and tax compliance — powered by the same engine behind the TaxID API.
Why validate a VAT number?
Checking a VAT number is a small step with real financial consequences. When you sell goods or services to another business in the EU, VAT rules let you zero-rate the invoice — you charge no VAT and the buyer accounts for it under the reverse-charge mechanism. That relief is only valid if the customer's VAT registration is genuinely active at the time of supply. If it turns out to be invalid, the tax authority can treat the sale as a normal domestic supply and come to you for the VAT that was never charged, plus interest and penalties.
Validating up front turns that risk into a routine control. A live check against the official registry confirms the number is registered and active, and — for most countries — returns the registered company name and address, so you can also confirm the number belongs to the customer you think you are invoicing. Keeping a timestamped record of each check is exactly the kind of due diligence auditors look for.
Frequently asked questions
Are these tools really free to use?
Yes. Every tool on this page runs without an account, a credit card, or a trial. They are rate-limited per IP address to keep them fast for everyone, which is enough for occasional manual checks. If you need to validate VAT numbers programmatically or in bulk, the TaxID API gives you 100 free validations a month and higher paid tiers.
Which countries can I check?
All 27 EU member states are validated in real time against VIES (the EU's VAT Information Exchange System), which queries each country's national tax authority. The United Kingdom (HMRC), Norway (Brønnøysund), Australia (ABR), and Switzerland are validated through their own official registries. For other countries the tools check the number's format against the national pattern.
What is the difference between the tools and the TaxID API?
The tools are for people — a browser form you fill in by hand. The API is for software: one HTTP request returns the same VIES-backed result as JSON, so you can validate a customer's VAT number at checkout, during onboarding, or across an existing customer list. Both share the same validation engine and data sources.
Does a valid VAT number prove a business is legitimate?
A valid result confirms the number is currently registered and active with the relevant tax authority, and — where the authority publishes it — returns the registered company name and address. That is strong evidence you are dealing with a real, VAT-registered business, and it is the check EU law expects before you zero-rate a cross-border B2B invoice. It is not, on its own, a full KYC or fraud check.
Need validation inside your product?
Free API key, 100 validations/month, no credit card.
Get a free API key