VAT / Tax Number — Complete Settings Reference

VAT / Tax Number is a global tax-ID field type. It can collect identifiers for any WooCommerce country. Online VIES verification applies only where VIES supports the country.

Input mode — Flexible

Accepts a complete tax number or a number that can be combined with the selected checkout country’s prefix. This is the most forgiving mode for international checkout.

Input mode — Full VAT / Tax number

The customer enters the complete identifier, including the country prefix when the identifier format uses one.

Input mode — Automatic country prefix

The plugin derives the prefix from the configured checkout country source and the customer enters the remaining number.

Country source — Billing Country

Billing country determines the tax-number country context.

Country source — Shipping Country

Shipping country determines the tax-number country context.

Online validation — Automatic

Uses VIES when the selected country is supported. Other countries can still collect a tax number but remain unverified.

Online validation — VIES only

Attempts VIES validation and is intended for workflows that rely specifically on VIES-supported countries.

Online validation — No online validation

Collects the value without contacting an online validation service.

Tax handling — Keep WooCommerce tax rules

The tax number is collected, but the plugin does not change the customer’s WooCommerce VAT-exempt state.

Tax handling — Remove tax when online validation succeeds

When validation returns a successful valid result and the country rule allows exemption, the plugin marks the customer tax-exempt and recalculates totals.

Tax handling — Remove tax when a VAT / Tax number is entered

Tax exemption is triggered by presence of a number instead of successful online validation. Use this only when it matches the merchant’s real tax policy.

Tax exemption countries — All countries

The configured tax-handling rule can apply regardless of whether the checkout country matches the store country.

Tax exemption countries — Only countries different from the store country

The rule applies only to cross-border customers.

Tax exemption countries — Only selected countries

The rule applies only to the countries selected in Selected countries.

Selected countries

This multi-select is used only when Only selected countries is active.

Block checkout when validation returns an invalid number

When enabled, a definite invalid result prevents checkout from being completed.

Allow country prefix to differ from checkout country

When enabled, the tax-number country prefix may represent a different country than the configured Billing or Shipping country source.

Note: A temporary validation-service error is different from a definite invalid result. The plugin should not treat a connection problem as proof that a tax number is invalid.