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Ask HN: How do you handle VAT / Sales Tax accounting as B2C SaaS?

97 points throw_1VJ51pMb | 2 comments | 08 Mar 25 08:57 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

Hey! I run a B2C SaaS and I use Stripe for all of my sales (subscriptions).

I am looking to learn how others handle their VAT / Sales Tax filing.

I know that the standard answer would be to use Paddle / LemonSqueezy / Polar.sh, but I already have a lot of subscribers on Stripe which makes quick migration non-trivial.

I am especially looking for some reliable accounting companies / accountants that can register and file Sales Tax across US, UK, Canada, Australia, etc. (It does not have to be a global solution).

It's my understanding that solutions like Stripe Tax, Alavara, Quaderno, etc. only help collect the necessary data (which I consider the easier part, at least for digital goods), but do not handle the registration & filing (though I've learned that Quaderno will support filing Sales Tax in the US on your behalf soon).

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Some jurisdictions are relatively easy to handle (for example, one can handle whole EU by uploading a simple CSV [1] once a quarter and the CSV is easy to generate from Stripe's records).

But unfortunately there are tons of others that are much more complicated and scattered -- for example, due to the economic nexus laws in the US, I now have to file Sales Tax in each individual state where I am over the threshold (and many states have thresholds in low hundreds of transactions, so it's not hard to reach).

[1]: https://www.elster.de/bportal/helpGlobal?themaGlobal=osseust_import

[2]: If you do not feel comfortable commenting here, you can also reach out at z2qmk@pekoi.com (temporary email)

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encoderer ◴[12 Mar 25 00:49 UTC] No.43338818[source]▶
If you’re not making at least $1 million a year — don’t worry about this yet.

I know that sounds glib but I firmly believe that the rise of “merchant of record” startups like Paddle with large outbound sales teams has scared the bejeezus out of a whole generation of founders.

replies(1): >>43341013 #
omnimus ◴[12 Mar 25 08:38 UTC] No.43341013[source]▶
Oh the US way… just break the other countries laws who cares.

This is highly dangerous. Like you made 500k in sales you are still liable for those 100k taxes it doesnt matter if you didnt get it from your customers. In EU this is pretty automated check - if you sell to any bussiness they will have to have it in their tax return.

replies(2): >>43344889 #>>43345996 #
encoderer ◴[12 Mar 25 16:25 UTC] No.43344889[source]▶
It’s not America’s fault that Europe strangles their companies with red tape.

The main thing is to just get started, start growing, and then you can figure all of this stuff out.

replies(2): >>43347152 #>>43348813 #
1. disgruntledphd2 ◴[12 Mar 25 20:06 UTC] No.43347152{3}[source]▶
Comparatively, EU VAT is less complex than the US thing, as it's on a country rather than a county basis, so I'm not sure how the EU is messing up here. That being said the rules for rates are complex but unless you're selling lots of different products that's unlikely to be an issue.

I do agree with you on the keep growing advice but if you're getting a bunch of EU sales, it's worth complying to some extent.

replies(1): >>43348798 #
2. omnimus ◴[12 Mar 25 23:27 UTC] No.43348798[source]▶
Also lets not forget this is special case with digital products where using something like Paddle completely solves it.

The systems are way crazier with physical products and there is no easy merchant of record solution.

This seems more like arrogance that for some people some nations are beneath them (even though they gladly take their money).