How to show VAT on an FF&E schedule (EU)

Short answer: keep every price on your schedule ex VAT, add one VAT column at your country's standard rate (23% in Ireland, for example), and show the inc VAT total only where your client needs to see it. Note the date you captured each price, so you know which figures to recheck before you send the schedule.

Why VAT trips up EU schedules

Each EU country sets its own VAT rates. The standard rate can't be lower than 15%, and most sit well above it: 19% in Germany, 20% in France, 23% in Ireland. A rate carried over from an old project, or from a supplier in another country, can be wrong for yours.

Prices also come in two forms. Prices shown to consumers must include VAT, so retail sites show inc VAT figures. Many trade suppliers quote ex VAT. If your schedule mixes the two, your totals are wrong, and your client notices before you do.

Using Ireland's 23% as the example, a sofa at €2,400 ex VAT costs your client €2,952 once VAT is added. On a forty-line schedule, a few retail prices treated as trade can put your totals out by thousands of euros.

A simple column layout

Give every line on your schedule the same columns, in the same order:

1. Item and room
2. Supplier and product link
3. Unit price ex VAT
4. Quantity
5. Line total ex VAT
6. VAT rate (your country's standard rate for most furniture and lighting, such as 23% in Ireland)
7. VAT amount
8. Line total inc VAT
9. Price captured on (date)

Keep the rate in its own column rather than baking it into a formula. Most items sit at the standard rate, but a visible rate helps you spot a line that needs checking.

Want a head start? Begin with our FF&E schedule template, and check the FF&E glossary if a term is new.

Ex VAT or inc VAT for your client?

It depends on your client.

• Residential clients usually can't reclaim VAT, so they care about the inc VAT figure. Show it clearly.
• Commercial clients who are VAT registered often think in ex VAT numbers because they reclaim the VAT. Lead with ex VAT and show the VAT as a separate line.

Cross-border work adds a wrinkle. If your client is a VAT-registered business in another EU country, the reverse charge may apply, so you don't charge VAT and your client accounts for it at home. How you charge VAT on products and on your fee can also depend on how you buy and resell. Check both with your accountant. This page covers layout, not tax advice.

Are you VAT registered?

Each EU country sets its own registration threshold. In Ireland, you have to register once your turnover in a calendar year goes over €85,000 for goods, or €42,500 if you supply services only (Revenue). Other countries use different figures, so check the rules where your studio is based through Your Europe.

Plenty of smaller studios sit below the line. If you're not registered, you don't charge VAT on your own fee, but the products you buy still carry VAT from the supplier. Your schedule should still show it, because your client is paying it.

Keep your prices current before you send

VAT errors are easy to fix. Old prices are harder. A supplier can change a price between the day you saved a product and the day your client signs off.

That's why the "price captured on" column matters. Before you send a schedule, recheck anything captured more than a few weeks ago.

Doing this in Aalto

Aalto can add the VAT columns for you. Tax support is part of Aalto Pro. In Settings > Workspace, set your tax region to European Union, then pick your country. Aalto fills in that country's standard rate as your default rate, such as 23% for Ireland. If your country isn't in the list, change the default rate to your own standard rate. Then choose whether you enter prices ex VAT or inc VAT, to match how your suppliers quote. The European Union preset starts on inc VAT, so switch it to ex VAT if your suppliers quote trade prices.

Your project table then shows the price and line total, both ex and inc VAT. The VAT rate and VAT amount are optional columns. The footer shows the subtotal ex VAT, the VAT and the total inc VAT. If one item needs different treatment, set it to a custom rate, zero-rated or exempt. If a client is VAT exempt, open Project VAT from the project's More menu and tick Client is VAT-exempt. For a cross-border client under the reverse charge, tick Client is VAT-exempt and type "Reverse charge applies" in Note on exports, so the note goes out with your exported schedule. Items priced in another currency, such as pounds or dollars, don't get VAT unless you give them a custom rate.

When you save a product from a supplier site with the Aalto extension, it captures the name, brand, price, image and supplier link in one click, and keeps the spec sheet when the page links one. It takes the price shown on the page at the moment you save, so note whether that supplier shows prices ex VAT or inc VAT.

When you need a current figure, refresh the price on demand before you send the schedule.

Every product you save goes into one product library that spans all your projects. Add a sofa once and reuse it on the next job, with no hunting for the link.

When the schedule is ready, export it. CSV and Excel files include every VAT column unless you hide VAT. The PDF Lookbook shows the prices you pick: ex VAT, inc VAT or both. See how to export an FF&E schedule for the steps. Treat the figures as planning estimates, not a VAT invoice.

Working on a project outside the EU? See how to show VAT on an FF&E schedule (UK) or how to show sales tax on an FF&E schedule (US).