Introduction

The VAT API provides a simple and reliable way to validate VAT numbers, retrieve VAT rates for EU countries, and calculate VAT amounts. The API is RESTful and returns data in JSON format.

Base URL: https://api.thevatapi.com

Authentication

All API requests require an API key. You can include your API key as a query parameter in all requests:

https://api.thevatapi.com/endpoint?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY

Rate Limits

API usage is limited based on your subscription plan. Each API call counts as one request against your monthly allowance. The API response includes your current usage information:

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Success",
    "code": 200,
    "account": {
        "monthly_allowance": 1000,
        "current_month_allowance": 950,
        "monthly_allowance_reset_date": "2025-06-01"
    },
    "data": { ... }
}

Response Format

All API responses follow the same format:

{
    "success": true|false,
    "message": "Success or error message",
    "code": 200, // HTTP status code
    "account": { ... }, // Account information
    "data": { ... } // Response data
}

Error Codes

The API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate the success or failure of an API request:

Validate VAT Number

Validates a VAT number and returns company information if available.

Endpoint

GET /validate

Parameters

Example Request

https://api.thevatapi.com/validate?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&vat_number=LU26375245

Example Response

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Success",
    "code": 200,
    "account": {
        "monthly_allowance": 1000,
        "current_month_allowance": 950,
        "monthly_allowance_reset_date": "2025-06-01"
    },
    "data": {
        "valid": true,
        "country": "Luxembourg",
        "vat_number": "LU26375245",
        "company_name": "AMAZON EUROPE CORE SARL",
        "address": "38 AVENUE JOHN F KENNEDY, L-1855 LUXEMBOURG",
        "cached": false
    }
}

Get Country VAT Rates

Retrieves VAT rates for a specific country.

Endpoint

GET /rates

Parameters

Example Request

https://api.thevatapi.com/rates?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&country_code=DE

Example Response

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Success",
    "code": 200,
    "account": {
        "monthly_allowance": 1000,
        "current_month_allowance": 949,
        "monthly_allowance_reset_date": "2025-06-01"
    },
    "data": {
        "DE": {
            "country_name": "Germany",
            "standard_rate": 19,
            "reduced_rates": {
                "reduced": 7
            }
        }
    }
}

Get All VAT Rates

Retrieves VAT rates for all available countries.

Endpoint

GET /all_rates

Parameters

Example Request

https://api.thevatapi.com/all_rates?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY

Example Response

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Success",
    "code": 200,
    "account": {
        "monthly_allowance": 1000,
        "current_month_allowance": 948,
        "monthly_allowance_reset_date": "2025-06-01"
    },
    "data": {
        "AT": {
            "country_name": "Austria",
            "standard_rate": 20,
            "reduced_rates": {
                "reduced": 10,
                "super-reduced": 13
            }
        },
        "BE": {
            "country_name": "Belgium",
            "standard_rate": 21,
            "reduced_rates": {
                "reduced": 6,
                "parking": 12
            }
        },
        // Additional countries...
    }
}

Calculate VAT

Calculates VAT amount based on a given amount, country, and rate type.

Endpoint

GET /calculate

Parameters

Example Request

https://api.thevatapi.com/calculate?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&amount=10&country_code=DE&rate_type=standard

Example Response

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Success",
    "code": 200,
    "account": {
        "monthly_allowance": 1000,
        "current_month_allowance": 947,
        "monthly_allowance_reset_date": "2025-06-01"
    },
    "data": {
        "amount": 10,
        "country_code": "DE",
        "country_name": "Germany",
        "rate_type": "standard",
        "rate_name": "Standard Rate",
        "rate_percentage": 19,
        "vat_amount": 1.9,
        "total_amount": 11.9
    }
}

PHP Sample Code

Here's how to use the API with PHP:

<?php
// Your API key
$apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

// Base URL
$baseUrl = 'https://api.thevatapi.com';

// Function to make API requests
function callApi($endpoint, $params = []) {
    global $apiKey, $baseUrl;
    
    // Add API key to parameters
    $params['api_key'] = $apiKey;
    
    // Build URL with query parameters
    $url = $baseUrl . $endpoint . '?' . http_build_query($params);
    
    // Initialize cURL
    $ch = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 10);
    
    // Execute request
    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    $httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
    
    // Check for errors
    if (curl_errno($ch)) {
        $error = curl_error($ch);
        curl_close($ch);
        return ['success' => false, 'message' => 'cURL error: ' . $error];
    }
    
    curl_close($ch);
    
    // Parse JSON response
    $result = json_decode($response, true);
    
    return $result;
}

// Example: Validate VAT number
$vatNumber = 'LU26375245';
$validationResult = callApi('validate', ['vat_number' => $vatNumber]);

if ($validationResult['success']) {
    echo "VAT number is " . ($validationResult['data']['valid'] ? 'valid' : 'invalid') . "\n";
    if ($validationResult['data']['valid']) {
        echo "Company: " . $validationResult['data']['company_name'] . "\n";
        echo "Address: " . $validationResult['data']['address'] . "\n";
    }
} else {
    echo "Error: " . $validationResult['message'] . "\n";
}

// Example: Get VAT rates for Germany
$ratesResult = callApi('rates', ['country_code' => 'DE']);

if ($ratesResult['success']) {
    echo "Standard rate: " . $ratesResult['data']['DE']['standard_rate'] . "%\n";
    echo "Reduced rate: " . $ratesResult['data']['DE']['reduced_rates']['reduced'] . "%\n";
} else {
    echo "Error: " . $ratesResult['message'] . "\n";
}

// Example: Calculate VAT
$calculateResult = callApi('calculate', [
    'amount' => 100,
    'country_code' => 'DE',
    'rate_type' => 'standard'
]);

if ($calculateResult['success']) {
    echo "Amount: €" . $calculateResult['data']['amount'] . "\n";
    echo "VAT amount: €" . $calculateResult['data']['vat_amount'] . "\n";
    echo "Total: €" . $calculateResult['data']['total_amount'] . "\n";
} else {
    echo "Error: " . $calculateResult['message'] . "\n";
}
?>

JavaScript Sample Code

Here's how to use the API with JavaScript:

// Your API key
const apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';

// Base URL
const baseUrl = 'https://api.thevatapi.com';

// Function to make API requests
async function callApi(endpoint, params = {}) {
    // Add API key to parameters
    params.api_key = apiKey;
    
    // Build URL with query parameters
    const url = `${baseUrl}${endpoint}?${new URLSearchParams(params)}`;
    
    try {
        // Make request
        const response = await fetch(url, {
            method: 'GET',
            headers: {
                'Accept': 'application/json'
            }
        });
        
        // Parse JSON response
        const data = await response.json();
        return data;
    } catch (error) {
        return {
            success: false,
            message: `Error: ${error.message}`
        };
    }
}

// Example: Validate VAT number
async function validateVat() {
    const vatNumber = 'LU26375245';
    const result = await callApi('validate', { vat_number: vatNumber });
    
    if (result.success) {
        console.log(`VAT number is ${result.data.valid ? 'valid' : 'invalid'}`);
        if (result.data.valid) {
            console.log(`Company: ${result.data.company_name}`);
            console.log(`Address: ${result.data.address}`);
        }
    } else {
        console.error(`Error: ${result.message}`);
    }
}

// Example: Get VAT rates for Germany
async function getVatRates() {
    const result = await callApi('rates', { country_code: 'DE' });
    
    if (result.success) {
        console.log(`Standard rate: ${result.data.DE.standard_rate}%`);
        console.log(`Reduced rate: ${result.data.DE.reduced_rates.reduced}%`);
    } else {
        console.error(`Error: ${result.message}`);
    }
}

// Example: Calculate VAT
async function calculateVat() {
    const result = await callApi('calculate', {
        amount: 100,
        country_code: 'DE',
        rate_type: 'standard'
    });
    
    if (result.success) {
        console.log(`Amount: €${result.data.amount}`);
        console.log(`VAT amount: €${result.data.vat_amount}`);
        console.log(`Total: €${result.data.total_amount}`);
    } else {
        console.error(`Error: ${result.message}`);
    }
}

// Call the functions
validateVat();
getVatRates();
calculateVat();

cURL Sample Code

Here's how to use the API with cURL:

# Your API key
API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

# Base URL
BASE_URL="https://api.thevatapi.com"

# Example: Validate VAT number
VAT_NUMBER="LU26375245"
curl -G "${BASE_URL}/validate" \
  --data-urlencode "api_key=${API_KEY}" \
  --data-urlencode "vat_number=${VAT_NUMBER}"

# Example: Get VAT rates for Germany
curl -G "${BASE_URL}/rates" \
  --data-urlencode "api_key=${API_KEY}" \
  --data-urlencode "country_code=DE"

# Example: Get all VAT rates
curl -G "${BASE_URL}/all_rates" \
  --data-urlencode "api_key=${API_KEY}"

# Example: Calculate VAT
curl -G "${BASE_URL}/calculate" \
  --data-urlencode "api_key=${API_KEY}" \
  --data-urlencode "amount=100" \
  --data-urlencode "country_code=DE" \
  --data-urlencode "rate_type=standard"