Why we need your business location (and maybe VAT information)
Why we need your business location (and maybe VAT information)
Microsoft Advertising is required to collect value-added tax (VAT) in certain countries/regions, and so all advertisers must provide the business location for each of their accounts.Microsoft Advertising is required to collect value-added tax (VAT) in certain countries/regions, and so all advertisers must provide the business location for each of their accounts.
How does this affect me?
All Microsoft Advertising customers need to have a business location listed for each of their accounts. Business location is the country/region where the advertiser's business is legally registered. Whether you will be charged VAT on your advertising costs will depend on your business location and your tax registration status. For example, if you are in a business location that has VAT accounting obligations, you will need to enter your VAT registration number. If you do not provide your VAT registration number, Microsoft Advertising will charge VAT, in most cases. VAT will be charged based on your local rate.
Notes
- Most of our monthly invoice customers will have a business location and, if applicable, VAT information in our system. If you need to make changes, please contact your account manager or contact support.
- If you are an agency managing client accounts, the business location is based on your client (the sold-to customer).
- For customers in Brazil or India: although you can update your business address, your business location (country/region) is set and cannot be changed.
- For customers in Ireland, Switzerland, or Lichtenstein: Microsoft Advertising will charge VAT unless a VAT exemption certificate is provided.
- If you have a VAT exemption certificate, please contact your account manager or contact support to find out how to submit an electronic version of the document.
Why is Microsoft Advertising subject to VAT in certain countries/regions?
Microsoft Advertising is changing the way it does business with its advertising customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific area. Customers in these locations will be billed by Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. (Formerly, Microsoft Advertising customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa were billed by Microsoft Online, Inc.) Because the billing entity is located in the European Union, the purchase of Microsoft Advertising advertising services is subject to VAT in some business locations.
Who is required to pay VAT on advertising costs?
If you are a customer with a business location in one of the following three countries/regions, Microsoft Advertising will charge VAT at your current local rate unless a you provide a VAT exemption certificate.
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If you are a customer with a business location in one of the following countries/regions, Microsoft Advertising will not charge VAT if you provide a VAT registration number. (A 0% reverse charge VAT will be applied to your invoice and billing statements.) If you do not provide a VAT registration number, Microsoft Advertising will charge VAT at your current local rate. If you provide a VAT exemption certificate, Microsoft Advertising will not charge VAT.
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*These countries/regions contain small regions that are exempt from VAT. This exclusion will be based on the business address that you provide.
For more specific information on taxes in each country/region, see Tax or VAT information.
Countries/regions where Microsoft Advertising currently charges taxes on advertising costs
Microsoft Advertising currently charges tax on advertising costs in Australia, Brazil, and India. These countries/regions are not affected by this change. To get information on taxes in these and other countries/regions, see Tax or VAT information.
How do I add my business location?
If you don't have a business location in Microsoft Advertising, you'll be prompted to add one when you sign in.
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From the top menu, select Tools > Preferences > Account settings.
If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Settings and select Account settings.
- Next to the Account settings page title, select the pencil icon
. - Select your Business location and then provide your Business address.
- Based on your business location, you might need to enter a VAT registration number. (If you do, it can take up to 3 days for the number to be validated.)
- Select Save.
Changes to your invoices and statements (Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific area)
For our customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific area, Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. will be responsible for all billing documents (invoices, statements, credit notes, and refunds) and all payments will need to be made to Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. You are likely to see two statements or invoices: One from Microsoft Online, Inc., to close out any outstanding charges; one from Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. for charges that you accrue during the remainder of the month. Postpay threshold accounts might see a credit card charge on their card at the time of transition from Microsoft Online, Inc., to Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. This charge will close out any outstanding charges. Statements and invoices will start to show applicable VAT charges.
More questions?
Here are more frequently asked questions.
Value-added tax, or VAT, is a consumption tax that is assessed on goods and services consumed in the European Union and in other countries. VAT is charged to the customer as a percentage of the price of the goods or services sold. The collected VAT is transferred to the appropriate tax authority.
A VAT registration number (also called a VAT identification number) identifies a business that has registered to pay VAT directly to their local tax authority, if required. After you enter your VAT registration number, validation can take up to 3 days. You will be notified in Microsoft Advertising if there was a problem validating your VAT registration number.
| Country/region | VAT registration number format |
|---|---|
| Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, and Slovakia. |
Starts with 2 letters that are specific to each country/region, followed by a maximum of 12 digits or letters. |
| Hungary. | Must be in the following format: HUXXXXXXXX (where HU is followed by 8 digits). |
| Liechtenstein. | Must be in the following format: LIXXXXX or XXXXX (where both formats are supported and LI is optional, and the number of digits is 5). |
| Nigeria. | Must be in the following format: XXXXXXXX-0001 (where 8 digits come before –0001). |
| Portugal. | Must be in the following format: PTXXXXXXXXX (where PT is followed by 9 digits). |
| Serbia. | 9 or 13 digits in length, of which the first 8 or 12 digits are the actual ID number, and the last digit is a checksum digit calculated according to ISO 7064, MOD 11-10. |
| Switzerland. | CHE + 9 numeric digits + TVA, MWST, or IVA (ex. CHE-123.456.788 TVA). The last digit is a MOD11 checksum digit built with the weighting pattern: 5,4,3,2,7,6,5,4. |
| Thailand. | Must be in the following format: 13 digits in length. |
A VAT exemption certificate is a document that identifies a company as an organization that is exempted from paying VAT (for example, a registered charity).
If you are exempt from paying VAT, please contact your account manager or customer support. They will need an electronic version of your VAT exemption certificate (PDF, JPG, or PNG) to put on file. Each VAT exemption certificate must undergo a review process that can take up to a week.
Business location is based on your client (the sold-to customer). If applicable, VAT registration number and VAT exemption certificates need to be those of your client as well.
Note: If you’re an agency based in India that advertises and pays the bill on behalf of a client, please make sure you enter your agency’s business information so that it is reflected correctly on the billing documents.
If you have provided a VAT registration number, you will see your VAT registration number listed and a VAT 0% reverse charge in the subtotal section of your monthly invoice, statement, or credit memo.
If you have not provided a VAT registration number, you will see the VAT rate in the subtotal section and the charge to your account. The VAT rate is based on your local rate.
If you have provided a VAT exemption certificate, you will see on your invoice or statement that the certificate is on file and the VAT rate will be 0%.
After the transition from Microsoft Online, Inc., to Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd., monthly invoices and statements will come from Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. The new payment instructions will be shown on the invoice.
Most monthly invoiced customers will already have a business location and VAT information, if applicable, in our system. Also, you or someone at your business might have been contacted by an account manager or another Microsoft Advertising team member to get your business location into our system. In these cases, you won't see a request when you log in.
If you are a monthly invoice customer and need to change your business location, please contact your account manager.
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From the top menu, select Tools > Preferences > Account settings.
If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Settings and select Account settings.
- Next to the Account settings page title, select the pencil icon .
- Next to Business location, select the country/region where your business is legally registered and then provide your Business address.
- Select Save.
If you have an account manager, please contact them. Otherwise, please contact support.