Which country has the lowest VAT rate?

Timor-Leste has the lowest standard rate at 2.5% (on imports), followed by Andorra at 4.5% and a group at 5% including Taiwan, Canada (federal GST), the UAE, and Oman. Around 20 other jurisdictions charge no VAT at all — see our no-VAT list.

What is the lowest VAT rate in Europe?

Andorra (not an EU member) at 4.5%. Within the EU, Luxembourg has the lowest standard rate at 17%; the EU VAT Directive requires member states to set standard rates of at least 15%.

Countries with the Lowest VAT Rates

Countries with the lowest non-zero VAT or GST rates in the world.

Among countries that do levy VAT or GST, rates start remarkably low: Timor-Leste charges just 2.5%, Andorra 4.5%, and a cluster of jurisdictions — Taiwan, Canada (federal GST), the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbours — sit at 5%. Compare that with the EU, where the legal minimum standard rate is 15% and the average is around 21%.

Low headline VAT often comes with trade-offs: Canada’s provinces add their own sales taxes on top of the 5% federal GST, and low-VAT microstates may charge higher import duties. Still, for consumption-heavy lifestyles, these are the cheapest places to spend.

#	Country	Rate	Level
1	Timor-Leste Asia	2.5%	Very Low
2	Eritrea Africa	4%	Very Low
3	Afghanistan Asia	4%	Very Low
4	Andorra Europe	4.5%	Very Low
5	Canada North America	5%	Very Low
6	Taiwan Asia	5%	Very Low
7	Somalia Africa	5%	Very Low
8	Myanmar Asia	5%	Very Low
9	Yemen Asia	5%	Very Low
10	Oman Asia	5%	Very Low
11	United Arab Emirates Asia	5%	Very Low
12	Curaçao North America	6%	Very Low
13	Aruba North America	7%	Very Low
14	Thailand Asia	7%	Very Low
15	Bhutan Asia	7%	Very Low
16	Panama North America	7%	Very Low
17	Nigeria Africa	7.5%	Very Low
18	Malaysia Asia	8%	Very Low
19	Maldives Asia	8%	Very Low
20	Switzerland Europe	8.1%	Very Low
21	Liechtenstein Europe	8.1%	Very Low
22	Iran Asia	9%	Very Low
23	Singapore Asia	9%	Very Low
24	Fiji Oceania	9%	Very Low
25	Japan Asia	10%	Very Low
26	Cuba North America	10%	Very Low
27	South Korea Asia	10%	Very Low
28	Australia Oceania	10%	Very Low
29	Papua New Guinea Oceania	10%	Very Low
30	Suriname South America	10%	Very Low
31	Vietnam Asia	10%	Very Low
32	Comoros Africa	10%	Very Low
33	Djibouti Africa	10%	Very Low
34	Haiti North America	10%	Very Low
35	Laos Asia	10%	Very Low
36	Liberia Africa	10%	Very Low
37	Mongolia Asia	10%	Very Low
38	Cambodia Asia	10%	Very Low
39	Palau Oceania	10%	Very Low
40	Paraguay South America	10%	Very Low
41	Bahamas North America	10%	Very Low
42	Bahrain Asia	10%	Very Low
43	Lebanon Asia	11%	Low
44	Puerto Rico North America	11.5%	Low
45	Indonesia Asia	12%	Low
46	Philippines Asia	12%	Low
47	Uzbekistan Asia	12%	Low
48	Kazakhstan Asia	12%	Low
49	Kyrgyzstan Asia	12%	Low
50	Guatemala North America	12%	Low
51	Saint Lucia North America	12.5%	Low
52	Belize North America	12.5%	Low
53	Trinidad and Tobago North America	12.5%	Low
54	China Asia	13%	Low
55	Nepal Asia	13%	Low
56	El Salvador North America	13%	Low
57	Costa Rica North America	13%	Low
58	Bolivia South America	13%	Low
59	Guyana South America	14%	Low
60	Egypt Africa	14%	Low
61	Angola Africa	14%	Low
62	Botswana Africa	14%	Low
63	South Africa Africa	15%	Low
64	Zimbabwe Africa	15%	Low
65	New Zealand Oceania	15%	Low
66	Ecuador South America	15%	Low
67	Namibia Africa	15%	Low
68	Equatorial Guinea Africa	15%	Low
69	Ethiopia Africa	15%	Low
70	Eswatini Africa	15%	Low
71	Gambia Africa	15%	Low
72	Grenada North America	15%	Low
73	Jamaica North America	15%	Low
74	Lesotho Africa	15%	Low
75	Nicaragua North America	15%	Low
76	Seychelles Africa	15%	Low
77	Sierra Leone Africa	15%	Low
78	Cape Verde Africa	15%	Low
79	Samoa Oceania	15%	Low
80	Bangladesh Asia	15%	Low
81	Honduras North America	15%	Low
82	Guinea-Bissau Africa	15%	Low
83	Mauritius Africa	15%	Low
84	Tajikistan Asia	15%	Low
85	Turkmenistan Asia	15%	Low
86	Antigua and Barbuda North America	15%	Low
87	Saudi Arabia Asia	15%	Low
88	Tonga Oceania	15%	Low
89	Vanuatu Oceania	15%	Low
90	Democratic Republic of the Congo Africa	16%	Low
91	Mauritania Africa	16%	Low
92	Zambia Africa	16%	Low
93	Jordan Asia	16%	Low
94	Kenya Africa	16%	Low
95	Mexico North America	16%	Low
96	Venezuela South America	16%	Low
97	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines North America	16%	Low
98	Mozambique Africa	16%	Low
99	Malawi Africa	16.5%	Low
100	Luxembourg Europe	17%	Low
101	Sudan Africa	17%	Low
102	Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe	17%	Low
103	Saint Kitts and Nevis North America	17%	Low
104	Barbados North America	17.5%	Low
105	Chad Africa	18%	Low
106	Israel Asia	18%	Low
107	India Asia	18%	Low
108	Mali Africa	18%	Low
109	Senegal Africa	18%	Low
110	Uganda Africa	18%	Low
111	Côte d'Ivoire Africa	18%	Low
112	Sri Lanka Asia	18%	Low
113	Benin Africa	18%	Low
114	Gabon Africa	18%	Low
115	Guinea Africa	18%	Low
116	Malta Europe	18%	Low
117	Pakistan Asia	18%	Low
118	Togo Africa	18%	Low
119	Burundi Africa	18%	Low
120	Peru South America	18%	Low
121	Rwanda Africa	18%	Low
122	Tanzania Africa	18%	Low
123	Burkina Faso Africa	18%	Low
124	Dominican Republic North America	18%	Low
125	Georgia Asia	18%	Low
126	South Sudan Africa	18%	Low
127	Azerbaijan Asia	18%	Low
128	Kosovo Europe	18%	Low
129	North Macedonia Europe	18%	Low
130	Republic of the Congo Africa	18.9%	Low
131	Central African Republic Africa	19%	Low
132	Germany Europe	19%	Low
133	Chile South America	19%	Low
134	Colombia South America	19%	Low
135	Algeria Africa	19%	Low
136	Cyprus Europe	19%	Low
137	Niger Africa	19%	Low
138	Tunisia Africa	19%	Low
139	Cameroon Africa	19.3%	Low
140	Austria Europe	20%	Low
141	France Europe	20%	Low
142	United Kingdom Europe	20%	Low
143	Turkey Asia	20%	Low
144	Morocco Africa	20%	Low
145	Ghana Africa	20%	Low
146	Brazil South America	20%	Low
147	Albania Europe	20%	Low
148	Armenia Asia	20%	Low
149	Madagascar Africa	20%	Low
150	Serbia Europe	20%	Low
151	Ukraine Europe	20%	Low
152	Belarus Europe	20%	Low
153	Moldova Europe	20%	Low
154	Bulgaria Europe	20%	Low
155	Monaco Europe	20%	Low
156	Belgium Europe	21%	Moderate
157	Netherlands Europe	21%	Moderate
158	Spain Europe	21%	Moderate
159	Argentina South America	21%	Moderate
160	Lithuania Europe	21%	Moderate
161	Latvia Europe	21%	Moderate
162	Czech Republic Europe	21%	Moderate
163	Montenegro Europe	21%	Moderate
164	Romania Europe	21%	Moderate
165	Slovenia Europe	22%	Moderate
166	Italy Europe	22%	Moderate
167	Uruguay South America	22%	Moderate
168	Russia Europe	22%	Moderate
169	Ireland Europe	23%	Moderate
170	Portugal Europe	23%	Moderate
171	Poland Europe	23%	Moderate
172	Slovakia Europe	23%	Moderate
173	Iceland Europe	24%	Moderate
174	Greece Europe	24%	Moderate
175	Estonia Europe	24%	Moderate
176	Denmark Europe	25%	Moderate
177	Sweden Europe	25%	Moderate
178	Norway Europe	25%	Moderate
179	Croatia Europe	25%	Moderate
180	Finland Europe	25.5%	Moderate
181	Hungary Europe	27%	Moderate

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