International ShippingShipping to the EU, UK and Canada
IOSS numbers, UK VAT, and Canadian thresholds — the destination rules that trip up sellers most often.
Your three most popular international destinations each handle import taxes a little differently. Here's what to know before you ship. (Octoship also offers local carriers for these countries — Canada Post and Royal Mail rates appear alongside USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express where they're available.)
European Union: IOSS
VAT applies to all goods imported into the EU. For consignments valued at €150 or less, sellers or marketplaces registered for the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) can collect VAT at checkout. If your marketplace collected VAT, it will give you an IOSS number — add it under Settings → International → Tax IDs and Octoship will include it in the customs data so your customer isn't charged again.
United Kingdom
For consignments of £135 or less, UK VAT is generally collected at the point of sale by the seller or marketplace. If you sold through a marketplace that collected VAT, enter its UK VAT number in the same Tax IDs section.
Canada
Low-value shipments to Canada may enter without duties or taxes, but thresholds differ for postal and courier shipments and change from time to time. With DDU, expect your customer to pay any amounts owed, plus a possible handling fee, on delivery. To spare them that, ship DDP on a service that supports it.
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