TITLE: Two 2026 VAT Changes for UK Ecommerce Sellers and a New Amazon Report
As of 9 November 2026, UK ecommerce sellers have two VAT changes to get ready for, and a new Amazon report that can help with reconciliation. The key action is to make sure your bookkeeping distinguishes where an order is fulfilled, which platform collected VAT, and what you still need to account for yourself.
If you’re looking for an ecommerce accountant UK sellers can rely on, or an Amazon seller accountant UK with practical platform bookkeeping experience, these changes are a reminder that accurate records need to keep pace with the way you trade.
Budget 2026: marketplaces are set to collect VAT on more UK sales
On 28 October 2026, the government confirmed plans to extend online marketplace VAT liability to UK-established businesses from October 2027. Under the proposed rules, a marketplace will account for VAT on relevant consumer sales when the goods are in the UK at the point of sale and either:
- The seller is VAT-registered; or
- The seller’s annual sales on that particular platform are above £90,000.
The rules are not intended to cover personal sales, second-hand goods or business-to-business transactions. The government expects around 100,000 businesses to be affected. It has also said the measure is expected to raise £165 million in 2027–28 and £320 million in 2028–29.
Read the government’s announcement on extending VAT online marketplace liability. The government says further secondary legislation will set out operational details, including how the threshold works. Treat October 2027 as the planned start date, and check for updated rules before changing your VAT reporting process.
Keep marketplace sales separate from your own-channel VAT
Marketplace collection does not mean a sale disappears from your business records. You still need an accurate record of your sales, fees, refunds and VAT treatment. But from the new rules’ start, relevant VAT may be collected and accounted for by the marketplace rather than by you.
That distinction matters in Xero, QuickBooks or another accounting system. If your bookkeeping records marketplace-collected VAT as VAT payable by your business as well, you could overstate your VAT liability. If you record only the net payout, you may understate sales and lose the detail needed to reconcile fees, refunds and settlement differences.
Prepare to report separate totals for:
- Marketplace sales where the platform accounts for VAT under the new rules.
- Sales where you remain responsible for charging and accounting for VAT, including relevant direct Shopify sales.
- Marketplace fees, adjustments, refunds and any VAT on those costs.
Do not change your VAT return treatment ahead of the legislation and detailed HMRC guidance. Instead, make sure your bookkeeping can identify each transaction’s VAT treatment and keep a clear audit trail. HMRC requires businesses to keep digital records of the value and VAT on sales and purchases, and to maintain a VAT account. See HMRC’s VAT record-keeping guidance.
Check both £90,000 tests: one does not replace the other
The marketplace test is per platform. If you are not VAT-registered, sales above £90,000 on one marketplace may bring relevant sales on that platform within the new rules. Sales across separate platforms are not simply combined for this particular test.
But this is not a new VAT registration threshold. HMRC’s normal UK threshold remains £90,000 of taxable turnover over a rolling 12-month period, or an expectation that taxable turnover will exceed £90,000 in the next 30 days. See HMRC’s guidance on when to register for VAT.
Track both figures. A seller can be below the marketplace threshold on one platform but still need to register under the normal VAT rules. Equally, if you are already VAT-registered, the proposed marketplace rules are expected to apply to relevant sales regardless of whether your sales on that marketplace are below £90,000.
Shopify’s fulfilment-location change affects GB orders over £135
On 23 October 2026, Shopify announced a change to how it calculates VAT on orders shipped to Great Britain: VAT now follows the fulfilment location selected by your order-routing settings, rather than simply relying on your store location.
For an order over £135 before tax and shipping, if Shopify routes fulfilment to a location outside the UK, Shopify treats the order as an import and does not charge UK VAT at checkout. This applies even if your store also has an active UK location. Shopify says orders of £135 or less, orders going to Northern Ireland and existing orders are unaffected.
Review Shopify’s announcement and its UK VAT guidance for orders over £135.
Review routing and test orders before the next VAT return
Check which location your order-routing rules select for GB orders, whether your UK fulfilment location is active, and whether it actually holds stock for the orders you expect it to fulfil. Then run test orders below, at and above the £135 threshold.
Record the result for each test: destination, fulfilment location, order value before tax and shipping, VAT charged at checkout, and any import taxes or duties collected. If Shopify does not charge VAT, do not assume that no import VAT or other obligations apply. Confirm who is responsible for importing the goods and account for the transaction accordingly.
A change to the fulfilment location after an order is created does not automatically correct its original VAT calculation. Keep the order confirmation and tax details with your month-end records so you can explain how the order was treated.
Amazon VAT reports can now be requested mid-month
From 3 November 2026, Amazon says sellers can request a VAT Transactions Report during the month instead of waiting until the third day of the following month. The report can include data up to three days before the request date, and you can request it again to capture later updates.
Amazon has also added a TRANSACTION_UPDATED_DATE column to identify when a transaction was last changed. Use it to compare report downloads and investigate new or amended entries. The GOV_INVOICE_ID column is currently relevant to Poland KSeF transactions, rather than routine UK VAT reconciliation.
Download the report from Seller Central and use it as a supporting transaction record, not as a substitute for reconciling your accounting ledger to marketplace settlements, bank receipts, fees and refunds. See Amazon’s report announcement.
Month-end ecommerce bookkeeping checklist
Use this checklist to keep your records ready for VAT reporting and the 2027 marketplace change:
- Download current sales and VAT reports. Save Amazon and Shopify exports for the same period as your accounting records so you can investigate differences.
- Separate channel sales. Distinguish Amazon, Shopify and any other sales channels in your bookkeeping so each transaction’s VAT treatment can be identified.
- Reconcile settlements to your ledger. Match marketplace payouts, bank receipts, fees and refunds to recorded sales, and investigate any differences.
- Check fulfilment locations on GB orders over £135. Review your order-routing settings, run test orders at each threshold, and record the VAT and import treatment applied.
- Track both £90,000 tests. Monitor per-platform marketplace sales and your rolling 12-month taxable turnover separately.
- Keep an audit trail. Retain order confirmations, tax details and report downloads with your month-end records so you can explain how each transaction was treated.
Do not change your VAT return treatment ahead of the legislation and detailed HMRC guidance. Instead, make sure your bookkeeping can identify each transaction’s VAT treatment and keep a clear audit trail.