EU VAT and sales tax software for FreeAgent
FreeAgent files your UK VAT return, your Self Assessment and your MTD for Income Tax updates straight to HMRC. The day you invoice a customer outside the UK, its own knowledge base hands the return back to you and an EU member state. Commenda registers, files and remits from the same FreeAgent data, across 70+ countries and all 50 US states.
Trusted by global businesses
Keep HMRC, add every other authority
FreeAgent files your UK VAT return, Self Assessment and MTD for Income Tax updates to HMRC. Commenda registers you and files everything outside the UK, from the same FreeAgent data, across 70+ countries and all 50 US states.
Monitor your global exposure
FreeAgent holds one UK VAT registration you type in yourself. Commenda measures the same invoices against thresholds in 50 states and 70+ countries, and alerts you at 80% of a threshold rather than after you cross it.
Register and file for OSS and IOSS
Commenda registers you for OSS or IOSS, calculates the destination rate on each consumer sale, and files the return on the EU calendar. Quarterly under OSS, monthly under IOSS.
Coverage comparison
What FreeAgent files, and what it hands back
FreeAgent does the UK well and stops at the border. These are the seven jobs that matter once you sell outside it. Its figures come from its own pricing page and its knowledge base articles on VAT registration settings, VAT MOSS and VAT OSS, and selling goods outside the UK, checked on July 30, 2026.
UK VAT returns
- FreeAgent
- Handled. MTD returns generate automatically and file straight to HMRC
- Commenda
- Filed too, on the same calendar as every other country you owe
VAT on sales to EU consumers
- FreeAgent
- Not handled. FreeAgent documents no non-union One Stop Shop functionality
- Commenda
- Destination rate applied per sale, OSS and IOSS returns prepared and filed
Registering somewhere new
- FreeAgent
- Not handled. You type in the one UK VAT number HMRC gave you
- Commenda
- Permits in all 50 states, EU VAT with OSS and IOSS, and GST across APAC and Canada
US sales tax
- FreeAgent
- Not handled. FreeAgent is a UK tax product across VAT, Self Assessment and payroll
- Commenda
- Calculated, filed and remitted in all 45 states that levy it
Knowing you owe tax somewhere new
- FreeAgent
- Not handled. A registration is something you enter, not something it finds
- Commenda
- Thresholds tracked in 50 states and 70+ countries, with alerts at 80%
Exemption and zero-rating evidence
- FreeAgent
- Stored, not collected. You pick 0% after checking the rules with HMRC
- Commenda
- Certificates collected, validated, stored, and applied where they are valid
Revenue that never reaches FreeAgent
- FreeAgent
- Not handled. Amazon UK arrives through a paid add-on, other channels do not
- Commenda
- Marketplaces, billing platforms and other ledgers roll into one figure
| FreeAgent |  | |
|---|---|---|
| UK VAT returns | Handled. MTD returns generate automatically and file straight to HMRC | Filed too, on the same calendar as every other country you owe |
| VAT on sales to EU consumers | Not handled. FreeAgent documents no non-union One Stop Shop functionality | Destination rate applied per sale, OSS and IOSS returns prepared and filed |
| Registering somewhere new | Not handled. You type in the one UK VAT number HMRC gave you | Permits in all 50 states, EU VAT with OSS and IOSS, and GST across APAC and Canada |
| US sales tax | Not handled. FreeAgent is a UK tax product across VAT, Self Assessment and payroll | Calculated, filed and remitted in all 45 states that levy it |
| Knowing you owe tax somewhere new | Not handled. A registration is something you enter, not something it finds | Thresholds tracked in 50 states and 70+ countries, with alerts at 80% |
| Exemption and zero-rating evidence | Stored, not collected. You pick 0% after checking the rules with HMRC | Certificates collected, validated, stored, and applied where they are valid |
| Revenue that never reaches FreeAgent | Not handled. Amazon UK arrives through a paid add-on, other channels do not | Marketplaces, billing platforms and other ledgers roll into one figure |
Calculate taxes globally on FreeAgent using Commenda
FreeAgent asks you to pick the VAT rate on each line item yourself and links out to the European Commission's table of member state rates. Commenda works out the rate instead, from the customer's country and the product or service you sold. Digital services to an EU consumer get that consumer's local rate. Goods get the rate where the transport ends.
Track your global exposure from FreeAgent
FreeAgent's VAT settings hold one UK registration, which you enter after HMRC grants it. Commenda reads the same invoices and measures where you sold, registered or not, against thresholds in all 50 states and 70+ countries. Connecting FreeAgent backfills your history, so exposure you already carry appears next to this month's invoices. Alerts fire at 80% of a threshold.
Automatically remit transactions around the world
FreeAgent tells you to submit the non-union OSS return with the EU country you registered in, and to check the local rules with a local VAT expert. Commenda does that instead. The return is built from your FreeAgent transactions, filed on each scheme's own frequency, and the remittance is tracked per jurisdiction. Amended returns are filed where a period needs correcting.
Manage your customers and exemptions in one place
FreeAgent tells businesses in England, Scotland and Wales to check with HMRC whether they can zero-rate an export, then to pick 0% themselves. Commenda holds the evidence behind that decision. Customer tax IDs are validated and stored against the record, US exemption certificates are collected through a portal and applied where they are valid, and expiries are chased.
Consolidation
Why FreeAgent cannot see your obligations outside the UK
FreeAgent was built for a UK freelancer or micro-business, and it serves 250,000 of them. Selling abroad changes the job. One EU consumer sale creates a liability in another country, and one US customer can start a threshold running. Commenda handles that side.
A UK business gets no EU threshold at all
The EU's EUR 10,000 place-of-supply threshold only applies where the supplier is established in exactly one member state. A UK company is established in none of them. So the place of supply for a B2C digital service is the customer's member state from the very first sale, at that country's rate. There is no small seller allowance to sit under.
The OSS return runs on a different clock
FreeAgent generates a UK VAT return on your VAT period. The European Commission sets the OSS return at quarterly under the non-union and union schemes and monthly under the import scheme, with IOSS covering consignments up to EUR 150. A business selling into the UK and the EU is running two calendars. Commenda runs both from one place, alongside global indirect tax in 70+ countries.
US thresholds are assessed on your total sales
A UK company selling to US customers faces 45 states that levy sales tax, each with its own economic nexus threshold. Those tests run on your total sales into a state, from every channel. FreeAgent holds the invoices you raised in FreeAgent. It has no view of a marketplace, a storefront, or a subscription platform, and no state cares which system a sale came from.
One ledger behind every channel
Every source connects to one ledger. Each transaction carries its origin, its product code, and any tax already collected, so marketplace revenue stays separate from revenue that still needs tax. The result is one exposure figure per state and per country, one return per period, and every line traceable back to the invoice it came from.
Cost of growth
What cross-border tax costs on top of FreeAgent
FreeAgent publishes every figure here, and for a lot of its users the software itself is free. The subscription buys HMRC filing. The registrations, rates and returns that start the day you sell outside the UK sit outside it, and FreeAgent says so.
| What you need | Where FreeAgent puts it |
|---|---|
| What the subscription files | MTD VAT returns, Self Assessment, MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates, RTI payroll, and Corporation Tax data, all to HMRC |
| What it costs | £33 a month for a limited company, £27 for a partnership or LLP, £19 for a sole trader, £10 for an unincorporated landlord, all excluding 20% VAT |
| When it costs nothing | Free with a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business current account, or a Mettle account with at least one transaction a month |
| Why the bank offer exists | FreeAgent was acquired by the NatWest Group in early 2018 and runs operationally independently, serving over 250,000 small businesses |
| What EU consumer sales require first | A VAT registration in an EU member state, then a non-union OSS registration in that same country |
| Who submits the OSS return | You do, with the member state you registered in. FreeAgent advises checking local rules and speaking to a local VAT expert |
| Where the EU rate comes from | You select it per line item. FreeAgent links the European Commission's list of member state rates rather than applying one |
| Paid add-ons outside the plan | Smart Capture Unlimited at £5 a month past 10 files, and the Amazon UK Marketplace connection at £6 a month, both excluding VAT |
What the subscription files
MTD VAT returns, Self Assessment, MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates, RTI payroll, and Corporation Tax data, all to HMRC
What it costs
£33 a month for a limited company, £27 for a partnership or LLP, £19 for a sole trader, £10 for an unincorporated landlord, all excluding 20% VAT
When it costs nothing
Free with a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business current account, or a Mettle account with at least one transaction a month
Why the bank offer exists
FreeAgent was acquired by the NatWest Group in early 2018 and runs operationally independently, serving over 250,000 small businesses
What EU consumer sales require first
A VAT registration in an EU member state, then a non-union OSS registration in that same country
Who submits the OSS return
You do, with the member state you registered in. FreeAgent advises checking local rules and speaking to a local VAT expert
Where the EU rate comes from
You select it per line item. FreeAgent links the European Commission's list of member state rates rather than applying one
Paid add-ons outside the plan
Smart Capture Unlimited at £5 a month past 10 files, and the Amazon UK Marketplace connection at £6 a month, both excluding VAT
Figures verified on July 30, 2026 against FreeAgent pricing, FreeAgent company page and FreeAgent knowledge base.
From the field
Trusted by businesses across the globe
“The platform works exactly the way I need it to. I have one team member who manages all of our exemption certificates, and that functionality has been particularly efficient for us. It allows him to handle everything seamlessly, making the handoff significantly easier.”
VP of Finance, TRX
Compare Commenda sales tax software with competitors
If you only ever file a UK VAT return, FreeAgent already does it. We compare the cross-border alternatives side by side on coverage, ratings, and real pricing, and we say where each one wins.
More sales tax resources
Guides from the Commenda team on post-Brexit VAT, EU registration for a non-EU seller, and your first US filing.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, in the UK. FreeAgent generates MTD-compatible VAT returns automatically and files them directly to HMRC, and it also files Self Assessment, MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates and RTI payroll, with Corporation Tax return data generated for filing. That covers one country. It holds a single UK VAT registration, which you enter after HMRC grants it, and its settings page is titled UK VAT Registration. Commenda files the returns for everywhere else, across 70+ countries and all 50 US states, on each jurisdiction's own frequency.
Only the bookkeeping. FreeAgent's knowledge base states there is currently no functionality allowing users to account for VAT under the non-union One Stop Shop system within FreeAgent, and suggests using the older VAT MOSS option to record the sale. You pick the place of supply and the rate yourself from the European Commission's rate list, and the entries land in an account called 824 VAT Mini One Stop Shop. Commenda applies the destination rate for you, prepares the OSS return, and files it.
No. OSS lets you register in one EU member state and use that single registration to file for cross-border B2C sales across all 27 EU countries plus Northern Ireland. For a UK seller we usually recommend the Netherlands or Ireland as the OSS member state for filing simplicity. Norway, Switzerland and Iceland sit outside the EU and need separate registrations, which we also file. Where a country requires a fiscal representative, we arrange it as part of the registration.
You do, if FreeAgent is the only system involved. Its guidance is explicit: submit the non-union OSS VAT return with the EU country you registered the scheme with, check the local rules because they differ in every member state, and speak to an accountant or a local VAT expert if you need more help. Commenda submits it instead. The return is built from your FreeAgent transactions, filed on the scheme's own frequency, and the payment is tracked per jurisdiction.
No. FreeAgent is a UK tax product. Its tax features are UK VAT, Self Assessment, Corporation Tax and PAYE, and nothing in its pricing or its knowledge base addresses US state sales tax. A UK business selling to US customers faces 45 states that levy it, each with its own economic nexus threshold, registration process and filing frequency. Commenda registers you, calculates at the invoice, tracks exposure in all 50 states, and files and remits the returns.
Yes. FreeAgent's VAT settings take a cash or invoice accounting basis, a flat rate scheme flag, your FRS sector, and a limited cost trader option, and those settings keep running as normal. Commenda does not change how your UK return is prepared. It adds the registrations, calculations and filings outside the UK, where the flat rate scheme does not apply and each jurisdiction has its own rules on rate, basis and return format.
Because the free subscription and the obligation are different things. FreeAgent is free for as long as you hold a NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business current account, or a Mettle account with a monthly transaction. What that gets you is UK filing to HMRC. The first EU consumer sale creates a VAT liability in the customer's member state regardless of what your accounting software costs, and no US state threshold is waived because your books were free.
Both. The platform automates monitoring, calculation and document preparation. An in-house team handles the registrations, the filings and the correspondence with each tax authority, and you get a named point of contact rather than a ticket queue. Former state auditors and tax specialists review the judgment calls before anything is filed. Connecting FreeAgent takes no engineering work on your side.
Custom integration support for your business
Every business runs its accounting differently, and those processes exist for good reasons. We map how yours works and build the integration to match, rather than asking you to work around ours.
Indirect Tax
Monitor nexus exposure, register, file, and remit sales tax and VAT in one platform. Commenda keeps you compliant across 100+ jurisdictions.
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