Selling consulting, design, or development services to clients outside Ireland follows different rules depending on whether your client is inside or outside the EU, and business or consumer.
Last updated: June 2026
For most "general rule" services (consulting, IT, design, marketing, and similar professional services), the place of supply is normally where your customer is based for B2B sales, and where you (the supplier) are based for B2C sales.
Sales to VAT-registered EU businesses are typically outside Irish VAT scope, with the customer self-assessing VAT under the reverse charge. You should still verify their VAT number via VIES and issue an invoice marked accordingly.
This is where it differs from B2B. For general-rule services sold to a consumer in another EU country, the place of supply usually remains with you as the supplier, meaning Irish VAT rules generally continue to apply — you charge Irish VAT once registered, the same as if the customer were Irish-based.
Sales of general-rule services to clients (business or consumer) genuinely outside the EU are often outside Irish VAT scope entirely, since the place of supply shifts to the customer’s location.
You need to establish they’re a genuine VAT-registered business, typically evidenced by a VAT number verified via VIES.
You can generally still treat genuine non-EU business customers as outside Irish VAT scope using other evidence of business status, since VIES verification only applies to EU businesses.
Yes, reverse-charge and outside-scope sales still count as part of your turnover for threshold purposes, even though no Irish VAT is charged.
No, goods follow entirely different place-of-supply and import/export VAT rules — this discussion is specific to services.
Some service types (property-related, admission to events, and others) have their own specific place-of-supply rules — worth a one-off consultation with an accountant if you provide a mix of services.
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