Selling on Amazon, Shopify, or both? Book a quick call and we'll tell you exactly who's responsible for the VAT on each channel — and how to keep it clean.
Amazon and Shopify are the two routes most UK ecommerce sellers choose between — and for VAT they behave very differently. The headline difference is simple: Amazon is a marketplace, so in certain cases it collects and pays the VAT for you. Shopify is your own store, so you are responsible for the VAT on every sale.
That single distinction ripples through registration, who hands the VAT to HMRC, how your fees are taxed, and how much bookkeeping you do. This guide compares the two side by side so you can see which is simpler for your situation — and what to watch if you sell on both.
Since 1 January 2021, online marketplaces can be treated by HMRC as the "deemed supplier". On Amazon that means the platform — not you — collects and pays the VAT on certain sales, mainly low-value imports (£135 or less) and goods sold by overseas (non-established) sellers from UK-held stock.