Short answer: without a VAT number, you pay 23% on top of every euro you spend on Amazon ads, and you cannot get it back. And there is a second problem: every Amazon ad an Irish advertiser buys is billed from outside Ireland, and Irish law has no registration threshold for services received from abroad. If your writing is a business, you are meant to be registered from the first euro. Once registered, you reclaim the 23%: with €1,000 of ads a month, that is €2,760 a year that stays with you instead of Revenue.
For Irish KDP authors, Merch on Demand designers and small sellers, from Revenue's guidance, the VAT Consolidation Act 2010 and Amazon Ads' help pages, checked in October 2026. This is information, not tax advice: confirm your case with an accountant.
Work out what you lose with our free calculator
How much you lose each year
Irish VAT is 23%. Without a VAT number, it is a pure cost on your ads:
| Ads per month | VAT per month | VAT per year |
|---|---|---|
| €300 | €69 | €828 |
| €1,000 | €230 | €2,760 |
| €3,000 | €690 | €8,280 |
Amazon won't tell you that you can recover it, or that you are probably required to register. Its help pages say it charges VAT to advertisers who "haven't provided a valid VAT/GST registration number", and leave the rest to "your tax advisor".
Why every Amazon ad you buy comes from abroad
Amazon has no Irish company for ads. The Amazon Advertising Agreement names one billing company per country. Ireland is not on the list, so it falls under "any other country located in Europe": Amazon Online UK Limited. The other marketplaces bill from their own country (Amazon Advertising LLC for amazon.com, Amazon Online Germany GmbH for amazon.de, and so on).
Without a VAT number, Amazon adds Irish VAT. Amazon Ads' tax guide: Amazon "may be required to collect the standard rate of VAT/GST applicable to your country of residence or business establishment when a VAT/GST ID isn't provided." For you, that is 23%.
Why you must register, from the first euro
Irish law makes a business that buys services from abroad accountable for the Irish VAT on them, whatever its turnover. Section 12(1) of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010: when "a taxable person who carries on a business in the State" receives a service "from a supplier established outside the State", that person "is accountable for, and liable to pay, the tax chargeable in the State".
Revenue says it in one line: "There is no registration threshold for received services." The usual thresholds (€42,500 for services, €85,000 for goods) are about what you sell, not what you buy, and the small-business exception in section 6 is written "subject to" section 12.
Does this apply to you? If your KDP royalties are a business, yes. Revenue treats royalties received by an author as taxable: "Royalties received by e.g. an author from assignment of copyright - taxable in hands of recipient of right." And Amazon's ads are business services bought for that business. If you write as a hobby, with no real income, your accountant may see it differently.
What registering changes
- Register with Revenue (through ROS). Below the thresholds, Revenue calls it electing to register, and "You can only elect to register for VAT from a current date": it does not reach back.
- Add your VAT number to Amazon Ads. As a KDP author: Administration, Billing, Payment Settings, then the Tax info section. Amazon normally stops adding VAT.
- Declare the 23% yourself and reclaim it on the same return. Revenue: you pay "VAT on the invoiced amounts at the appropriate Irish VAT rate" in your return, and "You may qualify to reclaim the VAT at the same time." Net cost: zero.
Why you can reclaim it: your royalties are paid by Amazon companies outside Ireland (the KDP agreement names Amazon.com Services LLC, Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. and others). Revenue: "an Irish author receiving royalties payments from abroad does not incur Irish VAT - the payer incurs the tax liability." So you charge no VAT on them, and section 59(1)(f) of the Act still gives you the deduction for "supplies of goods or services outside the State which would be taxable supplies if made in the State".
One trap: Revenue also says "You may not reclaim VAT if you are an exempt or non-taxable person." An author whose royalties are taxable is neither; a hobby writer may be.
What it costs
You file VAT returns and keep VAT records: budget for your time or an accountant. Say that costs €100 a month (our assumption, not an official figure). At €1,000 of ads a month, you reclaim €230 and keep €130 a month after the accountant. Below about €435 of ads a month, the accountant costs more than the VAT you reclaim.
But in Ireland the comparison is not "register or not". If your writing is a business and you buy ads from abroad, registration is already required; the real choice is between declaring that VAT and getting it back, or not.
The limits you need to know
Do not count on getting the past back. An election only runs "from a current date", and Amazon refunds VAT only when your registration "was active during the billing period" (Amazon Ads help, "Tax refunds"). If you have bought ads for years without a VAT number, ask an accountant how to put that right before you register. Count on the savings from now on.
If you sell to consumers yourself, you must charge VAT on those sales. For a KDP author this rarely bites: printed books are zero-rated in Ireland, and e-books and audiobooks too since 1 January 2024. For an FBA seller who sells goods to consumers at 23%, it is different:
| Per month, prices unchanged | Not registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | €5,000 | €5,000, of which €935 VAT to pay |
| Ads | €1,230 (with VAT) | €1,000 (VAT reclaimed) |
| What is left | €3,770 | €3,065 |
That seller would lose about €705 a month by registering for this alone. The VAT on ads is worth reclaiming when your income carries no VAT, which is the case of KDP royalties paid from abroad. (Whether that seller must register anyway, because of the ads it buys from abroad, is the question above, for its accountant.)
Merch on Demand: the same reasoning applies only if your Merch royalties, like KDP royalties, are paid by an Amazon company outside Ireland. Check your Merch agreement with your accountant.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register for VAT if I only earn KDP royalties?
Not because of the royalties: they carry no Irish VAT. But if your writing is a business and you buy Amazon ads, which all come from abroad, section 12 of the VAT Consolidation Act makes you accountable for that VAT, with no threshold.
Will I have to charge VAT on my royalties?
No. Revenue: the author receiving royalties from abroad "does not incur Irish VAT - the payer incurs the tax liability."
Will Amazon refund the VAT I already paid?
Only for invoices from a period when your VAT registration was already active, according to Amazon Ads' "Tax refunds" page.
Is there a minimum ad spend before this applies?
No. Revenue: "There is no registration threshold for received services."
Before you decide
Work out what you lose with our free calculator: enter your monthly ad spend, see the VAT you pay each year and what registering would change. Then take the figure to your accountant.
Spending less on ads for the same sales helps too: see how much Sponsored Products ads cost and whether KDP authors can run Sponsored Brands ads. Authors nearby: United Kingdom, Sweden.
Sources
- Current VAT rates, Revenue
- Received services ("There is no registration threshold for received services"), Revenue
- Persons required to register solely because of goods or services from abroad, Revenue
- VAT thresholds, Revenue
- Elect to register for VAT, Revenue
- Royalties – Copyrights, Revenue
- Electronic publications and Printed matter, Revenue
- Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010, section 6, section 12 and section 59, Irish Statute Book
- Amazon Advertising Agreement ("Amazon Contracting Party", "Elected Country"), Amazon Ads
- Understanding taxes and regulatory fees on your advertising invoice, Amazon Ads
- VAT on Electronically Supplied Services, Register your Tax ID and Tax refunds, Amazon Ads help
- KDP Terms and Conditions (the Amazon parties), Amazon KDP
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