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Selling on Amazon UK from the US: FBA VAT Guide

Expanding your US Amazon FBA brand to the UK? Learn how UK VAT registration, GB EORI, Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA), and quarterly MTD filings work.

G
GoodVat Team
·9 min read

When your US Amazon FBA brand hits a ceiling on Amazon.com, the United Kingdom is the obvious next move. Same language, same product packaging (mostly), and 68 million shoppers who treat Amazon Prime like a public utility.

Then you open r/FulfillmentByAmazon, read three threads about HMRC freezing inventory or big VAT agencies ghosting sellers for months after taking a $1,500 retainer, and close your laptop.

The short answer: expanding your US Amazon FBA store to the UK does not require a UK company, a fiscal representative, or a bloated enterprise tax retainer. You keep your US LLC, get a UK VAT number and GB EORI, switch on Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) so customs doesn’t hold 20% of your cash hostage, and file four quarterly returns a year.

Here is how UK Amazon FBA actually works for a US seller in 2026—and how GoodVat and our local partner accountants get you live without the agency runaround.

How Amazon FBA UK Works for US Sellers

You have two ways to fulfill orders on Amazon.co.uk:

  1. Remote Fulfillment / Merchant Fulfilled from the US: You ship individual parcels across the Atlantic when a Brit buys something. Delivery takes 5–10 days, shipping eats your margin, and your conversion rate tanks because you don’t have the local Prime badge.
  2. Local UK FBA (The Winner): You ship pallets or cartons in bulk to an Amazon UK fulfillment center (like BHX4 in Coventry or LBA4 in Doncaster). Amazon stores your stock, packs orders, and delivers them next-day via Prime.

There is just one catch with local UK FBA: the moment a single unit of your inventory touches a UK warehouse floor, you trigger UK tax law.

RuleUK Domestic SellerUS Seller Using UK FBA
UK VAT registration threshold£90,000 rolling 12-month turnover£0 (Immediate upon storing stock)
Needs a GB EORI number?Only if importing/exportingYes, mandatory to clear UK customs
Who collects VAT on Amazon B2C sales?The sellerAmazon (as Deemed Supplier)
Who collects VAT on Amazon B2B sales?The sellerYou (the US seller)
Quarterly HMRC MTD return required?Yes (once over £90k)Yes, every quarter—even with £0 VAT due

Wait—If Amazon Collects the VAT, Why Do I Need a UK VAT Number?

This is the number-one question US sellers ask. Since January 2021, UK law makes Amazon the deemed supplier when a non-UK company sells goods stored in a UK warehouse to a UK consumer (B2C). Amazon calculates the 20% VAT at checkout, takes it from the customer’s payment, and sends it straight to HMRC.

So why can’t you just ship your boxes and let Amazon handle the tax? Four reasons:

  1. Amazon will lock your account. Under UK joint-and-several liability rules, HMRC fines marketplaces that host unregistered foreign FBA sellers. Once you ship inventory to a UK fulfillment center, Seller Central gives you a strict deadline (typically 90 days) to upload a valid GB VAT number—or they freeze your UK disbursements and block inbound FBA shipments.
  2. You will lose 20% of your inventory value at the border. When your freight arrives at Felixstowe or Heathrow, UK customs charges 20% Import VAT on your landed cost. Without a UK VAT registration, that 20% becomes a dead, unrecoverable cost. With a UK VAT registration, you recover 100% of it.
  3. Amazon does not cover B2B sales. When a VAT-registered UK business buys your product on Amazon Business, the deemed supplier rule does not apply. You are the legal seller, and you must charge 20% UK VAT and pay it to HMRC on your quarterly return.
  4. Your D2C Shopify store isn’t covered. If you use UK FBA Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) or a UK 3PL to ship Shopify orders to British customers, you collect and remit the 20% VAT yourself on every order.

Step-by-Step: How to Expand Your US FBA Store to the UK

Step 1: Keep your US LLC (Don’t incorporate a UK Ltd)

Some accountants will try to sell you a UK Limited (Ltd) company formation for £1,000+. Don’t fall for it. Forming a UK company creates a permanent UK corporate tax filing obligation—and often fools sellers into thinking they qualify for UK domestic rules when their directors still live in the US.

Instead, register your existing US LLC or C-Corp directly with HMRC as a Non-Established Taxable Person (NETP). You do not need a UK bank account, a UK director, or a costly fiscal representative.

Step 2: Register for UK VAT and a GB EORI number

Before you book ocean or air freight, apply for two numbers from HMRC:

  • A UK VAT Number (GB + 9 digits): Allows you to store inventory in UK fulfillment centers and file returns under UK VAT rules.
  • A GB EORI Number (GB + your 9-digit VAT number + 000): Your Economic Operators Registration and Identification number. UK customs will not clear a commercial FBA shipment without one.

Pro tip: HMRC rejected thousands of US applications last year over mismatched addresses. Your IRS EIN confirmation letter (CP 575), Certificate of Incorporation, and Amazon Seller Central legal entity screen must show the exact same company name and address. GoodVat’s partner accountants pre-audit your paperwork before submission so your application doesn’t bounce to the back of HMRC’s 8-week queue.

Step 3: Appoint an Indirect Customs Representative & Turn On PVA

Because your company is based in the US, a standard freight forwarder cannot act as your “Direct Representative” at the UK border. You need a freight forwarder or customs broker willing to act as an Indirect Representative for a non-UK importer.

Once your VAT and EORI numbers are live, instruct your broker to select Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) on your customs declaration.

Here is why PVA is a cash-flow lifesaver on a £20,000 inventory shipment:

MethodCash Paid at UK BorderHow You Recover ItCash-Flow Impact
Without PVA (Old C79 route)£4,000 upfront (20% of £20,000)File quarterly return and wait 4–10 weeks for HMRC to wire a refund£4,000 locked up for 3–5 months
With PVA (Postponed VAT Accounting)£0 upfrontDownload monthly MPIVS statement; declare £4,000 in Box 1 and reclaim £4,000 in Box 4 on the same returnZero cash leaves your bank account

Step 4: Configure Seller Central & Price for 20% VAT

Americans are used to seeing $29.99 on the shelf and having sales tax added at checkout. In the UK, consumer law requires VAT-inclusive pricing.

If you list a product on Amazon.co.uk at £24.00, that price already includes £4.00 of VAT (£24.00 × 20 ÷ 120). Your net revenue before Amazon FBA fees is £20.00. Build that 20% into your unit economics before you ship a single carton. (Selling children’s clothing, books, or certain foods? Those are zero-rated at 0% in the UK—meaning you keep the full £24.00 while still reclaiming import VAT.)

Step 5: Automate Quarterly MTD Returns

HMRC requires every VAT-registered business to file quarterly returns digitally using Making Tax Digital (MTD) software. Even if 100% of your UK sales are B2C on Amazon—meaning Amazon collected and remitted all the customer VAT—you still must file a quarterly return reporting:

  • Your zero-rated deemed supplies to Amazon (Box 6)
  • Your B2B sales where you collected 20% VAT (Box 1)
  • Your postponed import VAT from your PVA statements (Boxes 1, 4, and 7)

Why US FBA Sellers Are Ditching Big VAT Agencies for GoodVat

Spend five minutes reading Reddit threads about AVASK or Taxually, and you will see the same complaints:

  • You sign up for a “cheap” registration promo, only to get hit with surprise fees for EORI numbers, retrospective filings, or basic questions.
  • Your account gets passed between junior reps who don’t understand how your US sales tax and UK VAT interact.
  • Taxually doesn’t calculate tax at checkout or handle US state sales tax (see our full GoodVat vs Taxually comparison), so you end up paying for two separate tools—one for your US Amazon FBA physical nexus and another for Europe.

GoodVat gives you the software and the vetted local accountants in one place:

  1. One dashboard for US Sales Tax + UK/EU VAT: Connect Amazon, Shopify, and Stripe. GoodVat tracks your US economic and physical nexus across all 50 states and your UK and EU VAT liabilities simultaneously.
  2. Deemed-supplier reconciliation built in: GoodVat automatically separates the B2C orders where Amazon already paid HMRC from your B2B Amazon orders and D2C website sales, so you never overpay VAT by mistake.
  3. Vetted UK partner accountants: Need your UK VAT registration, GB EORI, and quarterly MTD filings handled? Our UK tax partners register your US LLC and file your returns on time, quoted transparently per country—while GoodVat’s platform starts at $0/month (up to 50 transactions) and scales in flat $20–$100/month tiers.

FAQ

Do US Amazon FBA sellers qualify for the UK’s £90,000 VAT threshold?

No. The £90,000 VAT registration threshold only applies to businesses established in the UK. As a US seller storing inventory in a UK Amazon fulfillment center, your registration threshold is £0. You must register for UK VAT before or immediately upon landing stock in the UK.

If Amazon collects UK VAT at checkout, why do I still need a UK VAT number?

Under UK Deemed Supplier rules, Amazon collects and remits the 20% customer VAT on your B2C marketplace sales. However, you still need a UK VAT registration to import your inventory, claim back (or postpone) the 20% import VAT at the border, handle B2B orders on Amazon Business, and keep Amazon from suspending your UK FBA storage privileges.

Do I need to form a UK Limited (Ltd) company to sell on Amazon.co.uk?

No. You can register your existing US LLC or C-Corp directly with HMRC as a non-established taxable person (NETP) and get a GB EORI number in your US company’s name. Incorporating a UK company actually creates unnecessary UK corporate tax filings.

What is Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) and why do US FBA sellers need it?

Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) lets you declare and recover the 20% UK import VAT on the same quarterly VAT return instead of paying cash upfront at UK customs and waiting months for HMRC to refund you. You need a GB VAT number and a GB EORI number to use PVA.

How long does UK VAT registration take for a US company?

HMRC typically issues a UK VAT number to a non-resident US company in 4 to 8 weeks, provided your documentation (Certificate of Formation, IRS EIN letter, passport, and Amazon Seller Central store link) matches to the letter.

How much does GoodVat cost compared to AVASK or Taxually for UK FBA?

GoodVat’s software is free for up to 50 transactions a month, then flat monthly plans from $20 to $100/month across all your channels—including your US states and Shopify store. UK VAT registration and quarterly Making Tax Digital (MTD) filings are handled by vetted local partner accountants at transparent, per-country rates without hidden add-ons.

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