Best Sales Tax Software for Digital Products 2026
Selling online courses, coaching, memberships or fitness programs? The best VAT and sales tax software for digital products in 2026, compared on price.
If you sell online courses, coaching, memberships, fitness programs, ebooks, templates or presets, you sell digital products, and digital products owe VAT or GST in most countries from your first sale to a consumer there. One $49 course bought from Germany means German VAT.
You have two ways to deal with it: sell through a merchant of record that takes a cut of every sale, or keep your own checkout and use tax software. We compared both.
Disclosure: GoodVat publishes this comparison. Competitor details come from each vendor’s public pricing pages and terms, checked in November 2026.
The short answer: the best tax software for digital products in 2026 is
- GoodVat: best overall. VAT, GST and US sales tax on every digital product, with filing at published prices ($99/month per country, $69/month per US state). Plans from $20/month.
- Quaderno: tax software with filing sold separately. From $29/month.
- Lemon Squeezy or Paddle: best merchant of record when you’re just starting. 5% + 50¢ per sale.
- Gumroad: simplest for first sales. 10% + 50¢ per sale.
- Payhip: best all-in-one store with VAT handling. 0–5% per sale depending on plan.
- Stripe Tax: best if every sale is on Stripe and you file yourself. 0.5% of volume.
Digital product tax tools compared
| Tool | Model | VAT & GST | US sales tax | Who files | Cost on $10,000/month in sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoodVat | Tax software | Yes, 140+ countries | Yes | GoodVat’s local accountants, from $99/mo per country (UK, EU, Canada, AU, NZ) and $69/mo per US state | $20/mo + filing |
| Quaderno | Tax software | Yes | Yes | You, or Quaderno via partners at an extra price | $49/mo + filing |
| Lemon Squeezy | Merchant of record | Yes | Yes | Lemon Squeezy | ~$600/mo |
| Paddle | Merchant of record | Yes | Yes | Paddle | ~$600/mo |
| Gumroad | Merchant of record | Yes | Yes | Gumroad | ~$1,100/mo |
| Payhip | Store platform | EU & UK VAT | Per Payhip’s FAQ | Payhip | $99–$500/mo + card fees |
| Stripe Tax | Tax software (Stripe only) | Yes | Yes | You, unless on a one-year Tax Complete contract | 0.5% = $50/mo, no filing |
Assumes 200 sales a month at $50 each. Card processing fees are extra for tax software and Payhip, and filing is extra for tax software (see the next section); merchant of record fees include them but exclude surcharges.
Does your course platform handle tax?
Many creators assume their course platform takes care of VAT. Most don’t file it for you:
| Platform | Collects tax? | Files and pays it for you? |
|---|---|---|
| Teachable (with Teachable Pay) | Yes | Yes, acts as merchant of record |
| Thinkific (Thinkific Payments) | Yes | US and Canadian sales tax yes; UK and EU VAT is paid out to you to remit |
| Kajabi | Yes, $0.15 per transaction | No, you stay the seller |
| Podia | Yes | No, Podia says it doesn’t file or remit |
| Stan Store | Optional, home region only | No |
| Gumroad | Yes | Yes, merchant of record since 2025 |
If your platform collects VAT but doesn’t file it, you’re holding tax money you owe to a dozen countries. GoodVat connects to your payments and files those returns.
Is your product a “digital product” for tax?
| What you sell | Treated as | VAT rule (EU & UK consumers) |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-recorded online courses | Electronically supplied service | Customer’s country rate |
| Ebooks, templates, presets, printables | Electronically supplied service | Customer’s country rate |
| Memberships and online communities | Usually electronically supplied | Customer’s country rate |
| App-based or video fitness programs | Electronically supplied service | Customer’s country rate |
| Live-streamed classes and webinars | Virtual event | Customer’s country rate in the EU since 2025 |
| Live 1:1 coaching by video | Usually a personal service | Different rules; often where you are |
In the US, taxability of digital products varies by state. See our guide to VAT risks for digital goods.
1. GoodVat: best overall for digital products
- Best for: Course creators, coaches, membership sites and digital product shops selling worldwide
- Coverage: 140+ countries and 14,000+ US jurisdictions
- Works with: Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, WooCommerce, Square and a REST API
- Pricing: Flat monthly plans, never a percentage of sales: $20 (250 transactions), $50 (1,000), $100 (2,500). Every feature on every plan, plus a free plan (50 transactions) to start on
- File it yourself: Ready-to-file returns for every jurisdiction (US sales tax, EU OSS and IOSS, UK VAT, GST), with every store, marketplace and payment provider combined into one report each. Included on every plan, even Free
- Or have it filed for you: Done for you by GoodVat’s local accountants at a fixed price agreed before work starts. UK, EU (OSS or one country), Canada, Australia, NZ: a one-off $599 registration per country, then $99/month per country. US sales tax: no registration fee, $69/month per state. Prefer to file yourself or with your accountant? Ready-to-file returns are included on every plan
- Setup: Done with you by our team, free on every plan
GoodVat for digital creators charges the right rate by product type and customer location, issues compliant invoices, and tracks every country’s rules. Its accountants register you for EU OSS, UK VAT and other digital services schemes, and file the returns.
You keep your own checkout and your customer list, and pay a flat monthly fee instead of 5–10% of every sale. You stay the seller, so the registrations are yours, but you don’t do the paperwork.
2. Quaderno: tax software with filing sold on top
- Pricing: According to its pricing page (November 2026), $29/month (25 transactions, 1 jurisdiction, 1 integration, 1 user), $49 (250), $99 (1,000), $149 (2,500), billed monthly
- Watch out for: A “transaction” includes refunds and purchases, and going over auto-upgrades you. Filing and registration are a separate service via local partners, quoted on a call; its help centre lists €600 setup + €100/month per country for the UK, EU OSS, Canada and Australia, and $69/month per US state, with setup fees non-refundable once registration starts. Reviewers mention no live chat
Quaderno is popular with creators and recommended by Podia and Thinkific. It calculates tax and prepares reports. A Quaderno customer who wants returns filed pays the plan plus filing fees slightly above GoodVat’s, in euros. See GoodVat vs Quaderno.
3. Lemon Squeezy and Paddle: merchants of record
- Pricing: 5% + 50¢ per sale. Lemon Squeezy’s fees page adds 1.5% international, 1.5% PayPal and 0.5% subscriptions, on the full order including tax; Paddle adds a 2–3% currency conversion margin
- Watch out for: Per Paddle’s terms, it sets the price, handles refunds and invoices, pays monthly and may hold funds up to six months after termination. Reviewers report suspensions and terminations with payouts held. Lemon Squeezy is being folded into Stripe Managed Payments
A merchant of record sells on your behalf and handles all tax. That’s worth it for your first few thousand dollars. Past about $100,000 a year, read our Merchant of Record cost breakdown. Note that Stripe Managed Payments excludes live 1:1 coaching.
4. Gumroad: simplest for first sales
- Pricing: 10% + 50¢ per direct sale; 30% on Discover marketplace sales
- Watch out for: The highest fee on this list
5. Payhip: all-in-one store with VAT handling
- Pricing: Free plan 5% per sale; Plus $29/month + 2%; Pro $99/month + 0%
- Watch out for: Only covers sales made on Payhip
6. Stripe Tax: best for Stripe-only sellers who file themselves
- Pricing: Basic 0.5% of volume (or $0.50 per API transaction) with no registration or filing; filing needs Tax Complete, a one-year contract from $90/month
- Watch out for: Stripe says additional fees may apply for registrations and filings outside the US or above plan limits. It only files transactions with automatic tax enabled (not manual invoices or earlier sales), only sees Stripe payments, and in several countries (India, South Korea, Turkey, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Colombia) supports digital products or calculation only
See Stripe Tax for digital goods.
What the headline price leaves out
Filing is extra almost everywhere. The question is whether the price is published.
| Tool | Headline price | What it takes to have returns filed for you | Published? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoodVat | $20–$100/mo | $99/mo per country + one-off registration $599; $69/mo per US state | Yes |
| Quaderno | $29–$149/mo | Quoted on a call; help centre lists €600 + €100/mo per country, $70/mo per US state | In a help article |
| Stripe Tax | 0.5% of volume | One-year Tax Complete from $90/mo; extra fees possible outside the US | Partly |
| Lemon Squeezy / Paddle | 5% + 50¢ | Included, because the merchant of record is the seller | Yes |
A merchant of record folds filing into the percentage, which is why it costs several hundred dollars a month at $10,000 in sales. With tax software you pay a flat fee plus filing in the countries where you actually sell.
Accuracy: why the cheapest engine can cost you more
Digital products are taxed where the customer is, so a wrong location means a wrong rate. According to Stripe’s published documentation of its supported and excluded territories (November 2026), Stripe Tax charges German VAT in Heligoland and Büsingen (outside German VAT) and Cypriot VAT in Northern Cyprus (where EU VAT law is suspended), and excludes Åland, so services sold there can be under-taxed. GoodVat charges none in the first two and taxes services in Åland. Quaderno says Åland residents don’t pay VAT, which under-collects on services.
For a location Stripe Tax doesn’t support, its API returns zero tax with the reason not_supported and the sale goes through untaxed. GoodVat refuses the calculation and says why, so you never under-collect without knowing.
How to choose
| If you are… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Selling courses, memberships or programs from your own site | GoodVat |
| On Kajabi, Podia, Thinkific or Stan and VAT isn’t filed for you | GoodVat |
| Happy to file your own returns and pay per country when you outgrow that | Quaderno or GoodVat |
| Making your first few sales | Lemon Squeezy, Paddle or Gumroad |
| Running everything inside one simple store | Payhip |
FAQ
What is the best tax software for selling digital products?
GoodVat is the best tax software for most digital product sellers in 2026. It charges the right VAT, GST and US sales tax on courses, memberships, ebooks and fitness programs in 140+ countries, works with Stripe, PayPal and Shopify, and can handle registration and filing through its network of local accountants at published prices ($69/month per US state, $99/month per country elsewhere). Software plans are flat, from $20/month, with a free plan to start on.
Do I need to charge VAT on online courses?
Usually, yes. A pre-recorded online course sold to a consumer counts as an electronically supplied service in the EU and UK, so VAT is due at the customer’s rate. Sellers outside the EU and UK owe it from the first sale; EU sellers get a €10,000 cross-border threshold.
Do Kajabi, Teachable and Thinkific handle VAT for me?
It depends on the platform. Teachable acts as merchant of record when you use Teachable Pay. Thinkific remits US and Canadian sales tax but pays VAT out to you to remit yourself. Kajabi, Podia and Stan Store calculate or collect tax but leave filing to you.
Is Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy cheaper than tax software?
Not once you have steady sales. Gumroad charges 10% + 50¢ per sale and Lemon Squeezy and Paddle charge 5% + 50¢, because they act as merchant of record. On $10,000 a month in course sales (200 sales at $50), that is about $600 to $1,100 a month, compared with $20 a month for GoodVat plus payment processing and, if you want returns filed for you, $99 a month per country.
How much does it cost to have VAT returns filed for digital products?
With GoodVat, done-for-you filing is $99 a month per country (UK, EU OSS or one EU country, Canada, Australia, NZ) after a one-off registration of $599 per country, and $69 a month per US state with no registration fee. Quaderno’s help centre lists €600 setup and €100 a month per country, so GoodVat is cheaper on both. Stripe Tax filing needs a one-year Tax Complete contract from $90 a month, and merchants of record take 5% + 50¢ of every sale instead.
Is live 1:1 coaching taxed like a digital product?
Often not. Live coaching delivered by a person over video is usually a service rather than an electronically supplied service, so different VAT rules apply. Pre-recorded courses, templates and app-based programs are digital products. Live-streamed events sold to EU consumers are taxed where the customer is since 2025.