VAT. Upwork charges 20% extra for all services.

VAT. Upwork charges 20% extra for all services.
Photo by The New York Public Library / Unsplash

Upwork did it even before. However, for example, for Ukrainians, there was a delay for this charge because of the invasion by russians. As most of my clients are Ukrainian agencies, I've started receiving many questions about why we pay it and what is it?

Value Added Tax, or VAT, is a consumption tax assessed on Upwork’s supply of digital services. Upwork charges VAT to freelancers and agencies in certain countries unless specific exemption requirements are met. Upwork is required to collect this tax and pay it to the appropriate government agency.

You can read more about VAT here

For every country that requires VAT there are specific rules:

  • For Ukrainian VAT please check here
  • For the USA here
  • For EU and Mexico please check here

So what to do? Just get on with it OR register as a VAT tax payer. Upwork won't charge you in this case.

Cheers,
Tamara