Selling to Ireland and the EU in euros from one UK shop
Euro prices from one UK website, what an Irish card costs you, who pays Irish VAT and the EUR 3 duty, why Northern Ireland is a different job, and what to set up first. Checked 9 November 2026.
This is for a UK shop that gets the odd order from Dublin or Galway and wants to sell to Ireland and the EU without a second shop: euro prices, card fees, Irish VAT and duty, Northern Ireland, delivery and returns, and what to set up first. We build Orbit Commerce, a UK hosted ecommerce platform, so weigh the Orbit parts accordingly. Every rule and price was checked against gov.uk, Irish Revenue, An Post, the ECB and Evri’s price page on 9 November 2026; tax rules here change often, so read each one as the position on that date.
In short
- One shop, prices in pounds, shown and charged in euros at a live rate or a fixed one.
- A parcel from Great Britain to Ireland is a zero-rated export for UK VAT if it leaves within three months and you keep proof (gov.uk, VAT Notice 703, updated 4 March 2026).
- On the Irish doorstep: 23% import VAT, a EUR 3 duty per item on parcels worth EUR 150 or less (since 1 July 2026), An Post’s EUR 6.95 fee and, if your carrier passes it on, a EUR 2 handling fee per item (since 1 November 2026).
- A Great Britain business cannot register for IOSS itself; it needs an intermediary (gov.uk, updated 19 February 2026).
- Northern Ireland stays in the UK VAT system: pounds, UK VAT, no customs declaration on a consumer parcel through an authorised carrier.
Why start with Ireland?
Ireland shares your language and time zone and is next door, and its shoppers think in euros. It had an estimated 5,458,600 people in April 2025 (CSO population estimates, released 26 August 2025), and 85% of Irish internet users bought goods or services online in 2025 (CSO, Household Digital Consumer Behaviour 2025, released 5 December 2025; both read 9 November 2026). Irish shoppers can already read your product pages; what stops them is a price in pounds, a delivery charge never meant for them, and a customs bill they did not expect. For goods, Ireland sits inside the EU customs union and VAT area, so what you set up for Limerick works for Lyon.
How do you price in euros without a second shop?
Keep your prices in pounds and let the shop convert them. On Orbit you add the euro beside your store currency; the main decision is the rate rule.
- A live rate. Market rates, refreshed every 12 hours. On 6 November 2026 the ECB’s reference rate was EUR 1 to GBP 0.83415 (European Central Bank, read 9 November 2026), so a pound bought just under EUR 1.20 and a £40 product shows as EUR 47.95. When sterling moves, the euro price moves and your margin in pounds stays put.
- A fixed rate. You type it and it never moves until you change it. Euro prices stay steady and the pounds you receive move instead.
Converted prices round to the nearest cent, up, down or not at all, and a fixed rate is the lever on how the euro numbers look: choose one that lands your best sellers on tidy prices. A currency with no rate stays hidden until a rate exists. A first-time visitor is matched to a currency from their location and the choice is kept in a cookie.
What does a euro payment cost you?
The basket, the order and the card charge all run in euros on the Stripe-hosted card step; your dashboard shows the order in euros and your books stay in pounds. Two charges sit on top. Through Orbit Payments a European card costs 3% + 25p on Solo, 2.7% + 25p on Team and 2.5% + 25p on Pro, with Enterprise at the Pro rate. Then Stripe converts the euros to pounds and charges its own conversion fee, which Stripe’s UK pricing page lists as 2% when a conversion is required (stripe.com/gb/pricing, read 9 November 2026). So a £40 sale on an Irish card costs about £1.45 in card fee on Solo plus about 80p of conversion, roughly 5.6% of the order, against £1.05 on a UK personal card at 2% + 25p. The full table is on the payments page and the comparison in our guide to payment fees for a UK online shop.
Who pays the VAT and duty on an order to Ireland?
No UK VAT is due on a proper export. Goods you post to a destination outside the UK are a direct export, zero-rated if they leave within three months and you obtain evidence of export in the same three months. Without that evidence UK VAT is due at the normal rate (gov.uk, VAT Notice 703, updated 4 March 2026; see our UK VAT basics).
Somebody still pays Irish VAT. Imported goods carry VAT at the rate that would apply if they were bought in Ireland, worked out on the customs value plus any duty (Irish Revenue, buying goods from outside the EU, published 1 July 2026). The standard rate is 23% (Revenue, current VAT rates, effective 1 January 2026). Since 1 July 2026 a EUR 3 customs duty applies per distinct item on parcels worth EUR 150 or less sent to consumers from outside the EU (Revenue, same page).
Since 1 November 2026 a EUR 2 Union handling fee per item applies regardless of value (business.gov.uk, updated 30 October 2026), which Revenue calls non-refundable and aimed at platforms and businesses rather than the consumer directly (Revenue, Union Handling Fee, published 30 September 2026). Ask your carrier how it is billed. Where charges are collected at the door, An Post adds a EUR 6.95 administration fee (from 3 February 2026), payable within 10 working days or the item comes back. An Post collects the EUR 3 duty before delivery even where VAT was paid at checkout (An Post, customs charges, read 9 November 2026).
You choose who hands the VAT over: your customer on arrival, or you at checkout through IOSS, the EU’s Import One Stop Shop, on consignments worth EUR 150 or less (gov.uk gives the limit as £135), paid on one monthly return. A Great Britain business cannot register directly and must ask an intermediary to register and act on its behalf (gov.uk, updated 19 February 2026), for a recurring fee. The full maths of both routes is in selling to the EU from the UK after the July 2026 parcel rules. Here is a single-item Irish order at EUR 47.95, delivery included, using Revenue’s method.
| Line | Customer pays on arrival | Irish VAT charged at checkout (IOSS) |
|---|---|---|
| Price agreed at checkout | EUR 47.95 | EUR 58.98 (EUR 47.95 plus 23% VAT) |
| Irish import VAT | EUR 11.72 (23% of EUR 47.95 and EUR 3 together) | Nothing more |
| EUR 3 duty per item | EUR 3.00 | EUR 3.00 at the door unless the carrier bills you |
| An Post administration fee | EUR 6.95 | Where An Post collects a charge at the door |
| EUR 2 handling fee | Ask your carrier who pays | Same |
| Your customer pays in total | EUR 69.62, 45% more than agreed | EUR 58.98 plus any charges at the door |
A parcel arrives with nothing to pay only if it goes delivered duty paid (DDP), with the carrier billing you; Evri says that by sending an item DDP you take on responsibility for any customs duty (Evri, EU customs update, 24 June 2026). In Orbit, auto tax setup loads starting rates for the UK and all 27 EU countries, prices can be entered inclusive of VAT, and your IOSS number is stored in your shipping settings and sent with every international label. Orbit Shipping labels are the recipient-pays route; DDP runs on your own carrier connection, and your IOSS intermediary files the monthly return.
Is Northern Ireland different?
Yes. Northern Ireland is, and will remain, part of the UK’s VAT system: a seller in Great Britain charges customers VAT, shows it on the invoice and accounts for it on the normal VAT return, with no new registration (gov.uk, updated 1 October 2026). From a business in Great Britain to a private individual in Northern Ireland, through a carrier authorised under the UK Carrier Scheme, there is no customs declaration, duty or presentation of goods, and no scheme to register for. A parcel to a business there moves without a full declaration only if the importer of record holds UK Internal Market Scheme authorisation and the goods are for sale or final use by end consumers in the UK; otherwise duty may be charged (gov.uk, updated 1 July 2026). Re-read that page before you change anything, because the rules have moved more than once, and give Northern Ireland its own shipping zone.
How do you deliver to Ireland, and what does it cost?
The route you pick decides who files the customs data and who collects the Irish charges. Royal Mail prices International Tracked by weight band in its online price guide valid from 5 October 2026 (check your weight band there); Evri publishes its Ireland prices on one page; the express couriers quote per parcel. Picking a UK service is covered in Royal Mail or a courier.
| Route | Published price, read 9 November 2026 | What is included | Irish charges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evri, ParcelShop Standard | £7.89 for a 250g tracked parcel (evri.com) | £20 cover on most items; up to 15kg; Frequent Seller from £6.71 | Recipient pays unless you send DDP |
| Evri, courier collection or ParcelShop Priority | £8.39 for a 250g tracked parcel | Same cover and weight limit | Recipient pays unless you send DDP |
| Royal Mail, International Tracked | By weight band in the online price guide valid from 5 October 2026 | Tracked; cover and limits in the guide | Recipient pays on delivery |
Every parcel needs customs data: a plain description, value, weight, country of origin and your EORI number, which you may need when you move goods between Great Britain or the Isle of Man and any other country, including the EU (gov.uk, read 9 November 2026). In Orbit a shipping zone takes whole countries, so the Republic of Ireland gets its own zone and tracked method, and a shopper in Aberdeen is never offered your Irish rate. International labels bought through Orbit Shipping (Parcelforce Worldwide, FedEx UK and GlobalPost among the carriers) carry a customs declaration built from each product’s HS code (its commodity code) and country of origin, a CN22 or CN23 form to print, and your EORI and IOSS numbers pre-filled. The build is in our advanced shipping rules guide and on the shipping and fulfilment page.
Returns from Ireland
Our post on what UK returns law requires covers the 14-day cancellation right; Ireland’s consumer body describes the same shape, 14 days from delivery to cancel, 14 more to send the goods back, and the consumer paying any return costs that apply (CCPC, buying online, read 9 November 2026). Write one policy that honours 14 days, says who pays return postage and refunds to the original payment method. Goods coming back can get Returned Goods Relief from duty and import VAT if they return within three years unaltered, with the parcel and its declaration marked as returned goods with relief claimed and your VAT number if you have one (gov.uk, updated 26 November 2024). Revenue says the EUR 2 handling fee is not refunded even when goods are returned, so price that cost in, or set a minimum order value for Ireland.
What should you set up first to sell to Ireland?
- Add the euro in Settings, pick a live or fixed rate and a rounding rule, and read ten of your own product pages in euros.
- Create a Republic of Ireland zone with one tracked delivery method and a delivery estimate, and keep Northern Ireland out of it.
- Decide who pays the Irish charges: the customer at the door, spelled out on your delivery page, or you, through an IOSS intermediary and a DDP service on your own carrier account. Set the Irish tax zone to match, 0% or 23%, and ask your intermediary about orders above the EUR 150 limit.
- Get the paperwork ready: an EORI number, an HS code and country of origin on every product you will post abroad, and your EORI and any IOSS number in your shipping settings.
- Place a test order to an Irish address in euros and read every screen as your customer would.
A storefront in Irish or French is a nice-to-have; most Irish customers buy in English. Irish is on Orbit’s language list beside French and dozens more: products, pages and menus are translated the first time a shopper opens them, using the AI allowance on every plan, and you can correct any line by hand. Cart and checkout labels come in English, French and Spanish, so an Irish-language storefront runs its checkout in English.
Where Orbit fits
Everything here is on every Orbit plan, from Solo at £25 a month (£19 a month billed yearly, ex VAT). That covers the euro at a live or fixed rate with a rounding rule, visitors matched to their currency, and the card charged in euros on the Stripe-hosted card step with your books in pounds. It also covers shipping zones by country with delivery estimates and international labels carrying the customs declaration, and tax zones with EU starting rates, VAT-inclusive pricing and VAT invoices emailed on payment. Read selling abroad, checkout and payments, shipping and fulfilment and payouts and VAT. Irish VAT is collected at the door or charged at checkout and filed by your IOSS intermediary, duty is paid on delivery or billed to you on a DDP service, and a fixed rate is the lever on your euro prices.
Read next: selling cosmetics and skincare online, selling supplements online and what you may claim and selling toys online and the safety rules.
Questions people ask about selling to Ireland from a UK shop
Can I sell to Ireland in euros from my UK website without a second shop?
Yes. Keep your prices in pounds, add the euro as a second currency and let the shop convert them at a live market rate or a fixed rate you set. In Orbit the shopper browses, orders and pays in euros on the Stripe-hosted card step, and your books and reports stay in pounds.
Do I charge UK VAT on orders posted to Ireland?
No, if you treat the sale as a direct export: the goods must leave the UK within three months and you must hold evidence of export, such as the proof of posting and the customs declaration, within the same three months (gov.uk, VAT Notice 703, updated 4 March 2026). Otherwise UK VAT is due at the normal rate.
What will my Irish customer pay on the doorstep?
If you charge no Irish VAT at checkout, An Post or the courier collects import VAT at the Irish rate (23% on most goods) on the value plus duty, the EUR 3 duty per item on parcels worth EUR 150 or less, and An Post’s EUR 6.95 fee (read 9 November 2026). That is about EUR 21.67 on a single-item EUR 47.95 order. A EUR 2 handling fee per item has applied since 1 November 2026; ask your carrier how it is passed on.
Is Northern Ireland treated the same as Ireland?
No. Northern Ireland remains part of the UK VAT system, so you charge UK VAT in pounds (gov.uk, updated 1 October 2026). A consumer parcel from a business in Great Britain sent through a carrier authorised under the UK Carrier Scheme needs no customs declaration and attracts no duty (gov.uk, updated 1 July 2026). Keep Northern Ireland out of your Irish shipping zone.
Should I fix the euro price or let it follow the exchange rate?
A live rate, refreshed every 12 hours, protects your margin in pounds and lets the euro price drift. A fixed rate keeps the euro price steady and lets your pounds drift instead. If you fix the rate, build in a small cushion, check it monthly and move it when sterling has shifted by a few per cent.
To see it before you commit, build it on the 14-day free trial, no card required: add the euro, set one Irish zone, place a test order to a Dublin address, then decide.