Standard VAT rate · 2026 · TaxAtlas · 202 countries
The standard rate of value-added tax, paid by the end consumer on almost everything they buy. It is the largest single source of tax revenue in most countries.
TaxAtlas 2026, 202 jurisdictions, standard rate only. Reduced rates — food, books, transport, medicines — are not shown here, although they often cover a large share of actual consumption.
VAT is a regressive tax: at an equal rate it weighs more heavily on low incomes, which are spent in full. A high rate therefore signals both a funded welfare state and pressure on poorer households.
Invented in France in 1954, VAT is now applied in more than 170 countries. The United States remains the great exception: it has none, only sales taxes set state by state.