How To Validate VAT Numbers On Easy Digital Downloads

Chances are, if you sell any kind of digital products - ebooks, plugins, PDFs, or the like - you will have come across Easy Digital Downloads. 

You may even already be using it. 

With a decent shopping cart, easy customer management, discount codes, and data reporting features, Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is one of the most popular choices for selling digital products on WordPress. 

That said, it does have its drawbacks - one of the main ones being that it doesn't offer out-of-the-box functionality for validating VAT Numbers on EDD. 

Why Do I Need to Validate VAT Numbers on Easy Digital Downloads?

If you accept cross-border sales, then you need to comply with specific countries’ VAT laws. In these countries, VAT - or, value added tax - is added on to the costs of goods and services, including digital downloads, at the checkout stage (its US equivalent is sales tax).

As a seller of digital downloads, you have a legal responsibility for handling VAT. So how do you validate VAT numbers for cross border digital purchases with Easy Digital Downloads? 

With the EDD Quaderno plugin.

Setting Up the EDD Quaderno Plugin

First, download the EDD Quaderno plugin and upload it to your WordPress site. Or, if you find it easier, you can install the plugin directly through WordPress by searching for it in Plugins > Add New, and installing it directly from there.

Once you’ve activated the plugin, head back to your Quaderno account and grab a copy of your private key and API URL from the API Keys area, found in the left-hand sidebar of your account:

Next, head back to WordPress and enter the information into your EDD > Quaderno integrations area, like so:

Make sure the “Autosend receipts” box is checked, and that’s it. With the Quaderno EDD plugin, you’ll never need to worry about being EU VAT compliant again. The plugin handles everything from VAT number capture, to validation, to the mailing of required invoices, making it easy to stay in compliance while selling digital items through Easy Digital Downloads.

Have other questions about handling VAT compliance as a US seller? Check out The Ultimate Guide to EU VAT for Digital Taxes by Quaderno for more information - and don’t forget to sign up for your free trial here.