No, there is no Value-Added Tax (VAT) in the United States at the federal or state level. The U.S. is the only OECD country without a VAT, relying instead on a decentralized system of sales and use taxes imposed by individual states and local governments, typically ranging from 2.9% to over 10%.
The United States does not operate a national VAT system, and therefore the US government does not issue VAT numbers. Instead, businesses must navigate a complex framework of state and local Sales Tax.
Key Takeaways
The US lacks a federal VAT system due to its federalist system of government, which delegates tax management responsibilities to individual states. Implementing a centralized, nation-level VAT system in the US would require significant efforts to unify diverse tax systems.
There is no VAT in the British Virgin Islands. There is no VAT in Brunei. The standard VAT rate is 20%. There is no VAT in the Cayman Islands.
In 2022, the United Kingdom was ranked 16th out of the 38 OECD countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio. 1. In this note, the country with the highest level or share is ranked first and the country with the lowest level or share is ranked 38th. Equal to the OECD average from value-added taxes.
In the USA, the opportunity to claim a VAT refund is generally reserved for foreign businesses and tourists who have incurred VAT on eligible expenses within VAT-imposing countries. US businesses may also seek VAT refunds from their business expenses in these countries.
176 countries have implemented VAT or GST – January 2026
Since the first introduction of a Value Added Tax in France in 1954, it has now been adopted by 176 countries around the world. Bhutan is latest in January 2026.
The highest standard VAT rate is 27% (in Hungary)[2](https://www.globalvatcompliance.com/globalvatnews/world-countries-vat-rates-2020/).
Total taxes include income taxes, payroll taxes, state and local sales taxes, federal and state excise taxes, and local property taxes. The U.S. system allows reduction of taxable income for both business and some nonbusiness expenditures, called deductions.
Importing goods from the US to the UK
If you're importing goods from the USA, there's no requirement for VAT-registered businesses to account for VAT. If you're importing something from the US, the US sales tax will not be added, but rather, the UK tax rate (usually 20%) will be paid upon import.
You don't — the U.S. doesn't have VAT. Sales tax is calculated instead, based on the rules and rates in effect at the buyer's location, which can differ from one jurisdiction to another.
Value-added tax (VAT) is an indirect tax. It is categorized as such because it is collected and remitted by the seller rather than being directly paid by the consumer to the federal government.
VAT (Value Added Tax) and GST (Goods and Services Tax) are fundamentally the same type of consumption tax, levied on goods and services at each stage of the supply chain, but the terms are used in different countries and can have structural differences, with GST often being a unified, simpler system replacing multiple taxes (like VAT, sales tax, excise duty) into one, as seen in India and Canada. Both ensure the final consumer pays the tax, while businesses get credits for tax paid on inputs, but specific implementation, rates, and administration vary by country (e.g., EU uses VAT, India uses GST).
The U.S. is one of the few countries that does not charge VAT or GST. Instead, the U.S. uses state sales tax as its method of taxation.
High-Income Taxpayers Paid the Majority of Federal Income Taxes. In 2022, the bottom half of taxpayers earned 11.5 percent of total AGI and paid 3 percent of all federal individual income taxes. The top 1 percent earned 22.4 percent of total AGI and paid 40.4 percent of all federal income taxes.
Financial and insurance activities, along with scientific, support-administrative, activities are the main contributors to the GDP of Monaco. Wholesale trades (10%), construction (9.1%) and real estate activities (7.8%) also contribute highly to the country's GDP.
According to modern studies, the § Top 10 tax havens include corporate-focused havens like the Netherlands, Singapore, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom; while Luxembourg, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and Switzerland feature as both major traditional tax havens and ...