VAT in the Digital Age — almost always shortened to ViDA — is the European Union's most significant VAT reform in more than a decade. The package was formally adopted by the Council of the EU on 11 March 2025 and rolls out in phases, with the first changes that matter to accommodation providers landing in 2028.
If you run a hotel, an aparthotel, or a short-term rental in the EU, ViDA is not abstract tax policy — it changes who charges VAT on your bookings, how many VAT registrations you need, and how your invoices have to be issued and reported. This guide explains what is coming, when, and what to do now.
The three pillars of ViDA
ViDA stands on three pillars, each with its own timeline — set out in the cards and the date-by-date timeline below. The platform economy and single VAT registration changes arrive first, in 2028; structured e-invoicing and digital reporting follow in 2030. The direction of travel is already visible in countries like Italy and Croatia that mandate real-time invoicing today.
In short: platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb can become responsible for VAT on stays where the host does not charge it — reshaping price positioning for non-VAT-registered hosts; a single VAT registration will cover far more cross-border activity through an expanded One-Stop Shop; and structured e-invoices with near-real-time reporting become the norm, exactly the model Italy's SdI and Croatian fiscalisation already run.
What this means for your property
- Your price position may shift. If platforms start adding VAT to previously-untaxed listings in your market, the gap between OTA inventory and your direct, VAT-inclusive rates narrows. Direct booking becomes more attractive, not less.
- Clean data is no longer optional. Deemed-supplier accounting, single registration, and digital reporting all depend on accurate, structured records — correct VAT rates per service, valid tax IDs, sequential invoice numbering, and per-country breakdowns.
- Manual invoicing will not scale. The countries already on real-time reporting show that spreadsheets and PDF invoices cannot keep up. Automation is the practical path.
How Nokumo keeps you ready
Nokumo is built for exactly this direction of travel.
- Correct VAT by default — the right accommodation and extras rates are applied per country, per service line, at the point of billing.
- Structured, sequential invoicing — every invoice is generated in a structured format with sequential numbering and the fiscal fields tax authorities require.
- Real-time fiscalisation where it is already mandatory — Croatian fiscalisation and Italian SdI are handled natively today, so you are already operating the model ViDA generalises.
- Per-country reporting data — the breakdowns needed for single VAT registration and digital reporting are produced from your live booking data, not reconstructed after the fact.
ViDA is phased, but the preparation is the same regardless of the exact date in your country: get your VAT logic, invoicing, and reporting onto a system that already speaks the language of real-time, structured, cross-border compliance.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Confirm the timeline and obligations for your specific country and business with a qualified tax adviser.