Tax handling on Indiegogo

With Indiegogo joining forces with Gamefound, one of the most important changes involves how taxes are handled. To make things clearer, we’ve prepared this short guide that highlights what’s changing and what stays the same.

1. Campaigns Launched Before the October 16, 2025 Migration

For projects that were already live before the migration, nothing changes. Their tax setup continues under the existing structure.

2. Campaigns Launched After the October 16, 2025 Migration

From now on, all pledge levels and add-on prices should be listed as net amounts (excluding taxes). This reflects standard practice in global e-commerce and ensures that VAT and other taxes are applied correctly.

Indiegogo currently functions as a marketplace facilitator in the EU, UK, and US. In practice, this influences how orders from backers in these regions are processed and may impact the way taxes are handled.

VAT in the EU

All depends on i) whether you are established in the EU, and ii) if the parcel you are sending to the backer is dispatched from the EU territory or not. Based on that, following scenarios are possible:

	EU VAT treatment
Where are your headquarters based?	Rewards shipped directly from outside the EU (e.g. from China).	Rewards shipped from within the EU (bulk containers import into the EU)
European Union	No EU VAT collected - backers pay VAT upon delivery.	Creator is responsible for handling VAT.
Rest of the World	No EU VAT collected - backers pay VAT upon delivery.	Indiegogo handles VAT - tax is collected during checkout.

What happens if Indiegogo is responsible for handling VAT:

VAT is collected on pledges during all phases of the project (Crowdfunding, Late Pledge, Pledge Manager).
Backers pay VAT at the time their pledge payment is processed.
The applicable VAT rate depends on the customer’s country.
Indiegogo remits VAT funds to the appropriate authority.

VAT in the UK

The rules are very similar to those outlined for the European Union. Following scenarios may apply:

	UK VAT treatment
Where are your headquarters based?	Rewards shipped directly from outside the UK (e.g. from China).	Rewards shipped from within the UK (bulk import).
United Kingdom	VAT is collected during checkout. Indiegogo handles VAT for orders under 135 GBP; for orders above this threshold, the creator is responsible.	Creator is responsible for handling VAT.
Rest of the World	VAT is collected during checkout. Indiegogo handles VAT for orders under 135 GBP; for orders above this threshold, the creator is responsible.	Indiegogo handles VAT - VAT is collected during checkout.

Similarly as in the EU, when Indiegogo is responsible for VAT:

VAT is collected on pledges during all phases of the project (Crowdfunding, Late Pledge, Pledge Manager).
Backers pay VAT at the time their pledge payment is processed.
The applicable VAT rate depends on the customer’s country.
Indiegogo remits VAT funds to the appropriate authority.

Sales Tax in the US

The sales tax will be applied during the Pledge Manager phase, regardless of your country of establishment. It will be automatically calculated and collected according to each backer’s shipping address. Indiegogo is partnering with Avalara: external provider ensuring correct tax rate determination.