{"id":14466,"date":"2026-09-12T15:22:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consultoriaehero.com\/?p=14466"},"modified":"2026-09-12T19:51:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T17:51:57","slug":"vat-in-latvia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consultoriaehero.com\/en\/vat-in-latvia\/","title":{"rendered":"VAT in Latvia in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Latvia, VAT is called pievienot\u0101s v\u0113rt\u012bbas nodoklis<\/em> (PVN). It has three rates: the standard 21%<\/strong> rate and two reduced rates, 12%<\/strong> and 5%<\/strong>. These are set out in articles 41 and 42 of the Pievienot\u0101s v\u0113rt\u012bbas nodok\u013ca likums<\/em>, the Latvian VAT law. And if the table you are looking at is from before summer, it is no longer valid: from 1 July 2026<\/strong> bread, milk, poultry and eggs are taxed at 12% instead of 21%, with an expiry date in June 2027.<\/p>\n

The 5% rate applies to books and the press, with a condition you will not see in almost any other country: it only applies if the publication is in one of the languages on the law\u2019s list. Spanish is included.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rate<\/th>\nPercentage<\/th>\nApplies to<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Standard (nodok\u013ca standartlikme)<\/span><\/td>\n21 %<\/strong><\/td>\nEverything that does not have a reduced rate: clothing, footwear, electronics, cosmetics, household items, alcoholic beverages and most food, including meat other than poultry and frozen, canned or dried fruit or vegetables<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reduced (nodok\u013ca samazin\u0101t\u0101 likme)<\/span><\/td>\n12 %<\/strong><\/td>\nMedicines, medical products for the individual use of people with functional disorders of the body, specialised infant foods, regular passenger transport and luggage within the country, accommodation in tourist establishments, wood fuel (firewood, chips, sawdust, briquettes and pellets) and thermal energy for household use, and the fresh fruit, berries and vegetables listed in Annex 1 of the law<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Temporary reduced (samazin\u0101t\u0101 likme p\u0101rtikas pamatproduktiem)<\/span><\/td>\n12 %<\/strong><\/td>\nBread of all kinds, including pasteurised or frozen; fresh, pasteurised or sterilised milk; fresh refrigerated poultry meat and shell eggs, according to Annex 2, from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; before and after that, 21 %<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reduced (nodok\u013ca samazin\u0101t\u0101 likme)<\/span><\/td>\n5 %<\/strong><\/td>\nPaper or electronic books, including school literature, brochures, children\u2019s drawing and colouring books, printed sheet music and maps; newspapers, magazines and bulletins, including electronic and subscription-based ones. The language must be on the law\u2019s list, and erotic, advertising and mainly audiovisual or musical content is excluded<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Rates verified on 12 September 2026 against the consolidated text of the \u00abPievienot\u0101s v\u0113rt\u012bbas nodok\u013ca likums\u00bb, the Latvian VAT law, on likumi.lv, the official publisher Latvijas V\u0113stnesis portal (version in force since 01.01.2026) (likumi.lv<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Bread, milk, chicken and eggs at 12% only until June 2027<\/h2>\n

From 1 July 2026<\/strong>, four basic food groups pay 12%<\/strong> instead of 21%: bread, milk, poultry and eggs. This was introduced by the law of 3 December 2025<\/strong>, published in Latvijas V\u0113stnesis<\/em> on 18 December 2025, which added point 48 to the transitional provisions with the expiry date built in: the reduction applies until 30 June 2027<\/strong>. On that day they return to 21%, unless it is extended. The Ministry of Economy presents it as a one-year reduction and distributes a voluntary seal, \u00abGod\u012bgs PVN samazin\u0101t\u0101js<\/em>\u00bb, among shops that sign up to pass the cut on to the final price; the PTAC, the consumer authority, warns that nine percentage points less VAT means 7.4% less on the label, not 9%.<\/p>\n

The key is Annex 2 of the law, written by tariff headings, and it excludes more than it includes. At 12% are bread (1905) made from rye, wheat or mixed flour, gluten-free bread, rolls and flatbread such as pita, lavash or tortilla, including pasteurised or frozen; milk (0401) fresh, pasteurised or sterilised from cow, sheep or goat, including lactose-free milk and regardless of fat content; poultry meat (0207) fresh refrigerated chicken, duck, turkey, goose, guinea fowl and quail, including offal and meat that is cut up, boned or minced; and shell eggs (0407) that are untreated thermally. Still at 21% are pastries and croissants, toast, breadcrumbs and breadsticks, UHT milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, flavoured milk and plant-based drinks made from oats or almonds, frozen meat and minced meat with more than 1% salt.<\/p>\n

The other reduced food rate is older and no longer has an expiry date. Fresh fruit, berries and vegetables<\/strong> have been taxed at 12% since 1 January 2024 \u2014 until 2023 they were at 5% \u2014 and since 1 January 2025 the law removed the end date. But only the 64 entries<\/strong> in Annex 1 qualify: apples, blackcurrants, blueberries, sea buckthorn berries, potatoes, carrots, cabbages, dill\u2026 It is a list shaped by the Latvian climate, so bananas, oranges and kiwis are taxed at 21%. Being washed, peeled, cut or packaged does not change anything; if they are frozen, salted or dried, they fall outside 12%.<\/p>\n

Which VAT you charge customers in Latvia if you sell from another EU country<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

This is the part no rate table covers, and usually the real question. The rate you charge does not depend only on the destination: it depends on how much you sell to consumers in other EU countries.<\/p>\n