Non-Union OSS Tax Control Account

This code records amounts relating to non-union oss tax control account, expected to be settled within the next 12 months. As a liability account, it normally carries a credit balance: credit entries increase the balance (recording new amounts owed) and debit entries decrease it (recording payments made).

Real-world examples

Digital services seller

This scheme is aimed at businesses established outside the EU — which includes most UK businesses since Brexit — supplying digital services (streaming, e-books, online courses, software downloads) to consumers in the EU. Rather than registering for VAT separately in each EU country a customer is based in, the business registers once for the Non-Union OSS scheme and reports all its EU B2C digital sales through a single return.

In practice

A UK company selling a £50 online course to a consumer in France needs to account for French VAT on that sale through this scheme rather than UK VAT — a credit of the French VAT element to 2206 (Non-Union OSS Tax Control Account), tracked here until it's paid over via the OSS return. Because the mechanics and applicable rates vary by the customer's country, this is worth checking against current guidance for any business relying on it.

Commonly confused with

Because code 2205 (Union OSS Tax Control Account) sits right next to this one in Current Liabilities, it's a common mis-posting target. Code 2206 is specifically for non-union oss tax control account, while 2205 covers union oss tax control account — similar in nature, but keeping them separate is what makes the current liabilities section of your management accounts meaningful rather than a single lumped total.

What a mis-posting here costs you

An error posting to Non-Union OSS Tax Control Account misstates what the business owes, and for a Current Liabilities code specifically it can distort the working capital and current ratio that lenders and suppliers look at when assessing short-term financial health.

Other codes in Current Liabilities