Newbie: Shipping and tax issues - store in EU

First the boring facts:
This is my first store.
Zencart version 1.5.1
No mods have been done (yet)
My site was installed using a 1 click system through my host
No upgrades were done as it is showing that it is the current version.
My store is in the EU.
I am a newbie at zencart, but have used other content management site softwares before.

Site: wigglezwagz.com

Now to the problems:

Shipping: (only tested so far as unregistered customer)
The main problem with shipping is that the total isn`t being added to the total, even though under the TOTAL module it is marked as active. :frusty:

Some interesting occurrences with this is the site does not ask for a shipping address, but does have the estimated shipping window working.

My purchase setup sends them to paypal, always. Which is what I want.

And for a side question - do I need to charge tax for shipping?

VAT tax:

I am probably doing this part wrong, but let me know please.

Under my products I am marking them all as VAT taxable, maybe I shouldnt be. While the total is showing the VAT tax, since it isnt asking for my address for shipping (see above problem) I suspect it is charging VAT to all customers no matter the location. I sell worldwide, so how do I set this up differently so that those that need to be charged VAT will be, and others won`t be. (NOTE: I am not talking about selling to other companies but just customers in different parts of the world (?zones?))

I have found this VAT MOD http://www.zen-cart.com/showthread.php?35744-VAT-mod-for-European-companies&highlight=shipping+total
but I don`t know if that is what I need to get this to work. So I would rather look to your advice first.

Side Question: I may be mistaken here but don`t I only charge VAT for my own country and not for all of EU?

FINALLY, a big THANK YOU cuddle for any and all help.
:hug:

I came here looking for VAT help in 1.51, so I can't answer your question of how to charge VAT in 1.51 however I have been using zen-cart for some years and I can tell you about how VAT works in the EU.

If you are **NOT **registered for VAT, and you don't have a VAT number, you don't charge VAT to anyone. Your product will have one price for all customers, and they will not be able to claim any VAT back. Check with your authorities whether you need to register for VAT, there is usually a threshold of sales, over which you HAVE to register, and under which you MAY register if you wish.

If you ARE registered for VAT and have your own VAT number and you are selling to individual customers who are in the EC Fiscal (VAT) Area, you need to charge them VAT, whether they are in the same country as you, or another country.

So you **DO **charge VAT to individuals in Germany, France, UK, Spain etc. but DO NOT charge VAT to Norway, Switzerland, Gibraltar, Jersey, The Canary Islands, USA, Argentina, Thailand, Australia etc.

If your customer is a business, and they are in the EC Fiscal (VAT) area, **AND **they are registered for VAT **AND **they give you their VAT number you do not need to charge them VAT, but you do need to keep a record of these sales for your VAT return. If you do charge them VAT, they can claim it back from their government.

Countries in the EC Fiscal (VAT) area are -
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus (Not Northern Cyprus)
Czech Republic
Denmark, except the Faroe Islands and Greenland
Estonia
Finland
France, including Monaco
Germany, except Busingen and the Isle of Heligoland
Greece
Hungary
The Republic of Ireland
Italy, except the communes of Livigno and Campione d’Italia and the Italian waters of Lake Lugano
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
The Netherlands
Poland
Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira
Slovakia
Spain, including the Balearic Islands but excluding Ceuta and Melilla
Slovenia
Sweden
United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.

Countries and territories NOT in the EC Fiscal (VAT) area are -
The Aland Islands
Andorra
The Canary Islands
The Channel Islands
The overseas departments of France (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and French Guiana)
Gibraltar
Mount Athos
San Marino
The Vatican City
All other countries which do not appear in the first list.

The USER MANUAL is very good at explaining how ZONES are set up and how TAX is set up within those zones.

http://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?22-book

It is also very good at explaining a lot of admin management issues, so go get yourself a copy.

You see... getting your ZONES properly configured is important, because all customers have to be "somewhere"... (in the world, that is).

zencart can be configured to apply whatever "extra" charges that are required, and key amongst these when working with international sales - are the tax and shipping charges.

So... a LOT will depend on HOW you set up your ZONES, and WHAT TAX CLASSES you apply to the zones, and what TAX RATES you append to the CLASSES.

It looks complicated, but get the USER MANUAL and all will be revealed.