The morning read on Europe's digital policy Monday 2 November 2026
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Digital services taxes in Europe by country: 2026 rates and plans

As of October 2026, France, Italy and Spain charge a 3% digital services tax (DST), and Austria charges 5% on online advertising. Outside the EU, the United Kingdom charges 2% and Turkey (Türkiye) 5%, with Turkey's rate due to fall to 2.5% on 1 January 2027. Poland plans a 3% tax that its government has not yet adopted, Hungary's advertising tax is set at 0%, and Czechia's 2019 bill lapsed without a final vote.

A DST is charged on gross revenue from specific digital services, such as targeted advertising, online marketplaces and the sale of user data, rather than on profit, and high thresholds limit it to large groups. The figures come from the national laws and official guidance linked below and were last checked on 30 October 2026. This is a summary, not tax advice.

DST rates in Europe at a glance

  • France: 3% on targeted advertising and digital intermediation, since 2019.
  • Italy: 3% on targeted advertising, multi-sided platforms and user data, since 2020.
  • Spain: 3% on online advertising, online intermediation and data transmission, since January 2021.
  • Austria: 5% on online advertising only, since 2020.
  • United Kingdom: 2% on social media, search engines and online marketplaces, since April 2020.
  • Turkey: 5% in 2026 and 2.5% from 2027 on a broad list of digital services, since March 2020.
  • Hungary: advertising tax with a 7.5% statutory rate, applied at 0% since July 2019.
  • Poland: no DST; a 3% tax is in the government's legislative plan.
  • Czechia: no DST; a 7% bill lapsed in 2021.

Countries that collect a DST

France: 3% taxe sur les services numériques

France introduced its tax in 2019. It covers two kinds of service: digital interfaces that let users contact and interact with each other, such as marketplaces, and targeted online advertising, including the transmission of user data for advertising. A group falls in scope when its revenue from these services exceeds €750 million worldwide and €25 million in France. Since 2024 the rules have been part of the code des impositions sur les biens et services, which sets the rate at 3% as of October 2026.

Higher rates come up at budget time. On 28 October 2025 the National Assembly adopted an amendment to the 2026 budget bill that would have doubled the rate to 6% and raised the worldwide threshold to €2 billion, but the change was not enacted and the code still sets 3%. Each autumn's budget debate is a new chance for a change.

Italy: 3% imposta sui servizi digitali

Italy's tax has applied since 1 January 2020. It covers revenue from targeted advertising on a digital interface, multi-sided digital interfaces that let users interact or trade, and the transmission of data collected from users. The rate is 3%.

The 2025 budget law (Law 207/2024) dropped the earlier €5.5 million threshold for Italian digital revenue. Since then the tax has applied to any business that earns in-scope revenue in Italy and has at least €750 million of worldwide revenue, alone or as a group. The same rules are also restated in Title VII of Italy's consolidated code of minor state taxes (Legislative Decree 174/2024).

Spain: 3% impuesto sobre determinados servicios digitales

Spain's tax, created by Law 4/2020, took effect on 16 January 2021. It applies a 3% rate to revenue from online advertising, online intermediation and the transmission of user data. A company or group is liable only if its net turnover exceeds €750 million and its Spanish revenue from these services exceeds €3 million, both measured over the previous calendar year.

Austria: 5% Digitalsteuer on online advertising

Austria's Digitalsteuergesetz 2020 is narrower than the others: it covers only online advertising provided for a fee in Austria, such as banner and search engine ads. The rate is 5%. It applies to services provided from 1 January 2020 by providers with at least €750 million in worldwide turnover and €25 million in Austrian online advertising turnover, counted at group level.

United Kingdom: 2% Digital Services Tax

The UK tax has applied since 1 April 2020 to revenue from social media platforms, search engines and online marketplaces. A group is in scope when its revenue from these activities exceeds £500 million worldwide and £25 million from UK users, according to GOV.UK guidance. HMRC's manual explains that the charge is 2% of UK digital services revenue after a £25 million annual allowance.

Turkey: 5% in 2026, 2.5% from 2027

Turkey's tax, in force since 1 March 2020 under Law 7194, has the broadest base of the taxes listed here. Besides digital advertising and platforms where users interact or trade, it covers online sales of digital content such as software, apps, music, video and games. Providers are exempt if their revenue from these services in the previous year was below 20 million lira in Turkey or below €750 million worldwide.

The law sets a 7.5% rate and lets the president cut it to as low as 1% or double it. A presidential decision published in the Official Gazette on 25 December 2025 set the rate at 5% from 1 January 2026 and 2.5% from 1 January 2027.

Hungary: an advertising tax set at zero

Hungary's advertising tax dates from 2014 and is not limited to digital firms: it covers advertising revenue across several channels, including ads published online mainly in Hungarian. The act sets a 7.5% rate and exempts the first 100 million forints of annual net revenue. A special rule has applied a 0% rate since 1 July 2019. In the version in force since 14 May 2026 that rule has no end date, so the tax remains effectively suspended as of October 2026.

Plans and dropped proposals

Poland: a 3% compensating tax in preparation

Poland has no digital services tax as of October 2026. The Ministry of Digital Affairs is preparing a draft act on a compensating tax on certain services (podatek rekompensujący), which has been in the government's legislative work plan since 24 March 2026. According to that entry, the draft would work as follows:

  • the rate would be 3%, reduced by the taxpayer's corporate income tax;
  • it would cover targeted advertising on digital interfaces, multi-sided platforms, and the sale or licensing of user data;
  • it would apply to companies or groups with more than €1 billion in worldwide revenue and more than 25 million zlotys of taxable revenue in Poland;
  • publishers whose main activity is editorial content would be excluded.

The entry planned cabinet approval in the third quarter of 2026. That quarter has ended, the government page still shows only its original March entry with no adoption recorded, and the Sejm's print database held no such bill on 29 October 2026. For more policy news from the region, see our Eastern Europe section.

Czechia: a 7% bill that lapsed

The Czech government sent a digital services tax bill to the Chamber of Deputies on 27 November 2019, proposing a 7% rate. It passed a second reading in May 2021 but never reached a final vote, and it lapsed when the parliamentary term ended later that year. As of October 2026, no new DST bill is before the Chamber.

How DSTs differ from corporate income tax

Because these taxes fall on revenue rather than profit, a business can owe them even in a loss-making year. Revenue is assigned to a country by user location, for example where an ad is displayed. There is no EU-wide DST, so each country sets its own base and thresholds. At EU level, the largest platforms are dealt with through regulation such as the Digital Markets Act (see our DMA gatekeepers list).

OECD talks and US trade pressure

DSTs were meant to be stopgaps. In the October 2021 OECD/G20 statement, countries agreed that a multilateral convention under Pillar One would oblige its parties to remove all DSTs and similar measures, and that no newly enacted DSTs would be imposed between 8 October 2021 and the end of 2023. The convention was supposed to open for signature in 2022. As of October 2026 it has not entered into force, so the national taxes remain.

The US government says the taxes target American companies. The US Trade Representative (USTR) opened Section 301 investigations into France's tax in July 2019 and into those of Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the UK and others in June 2020, and then announced tariff actions. It terminated those actions in November 2021, after the OECD agreement, while continuing to monitor the taxes. A presidential memorandum of 21 February 2025 told USTR to consider renewing the investigations into the French, Austrian, Italian, Spanish, Turkish and British taxes. As of October 2026, USTR's case page lists no new formal step since 2021. Our Digital Markets section covers the wider EU-US dispute over platform rules.

Frequently asked questions

Which European countries have a digital services tax?

As of October 2026, France, Italy and Spain charge 3%, Austria charges 5% on online advertising, the UK charges 2% and Turkey charges 5%. Hungary's advertising tax is set at 0%, and Poland's planned 3% tax has not been adopted.

What is the digital services tax rate in France?

France charges 3% as of October 2026, on the French share of revenue from targeted advertising and digital intermediation services. It applies to groups with more than €750 million of such revenue worldwide and €25 million in France.

Does Poland have a digital services tax?

Not yet. A draft 3% compensating tax on targeted ads, platforms and data sales for groups with more than €1 billion in worldwide revenue is in the government's work plan, but the cabinet had not adopted it as of October 2026.

Who pays the UK Digital Services Tax?

It is paid by groups that run social media platforms, search engines or online marketplaces and earn more than £500 million worldwide and £25 million from UK users from those activities. They pay 2% on UK revenue above a £25 million annual allowance.