Where is the standard VAT or GST rate lowest?
United Arab Emirates leads on standard rate at 5%; New Zealand is last of the 15 shown at 15%.
Value-added tax is the price of almost everything a resident buys, and it varies from 5% to 27% across the countries on this site. Each figure here was read from the tax authority's published page, and the tool behind this list links that page beside every rate with the date it was checked.
The United States has no VAT — it has state and local sales taxes from 0% to about 10% — and Brazil and Malaysia have layered sales taxes rather than one rate. They are excluded from this ranking, not scored 0%, because "no VAT" and "0% VAT" are opposite claims. Also unranked: BR, MY, US.
A low standard rate says little on its own: reduced rates, exemptions and registration thresholds decide what a household or a small business actually pays. These are statutory rates for information, not tax advice.
| # | Country | Standard rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 5% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 2 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 5% | GST, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 3 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 7% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 4 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 7.5% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 5 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 8.1% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 6 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 9% | GST, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 7 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 10% | GST, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 8 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 10% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 9 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 10% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 10 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 10% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 11 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 12% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 12 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 12% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 13 | 🇨🇳 China | 13% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 14 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 14% | VAT, checked 2026-09-04 |
| 15 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 15% | GST, checked 2026-09-04 |
How this is worked out: Standard VAT/GST rate, hand-curated from each national tax authority's published page and checked on the date shown, lowest first; countries with no single national rate excluded. Reviewed 2026-09-04. Estimates for comparison, not advice.
Check your own numbers
A ranking is a starting point, not an answer — your income, household and destination change the order. The VAT & GST rates runs the same engine against your own figures, and every country above links to its own page.