How to Use Tax Identifiers in Warehance

Tax identifiers are unique numbers or codes used to identify a business or individual for tax purposes. In Warehance, you can save tax identifiers, apply them to orders manually or via automations, and have them passed to carriers for international shipping and customs clearance. This guide covers every way to create, manage, and use tax identifiers.

What Are Tax Identifiers?

Tax identifiers are required for many international shipments and customs declarations. Common examples include:

• VAT — European Union Value Added Tax
• EIN — U.S. Employer Identification Number
• IOSS — EU Import One-Stop Shop (for low-value imports)
• EORI — Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EU/UK)
• RFC — Mexico tax ID
• CNPJ — Brazil company tax ID
• VOEC — Norway VAT on e-commerce
• CPF / CNPJ — Brazil individual/company IDs
• RUT — Chile tax ID
• CUIT — Argentina tax ID
• CNP — Colombia tax ID
• LOCAL_TAX_NUMBER — Country-specific local tax numbers

Each tax identifier has a Type, Issuing Authority (country code, e.g. US, GB, NL), Number, Entity (SENDER or RECEIVER), and an optional Nickname for easy identification.

Step 1: Create and Save Tax Identifiers

Tax identifiers are stored per client and can be reused across orders.

1.1 Access the Tax Identifiers Page

• Go to Shipments in the left sidebar.
• Click Tax Identifiers (requires Admin permission).

1.2 Create a New Tax Identifier

• Click Create in the Tax Identifiers table toolbar.
• Fill in the form:
  • Client — The client this identifier belongs to (required).
  • Type — Select the tax identifier type (VAT, EIN, IOSS, EORI, etc.).
  • Entity — Choose SENDER (your business) or RECEIVER (customer).
  • Issuing Authority — Two-letter country code (e.g. US, GB, NL).
  • Number — The actual tax ID number.
  • Nickname — A friendly name (e.g. "UK VAT", "EU IOSS") for quick selection.
• Optionally check Save this as a Global Tax Identifier if you want it available for automations and quick-add on orders.
• Click Create to save.

Global tax identifiers are the only ones that appear when adding identifiers to an order or when configuring the Add Tax Identifier automation action. Use them for identifiers you apply frequently.

1.3 Edit or Delete a Tax Identifier

• Use the Edit or Delete actions in the table row.
• Deleting a tax identifier does not remove it from orders that already have it applied; those orders keep the identifier until you manually remove it.

Step 2: Apply Tax Identifiers on an Order

You can add or remove tax identifiers on any order from the order details page.

2.1 Open the Order

• Go to Orders and open the order you want to edit.

2.2 Add a Tax Identifier

• Scroll to the Tax Identifiers card on the order details page.
• Click Add Tax Identifier.
• In the modal, select one or more tax identifiers from the table (only Global identifiers for that client appear).
• Optionally click Create in the toolbar to create a new global tax identifier and add it to the order in one step.
• Click Confirm to apply the selected identifiers to the order.

2.3 Remove a Tax Identifier

• In the Tax Identifiers card, click the trash icon next to the identifier you want to remove.
• The order is updated immediately.

You need Orders > Update permission to add or remove tax identifiers on an order.

Step 3: Apply Tax Identifiers via Automations

Automations can add tax identifiers to orders automatically when certain events occur.

3.1 Create an Automation Rule

• Go to Settings > Automations (or your organization’s automation configuration).
• Create a new rule or edit an existing one.

3.2 Choose a Trigger

The Add Tax Identifier action is available for these triggers:

• Order Created — When a new order is created.
• Order Updated — When an order is updated.
• Order Removed From Batch — When an order is removed from a batch shipping session.
• Order Removed From Custom Batch — When an order is removed from a custom batch.

3.3 Add the Action

• Add the Add Tax Identifier action.
• In the action configuration, select the Tax Identifier from the dropdown. Only Global tax identifiers for the rule’s client appear.
• Save the rule.

3.4 Add Conditions (Optional)

You can restrict when the tax identifier is applied using conditions, for example:

• Order Customer Country — e.g. add EU VAT only when shipping to EU countries.
• Order Shipping Method — e.g. add IOSS only for certain international methods.
• Order Store — e.g. apply different identifiers per sales channel.
• Order Total — e.g. apply IOSS only for orders under the EU low-value threshold.

The automation adds the tax identifier only if it is not already on the order. Duplicate identifiers are not added.

Step 4: When Tax Identifiers Are Used

Tax identifiers on an order are used when:

• Rate shopping — Carriers such as EasyPost and BukuShip receive tax identifiers for customs and compliance.
• Label creation — Tax identifiers are included in the shipment data sent to the carrier.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipments — Spring GDS and similar integrations use VAT, EORI, IOSS, VOEC, and local tax numbers for EU/UK and other international destinations.

If an order has no tax identifiers, carriers may still process the shipment, but customs clearance or compliance may be affected depending on the destination and carrier.

Business Scenarios

EU VAT and IOSS Compliance

• Create a VAT identifier with Issuing Authority EU or a specific country (e.g. NL, DE) for your business.
• Create an IOSS identifier if you sell low-value goods into the EU and are registered for IOSS.
• Use automations: Order Created + condition Customer Country is in EU → Add Tax Identifier (your IOSS or VAT).
• Ensures customs forms and carrier data include the correct tax IDs for EU imports.

UK and Post-Brexit EORI

• Create an EORI identifier with Issuing Authority GB for UK customs.
• Apply via automation when Customer Country = GB, or manually for B2B UK orders.
• Helps avoid delays at UK customs for commercial shipments.

B2B vs B2C

• B2B: Use RECEIVER entity for the customer’s VAT/EORI when they provide it. Add manually or via custom fields/automation if you capture it at checkout.
• B2C: Use SENDER entity for your own VAT/IOSS. Automate by destination country.

Multi-Country Operations

• Create separate tax identifiers per region: e.g. "EU IOSS", "UK EORI", "Norway VOEC".
• Use Order Customer Country (or similar) conditions to apply the correct identifier automatically.

DDP Shipments (Spring GDS / Similar)

• For DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), carriers need VAT, EORI, IOSS, VOEC, or local tax numbers.
• Add the appropriate identifiers to the order before shipping.
• Spring GDS maps VAT, EORI, IOSS, VOEC, and LOCAL_TAX_NUMBER to the correct carrier fields.

Marketplace and Store-Specific Rules

• Use Order Store or Order Store Name conditions to apply different tax identifiers per sales channel.
• Example: One IOSS for your own store, another for a specific marketplace if they require it.

Order Value Thresholds

• Use Order Total or Order Subtotal conditions to apply IOSS only for orders under the EU low-value threshold (e.g. €150).
• Above the threshold, you might use a different VAT identifier or handle manually.

Batch Shipping Workflow

• Use Order Removed From Batch or Order Removed From Custom Batch triggers to add tax identifiers when orders are pulled from a batch.
• Useful if identifiers are determined during batch review rather than at order creation.

API Usage

You can manage tax identifiers and apply them to orders via the API.

Create Tax Identifier

POST /tax-identifier/create

{
  "client_id": 123,
  "type": "VAT",
  "issuing_authority": "GB",
  "number": "GB123456789",
  "nickname": "UK VAT",
  "entity": "SENDER",
  "is_global": true
}

Update Order with Tax Identifiers

PATCH /order/{order_id}

{
  "tax_identifier_ids": [1, 2]
}

Tax identifier IDs must belong to the same client as the order. The full list replaces any existing identifiers on the order.

List Tax Identifiers

GET /tax-identifiers/list

Query parameters: client_id, type, is_global, limit, offset, search_value, etc.

Troubleshooting

• Tax identifier not appearing when adding to order: Ensure it is marked as Global (is_global: true). Only global identifiers appear in the Add Tax Identifier modal and in automation action options.
• Automation not adding tax identifier: Verify the tax identifier is global and belongs to the client associated with the automation. Check that conditions are not excluding the order.
• Carrier rejecting shipment: Confirm the Type, Issuing Authority, and Number match the carrier’s expected format. Some carriers have strict validation (e.g. VAT format, EORI format).
• Duplicate nickname error: When creating a global tax identifier, the nickname must be unique per client. Use a different nickname or update the existing identifier.
• Tax identifier does not belong to client: When updating an order, all tax_identifier_ids must belong to the same client as the order. You cannot mix identifiers from different clients.

Summary

Create global tax identifiers for any identifier you use often, then apply them manually on orders or automatically via automations. Tax identifiers are passed to supported carriers (EasyPost, BukuShip, Spring GDS, etc.) for customs and compliance.