Who collects VAT and sales tax — and when it becomes your job: D2C, game keys, DLC

One of the quiet advantages of selling through a big platform is that someone else worries about consumption taxes. PC game storefronts, the mobile app stores and the console storefronts generally act as the seller of record to the customer and deal with VAT, GST and US sales tax themselves. The moment you start selling directly, that comfort disappears.

This guide explains, in general terms, where the tax responsibility sits when you sell through a platform versus through your own website or a key reseller, so you can spot when compliance lands on you. It is general information, not tax or legal advice — confirm your position with a qualified adviser.

When the platform is the merchant of record

On their own storefronts, the major platforms typically act as the merchant of record — the party that legally sells to the customer. As merchant of record they collect and remit the relevant VAT, GST or US sales tax for you.

PC game storefronts, for instance, generally handle taxes for purchases made on their platform. The mobile app stores commonly function as merchant of record for most transactions and collect VAT or GST in many countries. In these cases the studio generally does not register or remit consumption tax on those sales itself.

When the responsibility shifts to you

The picture changes when you sell outside that arrangement. If you sell game keys, DLC or other digital goods from your own website — or supply keys through resellers in a way that makes you the seller — full VAT and sales-tax compliance generally falls on the studio.

That can mean registering in the relevant jurisdictions, charging the correct rate to each customer, and filing and remitting on time. It is the same product, but a different sales channel, and the tax treatment can differ sharply.

Keys, resellers and the grey areas

Key resellers complicate matters because the contractual chain decides who is the seller of record. In some arrangements the reseller is the merchant of record and handles tax; in others you are, even though a third party fronts the checkout.

Do not assume. Read the platform or reseller agreement to see who is named as seller of record for the end customer, and have your adviser confirm what that means for your VAT and sales-tax obligations.

Practical steps before you go direct

Before you flip on D2C sales, map where your customers are and which taxes a direct sale would trigger there. Check whether thresholds apply, what rate each market expects, and how you would file. Build the tax into your pricing so a headline price is not quietly eroded by VAT you must remit.

It also helps to keep direct-sale revenue clearly separated from platform revenue in your records, so the tax you owe on D2C sales is easy to identify and set aside.

How Altery fits

Altery does not register, collect or remit VAT or sales tax for you — those obligations stay with whoever is the seller of record. Altery's role here is indirect but useful once direct sales start flowing in. Direct-sale receipts in USD, EUR or GBP can land in multi-currency accounts, and dedicated pots let you ring-fence the VAT or sales tax you have collected so it is not spent before it is due.

Real-time balances and clean, per-entity reconciliation make it straightforward to separate platform income, where tax was handled for you, from direct sales, where it was not. That separation is exactly what your accountant needs at filing time. Altery is not a bank and offers general information, not tax or financial advice.

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