> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.now-os.app/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Taxes > Set up your VAT rates and tax groups in the backoffice, and understand what shows up on the register and on the receipt. NowOS computes taxes automatically on every sale, based on your location's configuration. When the location is created, your country's rates come pre-filled (France and Morocco are supported today): in most cases there's almost nothing for you to do. This page applies to both restaurant mode and retail mode. ## How it works Three building blocks fit together: * A **tax rate** is a percentage: VAT 20%, VAT 10%, VAT 5.5%… * A **tax group** decides which rate applies. The simple case: a "Standard rate" group that always applies VAT 20%. The restaurant case: a "Packaged goods to take away" group that applies VAT 10% for dine-in and VAT 5.5% once the order leaves. * Every **published item** is linked to a tax group. Never directly to a rate: the group does the choosing. An exemption uses an explicit group linked to a 0% rate. So when the law changes, you edit a rate or a group once — every item involved follows. ### Tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive prices Your location runs either on **tax-inclusive prices** (tax is included in the displayed price — the case in France and Morocco) or on **tax-exclusive prices** (tax is added at payment time, as in North America). This setting comes from your location's country and is fixed at creation; it can't be changed in the backoffice. All your catalog prices are interpreted under this setting — the price field in the item editor even says **tax incl.** or **tax excl.** ## Where it happens In the backoffice sidebar, open the **Taxes** section. It contains two screens: * **Rates**: the list of your rates. * **Groups**: the list of your groups. As with the menu, your edits are saved to a draft and only reach the registers when you publish — see below. ## Tax rates The **Rates** page lists each rate with its **Receipt label**, its **Display name**, its percentage, the number of groups using it, and its status. The **Active** and **Archived** tabs filter the list — replaced or disabled rates are kept for your fiscal records. To add a rate: The creation window opens. * **Display name**: the name used in the backoffice, e.g. "VAT 20%". - **Receipt label**: the label printed on receipts — use the local abbreviation, e.g. "TVA 20%". - **Percentage**: the percentage, whole number or one decimal (e.g. 20 or 5.5). - **Enabled**: leave it on so the rate can be used. The rate appears in the list. Then attach it to a group so it applies. ### Changing a percentage: Replace this rate Once a rate is created, its percentage is **locked** — that's what guarantees your past sales and their receipts keep, forever, the rate in force at checkout time. To change a percentage (e.g. a VAT moving from 19.6% to 20%): Click its row in the **Rates** list. The **Replace tax rate** window opens. New name, new receipt label, new percentage. The new rate is created, the old one becomes **Archived**, and every group that used the old rate switches to the new one automatically. ## Tax groups The **Groups** page lists your groups with a summary of their rules, the number of items attached, and their status. Your location starts with a "Standard rate" group at the country's standard rate. While it remains the only active group, new items receive it automatically; with several active groups, you choose the appropriate one. A group holds one or more **rules**, evaluated in order: the first one that matches wins, and the last one is always the **Always (default)** rule. * A shop usually only needs the default rule: "always VAT 20%". * A restaurant in France only needs a conditional rule on **packaged goods**: "if the order is takeaway → VAT 5.5%; otherwise → VAT 10%". In France, the gap between 10% and 5.5% does **not** depend on dine-in versus takeaway, but on **packaging**. Food and drink sold for immediate consumption stay at 10% even when carried out — a takeaway sandwich is 10%. The reduced rate covers goods packaged in a container that lets them keep: a sealed bottle, a vacuum-packed dish, a tin. So never put a "takeaway → 5.5%" rule on your catering group: you would under-charge VAT on every takeaway sale. When in doubt about a product, ask your accountant. To create or edit a group: The group editor opens. **Display name**, e.g. "Café food". The **Enabled** switch controls whether it's offered in the item editor. The bottom rule, **Always (default)**, picks the rate applied when no condition matches. **Add condition** adds a rule above it: **When order type is** followed by one or more order types (**Dine-in**, **Takeaway**, **Standard**) and the rate to apply. The group is saved to the draft. In retail mode, orders are always of type **Standard**: order-type conditions are pointless, so keep a single default rule. In Morocco, restaurants are at 10% for dine-in and takeaway alike: there too, one rule is enough. ## What you already have on day one When your location is created, NowOS seeds your country's rates and a set of ready-made groups matching your mode. In **restaurant mode**, in France: | Group | Rate applied | | ------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | | Restauration (consommation immédiate) | always 10% | | Produits conditionnés à emporter | 10% dine-in, 5.5% takeaway | | Boissons alcoolisées | always 20% | | Taux standard | always 20% | In Morocco: **Restauration** (10%), **Boissons alcoolisées** (20%) and **Taux standard** (20%) — catering there is taxed the same eaten in or taken away, so no conditional rule is needed. In **retail mode**, a single **Taux standard** group is created. These groups are a starting point: rename them, add your own, disable the ones you do not need. You remain responsible for the rates applied to your products. Because several groups exist, a new item is not assigned one automatically: choosing between food, packaged goods and alcohol is yours to make. Publishing is blocked while a sellable item has no group — deliberately, as that choice must not be guessed. ## Attaching an item to a group In the item editor (item library), the **Tax group** field offers your active groups. **Configure before publishing** means the draft is incomplete — not that the item is exempt. For an exemption, create and select an explicit group using the 0% rate. As soon as a group is chosen, a preview under the price shows the tax breakdown — and for a multi-rule group, one line per case (dine-in / takeaway), so the difference is obvious. See [menu and items](/en/backoffice/menu). ## On the register and on the receipt Your staff has nothing to set up: tax is computed on its own. * On the order, at a tax-inclusive location, the totals panel shows **Subtotal incl. tax**, then one informational line per rate ("incl. TVA 10% …") and the **Total** — identical to the subtotal, since tax is already included. At a tax-exclusive location, tax is added between the subtotal and the total. * In restaurant mode, the **Dine-in / Takeaway** button on the order switches the order type, and taxes recompute immediately on every line. In retail mode, this button doesn't exist. * On the printed receipt, the breakdown appears rate by rate, with the **Receipt label** you chose, along with your location's legal identifiers (SIRET, ICE…) configured in receipt settings — see [settings](/en/backoffice/settings). Staff at the register cannot edit taxes: switching the order type (dine-in / takeaway) is the only lever. Every completed sale freezes its tax breakdown — reprinting a receipt or viewing a report always shows the rates from the day of the sale, even if you've changed them since. ## Publishing your changes Rates and groups travel with the menu: your edits stay in the draft until you click **Publish all changes** in the global header, then follow the same path to the registers. The confirmation dialog reminds you that this button publishes the location's entire draft, not only the page on screen. See [menu and items](/en/backoffice/menu) and [POS layout](/en/backoffice/pos-layout). Until you publish, the registers keep charging with the old tax configuration. Remember to publish — then sync the main register — before the service it applies to. Publishing stays blocked while an item has no valid group; the blocking message opens the exact item or group to fix. The item library also flags it as **Needs setup**.