Tax is rarely the most exciting part of running a rental business, but it is one of the most visible. Customers compare the total they were quoted with the total they pay, and authorities compare what you collected with what you declared. The Taxes area in VEVS keeps both comparisons simple, with a dedicated sales tax and a flexible list of additional taxes.
What the taxes feature does
In VEVS, taxes are managed as their own set of rules rather than as a footnote in a rate. The page gives you one built-in sales tax that works as a percentage, plus an open list where you can create as many additional taxes as your business needs. Each additional tax can be a fixed amount or a percentage, and can be applied once per booking, once per day, or across each daily charge.
That separation matters. A national sales tax, a city levy and a tourist tax rarely behave the same way, and they are rarely reported the same way. Separate entries let each one carry the correct calculation and a description that customers can read on their reservation and ticket details.
Where to find taxes in the admin area
Open the admin area and go to Fees & Taxes, then choose Taxes. The page has two parts. The Sales Tax area sits at the top and holds the main percentage-based tax. Below it is the list of other taxes, where every additional charge lives. Both areas share one screen, so the whole tax picture can be reviewed in a single pass.
Configuring the sales tax
The sales tax area starts with a single switch labelled Charge Sales Tax. Turn it on and the settings become editable. Turn it off and the sales tax stops being added to bookings, while your additional taxes remain exactly as they were. The available settings are:
- Tax title – the name customers and staff will see, such as "Sales Tax" or "VAT".
- Tax amount – the rate expressed as a percentage.
- How would you set up pricing at the back-end – a choice between prices that already include the tax and prices that do not.
- Example panel – a live preview showing the back-end price, what appears on the website, and how the checkout total is broken down.
The sales tax arrives enabled by default, with the title "Sales Tax" and a rate of 20%, so it is worth reviewing before you go live rather than assuming it matches your jurisdiction.
Choosing whether prices include sales tax
Whether your back-end prices include sales tax is a question of presentation as much as bookkeeping. With Sales Tax included, the prices you enter already contain the tax, and the displayed price and checkout breakdown derive from that figure. Without Sales Tax, the tax is added on top, so the displayed rate and the final total differ by the tax amount.
Neither option is inherently better; consistency matters more. The option should match the way your team thinks about rates and the way your website presents prices. The Example panel exists so you can see the consequence of the choice before committing, so switch the option, read the example and confirm the customer's experience matches your intention.
Creating additional taxes
Below the sales tax, the other taxes list lets you build as many rows as you need. Use Add tax to create a row and the trash icon to remove one. Every row uses the same fields, and Calculate determines behaviour:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Title | The tax name shown in reservations. |
| Description | Optional text shown to clients on reservation and ticket details. |
| Calculate | How the tax is applied. |
| Value | The amount or percentage, with the currency or percent sign shown automatically. |
- Amount per booking – a fixed amount added once for the whole booking.
- Amount per day – a fixed amount added for each day of the rental.
- Percent per booking – a percentage of the booking amount, added once.
- Percent per item – a percentage applied to each daily charge.
Because each row is independent, fixed and percentage taxes can coexist on one booking, each keeping its own name in the breakdown.
How the pieces combine on a booking
When a reservation is priced, the system applies the sales tax according to your inclusion choice, then layers the additional taxes on top according to their own calculation methods. Each tax carries its own title, so the breakdown stays readable. The Description field is what makes that breakdown useful: a line that says only "Tax 2" invites a support call, while a line that explains the charge answers the question before it is asked.
A step-by-step setup walkthrough
- Open Fees & Taxes and choose Taxes.
- Turn Charge Sales Tax on or off, then set the Tax title and Tax amount.
- Choose whether back-end prices are entered with Sales Tax included or without Sales Tax.
- Use Add tax to create each additional tax, then fill in Title, Description, Calculate and Value.
- Review the Example panel and confirm the presentation is correct.
- Click Save Taxes.
The inclusion choice affects how every price is interpreted, so settle it before you add extra taxes.
What happens after you save
Once saved, the taxes are applied to reservation pricing. Title and Description appear on reservation and ticket details, so customers can see what they are being charged. Changes are recorded and can be reviewed later under History, and you can leave internal Notes for your team. Together they turn the tax page into a small audit trail of when a rule changed and why.
Why a structured tax setup pays off
Accurate totals
Quotes, bookings and tickets draw on the same rules, so the number a customer accepts is the number the system charges.
Clearer communication
Named taxes with plain descriptions reduce confusion at the counter and billing questions after the rental.
Genuine flexibility
Flat levies, nightly charges and percentages coexist on one booking instead of competing for one field.
Less manual work
One page, one save, and no spreadsheet recalculated before an invoice is issued.
A compliance benefit follows: when each obligation has its own line, the amount collected for a specific tax is easier to identify.
Practical use cases
- A city or environmental levy that applies once to every rental fits Amount per booking.
- A nightly tourist or local charge that scales with the length of the rental fits Amount per day.
- A value-added style tax calculated on the booking total fits Percent per booking.
- A charge that should scale with each day's vehicle rate fits Percent per item.
Descriptions can explain the purpose in everyday language, which is especially valuable for charges customers do not meet in ordinary shopping. A short sentence such as "Local tourist tax collected on behalf of the municipality" stops the charge looking like an unexplained extra.
Configuration considerations
Beyond testing, a few details deserve attention. The sales tax is a separate, dedicated percentage tax; adding a percentage row below does not replace it. If your system runs in more than one language, enter each Title and Description in every language. And because turning off Charge Sales Tax leaves additional taxes untouched, a booking made after that change can still carry other charges, which is intended but worth explaining to staff.
Best practices
- Use Percent per booking for sales-style taxes and Amount per booking for flat levies such as a city tax.
- Keep descriptions customer-friendly, since they appear on reservation and ticket details.
- Re-test a booking after every rate change, not only after the initial setup.
- Record the reason for a change in Notes so colleagues can follow the decision.
Conclusion
Taxes are a small page with a large footprint. They shape the total a customer agrees to, the breakdown they read at the counter, and the records you rely on afterwards. Review the default sales tax rather than accepting it blindly, choose your inclusion model deliberately, describe every charge in customer language, and confirm the result with a test booking. Done that way, tax becomes part of a rental experience that feels accurate and transparent.