Know how much of each payment is not yours to spend.
Tax Shield decides how sales tax applies to each invoice and estimates how much of every payment to set aside. It covers UK and EU VAT with reverse charge, Canadian GST and HST, Australian GST, and US quarterly estimated tax with safe harbor. These are estimates, not tax advice.
The Tax Reserve Vault
- Tax Reserve Vault
- The Tax Reserve Vault is a calculation, not a bank account: ReckonOS works out how much of each payment you have received to set aside for tax, and shows it next to the profit you can spend. The money stays in your own account.
- Any VAT or GST inside a payment is reserved in full, because it belongs to the tax authority.
- On the rest, ReckonOS reserves the income-tax rate you choose, between 20% and 35%. It starts at 28%.
- The Vault updates the moment a payment is recorded, from your gateway or by hand, and shows what is left to spend.
Tax on each invoice, decided from where you and your client are.
ReckonOS stamps the rule it used onto the invoice, so a later rate change never rewrites an invoice you have already sent.
United Kingdom and European Union
Standard VAT rates, business-to-business reverse charge, out-of-scope supplies to clients outside the UK or EU, and EU One Stop Shop for cross-border sales to consumers if you are registered for it. Client VAT numbers are checked with VIES (EU) or HMRC (UK); an invalid number stops the reverse charge.
Canada
GST or HST by the province you supply to, plus Quebec QST and British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan PST where you are registered in that province.
Australia
10% GST on local supplies and GST-free treatment for exports of services.
E-invoicing
A Peppol-ready export (UBL, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0) for EU and UK suppliers. Sending it over the Peppol network needs a certified access point.
Estimates based on the rules for the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia as of November 2026. Check with your accountant. Sources: Council Directive 2006/112/EC (opens in a new tab); HMRC VAT Notice 741A (opens in a new tab); GOV.UK VAT rates (opens in a new tab); European Commission VAT rates (opens in a new tab); EU One Stop Shop (opens in a new tab); CRA GST/HST rates (opens in a new tab); ATO GST (opens in a new tab).
United States: quarterly estimates and 1099-NEC.
Quarterly estimated tax
ReckonOS splits your year into the four Form 1040-ES periods and shows the reserve for each one with its due date.
| Income earned | Payment due |
|---|---|
| 1 Jan to 31 Mar 2026 | 15 Apr 2026 |
| 1 Apr to 31 May 2026 | 15 Jun 2026 |
| 1 Jun to 31 Aug 2026 | 15 Sep 2026 |
| 1 Sep to 31 Dec 2026 | 15 Jan 2027 |
- Safe harbor
- Safe harbor, in US estimated tax, is the minimum you can pay across the four quarterly instalments to avoid an IRS underpayment penalty: 90% of this year’s tax, or 100% of last year’s tax (110% if last year’s adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately).
Turn on safe harbor, enter last year’s tax, and ReckonOS shows the minimum to pay each quarter on that basis next to the reserve.
Contractors and 1099-NEC
Collect W-9 details from contractors (tax IDs are encrypted at rest) and see who needs a Form 1099-NEC. The reporting threshold is $600 for payments made through 31 December 2025 and $2,000 for payments made on or after 1 January 2026, with the threshold indexed for inflation from 2027. ReckonOS applies the threshold for the year each payment was made.
Estimates based on the rules for the United States as of November 2026. Check with your accountant. Sources: IRS Form 1040-ES (opens in a new tab); IRS Publication 505 (opens in a new tab); IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (opens in a new tab).
What Tax Shield does not do
- It does not file returns or pay tax for you, and it is not tax advice.
- It does not submit to HMRC Making Tax Digital, lodge an Australian BAS, or produce 1040-ES payment vouchers.
- It does not model reduced or zero VAT rates other than reverse charge, export and exempt treatments.
- It does not apply a Nigerian withholding tax rate; withholding tax credits are recorded as you receive them.
The rules by country
Each page quotes the official source, the date we checked it, and what ReckonOS does with the rule.
Tax questions
What is reverse charge?
Reverse charge is a VAT rule for business-to-business services across a border: the supplier invoices without VAT, and the customer accounts for the VAT in its own country. In the EU it comes from Article 196 of the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC); the UK applies its own place-of-supply rules.
What is safe harbor for US estimated tax?
Safe harbor, in US estimated tax, is the minimum you can pay across the four quarterly instalments to avoid an IRS underpayment penalty: 90% of this year’s tax, or 100% of last year’s tax (110% if last year’s adjusted gross income was over $150,000, or $75,000 if married filing separately).
Is the Tax Reserve Vault a bank account?
No. It is a calculation of how much of the money you have received to set aside for tax. The money stays in your own bank or gateway account; ReckonOS never holds it.
Does ReckonOS file my taxes?
No. ReckonOS estimates and records; it does not file returns or give tax advice. It shows the rule and the date behind each number so your accountant can check it.
Which countries does Tax Shield cover?
VAT rules for the United Kingdom and the 27 EU member states, GST, HST, QST and PST for Canada, GST for Australia, VAT at 7.5% for Nigeria with exported services zero-rated, and US estimated tax and 1099-NEC tracking.
More of ReckonOS
See your tax reserve next to what you can spend.
Set up your workspace, add your logo and send an invoice in your own template. Every feature is open during the trial.
$7 today for 7 days of full access. On day 7 Pro starts at $99 a month (or $948 a year) unless you cancel first. Cancel any time from Settings > Billing. VAT or sales tax may be added at checkout.