The EU tampon tax is the value-added tax that most European Union countries still charge on tampons, pads, and other menstrual products. Rates range from zero in Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta up to 27% in Hungary, with a large middle group applying reduced rates between 5.5% and 10%. Since April 2022, every member state has had the legal freedom to drop its rate to zero, but most have not.
The Three Countries Charging Zero
Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta are the only EU member states applying a 0% VAT rate to menstrual products.1European Parliamentary Research Service. Addressing Menstrual Poverty in the EU Each got there differently.
Ireland has zero-rated tampons, sanitary towels, and panty liners since before the EU imposed its old minimum-rate rules, and kept the rate under a derogation. Newer products took longer. Menstrual cups, period underwear, and menstrual sponges were taxed at the standard rate until 2021, dropped to a reduced rate, and finally hit zero on January 1, 2023.2Revenue Commissioners. VAT Treatment of Certain Sanitary Products
Cyprus removed its 5% levy and adopted a zero rate on January 1, 2025, with the rate extended through the end of 2026. Malta, like Ireland, has kept a zero rate through a historical derogation that predated the 2022 EU reform.
Countries With Reduced Rates
A larger group of member states taxes menstrual products below the standard VAT rate but above zero.
Germany moved tampons and pads from the standard 19% rate to 7% on January 1, 2020, after a parliamentary petition pointed out that cut flowers and truffles already enjoyed the lower rate.3ifo Institute. Price Premiums Cancel Out Tax Cut in Germany on Feminine Hygiene Products France applies its 5.5% reduced rate, the same one used for food staples. Italy raised the rate on menstrual products to 10% in January 2024 under its Budget Law, up from a lower temporary rate. Poland cut the rate on menstrual cups from 23% to 5% starting in 2025; other menstrual products were already at the reduced rate.
Countries Still Charging the Full Standard Rate
At the other end, several EU governments have carved out no reduction at all. Hungary charges 27%, the highest standard VAT rate in the EU. Denmark and Sweden both charge 25%.1European Parliamentary Research Service. Addressing Menstrual Poverty in the EU In those countries, tampons sit in the same tax bracket as electronics, clothing, and general consumer goods.
The gap adds up. On a product retailing for €3 before tax, Hungary’s 27% adds €0.81, while France’s 5.5% adds €0.17. The European Parliamentary Research Service estimates that around 10% of people who menstruate in the EU experience period poverty, meaning they struggle to afford these products at all.1European Parliamentary Research Service. Addressing Menstrual Poverty in the EU
Why Zero Is Now Legally Possible
For years, Council Directive 2006/112/EC set a hard floor: no member state could tax any category of goods below 5%.4Legislation.gov.uk. Council Directive 2006-112-EC on the Common System of Value Added Tax Even governments that wanted to treat tampons as untaxed necessities were blocked. That changed in April 2022, when the Council adopted Directive 2022/542. The updated rules let member states apply a rate below 5%, or a full exemption with deductibility, on a specific list of goods in Annex III. Point 3 of that annex now explicitly includes “female sanitary protection, and absorbent hygiene products.”5EUR-Lex. Council Directive (EU) 2022-542 of 5 April 2022 Every EU government now has the authority to zero-rate menstrual products. Whether it does is a political question.
Which Products the Lower Rates Cover
The directive’s language is broad enough to encompass tampons, sanitary towels, panty liners, menstrual cups, menstrual sponges, and period underwear. Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners explicitly list all six as zero-rated.2Revenue Commissioners. VAT Treatment of Certain Sanitary Products
Period underwear has been the trickiest category. Because it looks like regular clothing, several countries initially taxed it at standard apparel rates rather than as a menstrual product. Classification debates have played out differently across member states, and the outcome depends on how each national tax authority reads the directive. If you buy period underwear in a country with a reduced rate on menstrual products, check whether that specific product qualifies. It may still be taxed as clothing.
Do the Tax Cuts Actually Reach the Checkout?
Cutting VAT sounds like an obvious win for shoppers, but whether the savings arrive at the till is a separate question. Germany’s 2020 cut from 19% to 7% is the most studied case. Research from the ifo Institute found that the reduction initially lowered prices, but manufacturers and retailers eventually introduced price premiums that offset much of the benefit.3ifo Institute. Price Premiums Cancel Out Tax Cut in Germany on Feminine Hygiene Products A separate academic study of the immediate aftermath found more than 100% pass-through in competitive segments, with retailers rounding prices down. Both findings can be true: the cut lowered prices at first, and the market absorbed the gain over time.
The lesson for the wider debate is that tax policy alone does not guarantee affordability. Advocates for zero-rating argue the cut still removes a regressive burden on a product people cannot stop buying. Critics counter that if savings evaporate into retailer margins, governments lose revenue without consumers seeing much benefit.
Free Distribution as the Parallel Policy
Recognizing that VAT reform only goes so far, several EU countries have launched programs to hand out menstrual products for free. France requires every university campus to provide free dispensers in health centers and dormitories, a mandate in force since September 2021, and high schools in the Île-de-France region carry similar requirements. Ireland has committed to free products in all public schools and third-level colleges. Greece’s Ministry of Health launched a program in early 2024 distributing 14 million products to students across 200 schools. Belgium, Germany, Spain, Poland, Croatia, and Finland have run smaller city or regional initiatives.1European Parliamentary Research Service. Addressing Menstrual Poverty in the EU No EU member state has yet passed a universal, legally binding right to free products, though several are moving in that direction.