For a UK Amazon seller weighing up a US launch, the size of the American market is the first thing that draws the eye and with the right product a real reason to go. It still cannot tell you whether that product turns a profit once duty, freight, advertising and currency are counted.
For some sellers, the additional revenue and margin from a US launch will justify the extra complexity. For others, the numbers will favour staying in the UK or expanding elsewhere. Margins, VAT position and the capacity to run two fulfilment networks in two currencies can all change the decision.
For the mechanics of launching on Amazon US, our guide to selling on Amazon US from the UK covers the full setup process. Our focus here is on which marketplace produces the stronger commercial result once those differences are accounted for.
Amazon UK vs Amazon US at a Glance
The following table sets out the headline differences between Amazon UK and Amazon US, with each row covered in depth further down.
| Factor | Amazon UK | Amazon US |
| Net sales attributed to the country (2025, latest full year) | ≈ $43.2bn | ≈ $489.7bn |
| Professional selling plan | £25/month (excl. VAT) | $39.99/month (no VAT) |
| Individual selling plan | £0.75/item (excl. VAT) | $0.99/item (no VAT) |
| Referral fees | Most categories 8-15%; 5% floor, 45% ceiling | Most categories 8-15%; 5% floor, 45% ceiling |
| Tax system | VAT at 20%, register at £90,000 | State sales tax, collected and remitted by Amazon |
| Import duty on inbound stock | Normal UK duty and import VAT on goods bought in from overseas suppliers, which is most sellers; no additional tariff | Normal US duty for the product, plus a tariff set by where the goods are made and charged on top: 10% on UK-origin goods as at August 2026, higher and product-specific on China-origin goods, which is where most sellers source. |
| Currency | GBP | USD; conversion applies on payout unless the payout goes to a USD account, which also lets USD supplier costs be paid without converting twice |
| Wider region on one account | EU marketplaces via unified European account; VAT follows where stock sits | North America (US, Canada, Mexico) |
The Market Size of Amazon US and What It Means
The US is the larger market, and by enough that no UK seller needs the figures to believe it. They are worth a look anyway, because the true gap is narrower than the obvious number implies. Amazon’s 2025 accounts attribute $489.7bn of net sales to the United States against $43.2bn to the UK, but both cover everything Amazon does in each country, AWS and the physical stores included, so neither is marketplace size. Strip out AWS and over $360bn still sits on the US side: the gap is real, the clean multiple is not.
Scale on that order buys a deeper field of competitors and higher advertising costs along with the extra demand, and most of that field is other sellers rather than Amazon: third-party sellers accounted for 61% of paid units worldwide in 2025. None of it settles whether a specific product sells profitably in the US, which is the only measure that decides a launch.
Amazon UK as a Gateway to Europe
Europe is the other obvious expansion route for a UK seller. The setup is relatively simple because the same unified European account used for Amazon UK also gives access to the EU marketplaces. The complexity starts once you decide how to fulfil those orders.
One option is to hold stock in the EU. Since the UK left Pan-EU FBA on 1 January 2021, that means keeping inventory in at least one member state, registering for VAT where the stock is held, and clearing customs each time you replenish it.
The other option is the European Fulfilment Network, which ships EU orders from UK stock. That usually avoids VAT registration in the destination country, but delivery is slower, shipping costs more per unit, and customers may face import charges at checkout. Extended producer responsibility can also mean extra registrations across several member states.
For a UK seller, expanding into the EU usually brings more VAT registrations, more customs work and more country-specific compliance than launching in the US. That helps explain why the US is so often the second market they choose.
Seller Account Setup and Business Structure
A UK limited company can sell on Amazon UK and Amazon US without setting up a US entity. The UK side needs standard company details; the US side needs a North America seller account, which covers the US, Canada and Mexico on one login, plus Amazon’s tax interview with a W-8BEN-E form and an EIN where required.
A US entity usually adds cost with little early benefit, and most brands only revisit it once they want US employees or investors.
Our setup guide for selling on Amazon US from the UK walks through the account registration and first FBA shipment step by step.
Seller Fees and How They Compare
Fees are unlikely to decide between Amazon UK and Amazon US. The basic structure is too similar.
Professional accounts cost £25 a month in the UK and $39.99 in the US, and referral fees usually sit in the same 8–15% range. The differences worth checking are product-specific: seller fees on clothing, for example, are priced differently in the two markets. US apparel is charged at 17% above $20, while UK clothing has a 5% tier up to £15.
The US also adds a 3.5% surcharge to FBA fulfilment fees, while UK Amazon fees carry 20% VAT, which sellers outside the VAT system cannot reclaim.
Our Amazon selling fee guide breaks down every fee layer in detail.
Tax Differences for UK Sellers
Tax is where Amazon UK and Amazon US pull apart the most, and where ecommerce founders most often want a clear answer before committing stock.
VAT on Amazon UK Sales
On the UK side, VAT registration bites at £90,000 of taxable turnover, tested two ways. The twelve-month test looks back, at turnover across any rolling twelve months. The thirty-day test looks forward, at what you expect in the next thirty days alone, and it is the one that catches sellers running into Q4: a seller still under the threshold on the year can expect a single peak month to breach it, and registration falls due on that expectation, before the takings land.
US Sales Tax on Amazon US Sales
On the US side, Amazon’s Marketplace Tax Collection remits sales tax across all 45 states that levy it, plus DC, so a seller trading only on Amazon US never collects it directly. That is not the same as nothing to file. FBA stock can create nexus, and the seller does not choose where Amazon stores it; a few states, Washington among them, still expect a return even where Amazon has already paid the tax. It is a filing, not a bill, so the move is a view on the specific states rather than registering everywhere. Selling off Amazon, through Shopify say, removes that collection safety net entirely.
Corporation Tax and the Double Taxation Treaty
Profits from Amazon US sales are taxed in the UK alongside the rest of the company’s profits: 19% up to £50,000, 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief between. Both limits are divided by the number of associated companies, so a founder who adds a US entity halves them.
The UK-US double taxation treaty stops those profits being taxed twice, and holding stock in a US fulfilment centre does not by itself create a permanent establishment under it, so the profits stay taxable in the UK. Securing that income-tax position is a separate and more involved step, handled through the company’s own US return rather than the Amazon form. Amazon’s tax interview does the narrower job of establishing foreign status, so completed correctly no withholding comes off the payouts. A seller who gets it wrong has it taken instead, and that is the most common reason one comes to us after launching.
The VAT Position When Selling Only in the US
Where a UK company’s only channel is Amazon US, fulfilled from US-held stock, those sales fall outside the scope of UK VAT, and the seller may have no requirement to register. The cost of that position is easy to miss.
With no taxable supplies there is nothing to set input VAT against, so the VAT on UK costs such as software subscriptions, professional fees and marketing services the business loses outright. Voluntary registration turns it back into a reclaim for the price of quarterly filing, and for a seller carrying a real UK cost base that is usually the right move. It is one of the more common missed opportunities we see in this position. Worth modelling before the first shipment rather than after.
US Import Duties and Tariffs for UK Sellers
Stock sent into US fulfilment centres attracts import duty on arrival, and the rate turns on where the goods were made rather than where the seller ships from. Goods of UK origin carry a 10% tariff as at August 2026, on top of the product’s normal US duty rate, not in place of it. Most UK Amazon sellers ship stock made in China, which takes a higher, product-specific rate that has to be read off the HTS code rather than assumed at 10%. These rates are moving and under legal challenge, so confirm the figure for your product before every shipment.
The seller, not Amazon, acts as importer of record, and stock has to clear customs with duty paid before it reaches FBA. That has always been true of bulk replenishment, which runs far above any low-value threshold. What changed is the other route into the US: the $800 de minimis exemption was suspended for all countries on 29 August 2025 and made indefinite in June 2026, so a UK seller shipping direct to US customers from UK stock now pays duty on parcels that used to enter free. Alongside freight and conversion, duty can turn a UK-profitable product into a marginal one in the US.
Landed Cost: What a Product Costs in Each Marketplace
The cleanest comparison is a worked example. Take a product selling at £29.99 on Amazon UK and $39.99 on Amazon US, with a £7.00 unit cost, and follow the money down to the margin.
| Per unit | Amazon UK | Amazon US |
| Selling price | £29.99 (incl. VAT) | $39.99 (sales tax added at checkout) |
| VAT / sales tax | £5.00 output VAT | Collected and remitted by Amazon |
| Net revenue | £24.99 | $39.99 |
| Referral fee | £4.50 | $6.00 |
| FBA fulfilment fee | £3.30 | $7.45 |
| Advertising per unit | £3.00 | $6.50 |
| Product cost | £7.00 | £7.00 |
| Freight per unit | £0.60 | £1.40 |
| Import duty | n/a | £0.70 (10%, UK-origin) |
| Currency conversion | n/a | ≈ £0.22 |
| Contribution margin per unit | ≈ £6.59 | ≈ £5.52 |
The referral fee is 15% of the VAT-inclusive price, and Amazon charges 20% UK VAT on top of the fee, which a registered seller reclaims. FBA fees are illustrative and vary by size and weight; the US figure includes the fuel surcharge on US and Canadian fulfilment. Import duty here assumes UK-origin goods at the 10% tariff, on top of the product’s normal US duty rate. Stock made in China, which is where most sellers source, carries a higher and product-specific rate.
On these assumptions Amazon UK returns about £6.59 a unit against about £5.52 on Amazon US, a gap of roughly a sixth. The gap itself matters less than what moves it. The US column carries more moving parts, and the exchange rate alone is worth most of the difference: at $1.28 to the pound rather than $1.35, the same US column returns about £6.32 and the two marketplaces come out close to level.
Advertising Costs on Amazon UK vs Amazon US
US advertising usually costs more, particularly when a new listing has to build visibility and reviews from scratch. Rather than rely on broad CPC benchmarks, model the higher launch spend and track ACoS separately for each marketplace.
Amazon has also changed how that spend leaves the business. From 1 August 2026, after a deferral from April, a subset of Amazon sellers has had their Amazon ad costs netted off disbursements instead of billed to a card.
It applies to both marketplaces alike, so it is not a point of difference between them, but a seller running both feels it on their combined Amazon PPC and on the cash that funds it. For its effect on working capital and how to fold it into a forecast, see how Amazon’s payout change hits your cashflow.
Our ROAS calculator and our revenue and profit calculator help pressure-test those assumptions.
Currency, Payouts and Conversion Costs
Amazon US pays out in dollars, and moving those into a GBP business costs money. Amazon’s own converter charges a published percentage that falls as volume rises, from 1.50% down to 0.75%. The fee is visible; the exchange rate behind it is not, since Amazon uses its provider’s rate on the day of transfer and never itemises the conversion.
Taking payouts in dollars is often better. A USD account receives them without converting, and lets a seller pay dollar suppliers from the same balance instead of converting twice. Our partner Airwallex opens accounts in more than eleven currencies with no forced conversion. Where a conversion is unavoidable, check the sterling you actually receive against that day’s mid-market rate.
Exchange movements between sale and payout also shift your reported revenue and margin, so USD income needs proper multi-currency accounting to keep the management figures clean.
Accounting and Bookkeeping Across Both Marketplaces
What changes in the books the day a UK seller adds a second marketplace.
Settlement Reconciliation in Each Marketplace
Both marketplaces pay out through settlement reports that net fees, refunds, reserves and adjustments out of gross sales, and the structure and timing differ between them. The deposit in the bank is a net figure, not revenue. Booking payouts as sales understates revenue and breaks VAT reporting, because the output VAT on the gross sale never appears. What it does to gross margin depends on where the fees sit. Where Amazon’s fees are treated as a cost of sale, netting them off revenue flatters the gross margin percentage; where they sit below the gross margin line, it understates it. Either way the percentage stops describing the business.
Accounting software like A2X takes each payout and posts a summarised journal into Xero, splitting it into sales, fees, refunds and tax so every element lands in its own account and the entry reconciles to the deposit that reached the bank.
Multi-Currency Accounting
Adding Amazon US brings USD transactions into GBP-based accounts. Each sale is booked at the rate on the day it happens and left at that figure. The dollars still owed or held do move: an Amazon payout not yet received, and any USD bank balance. FRS 102 has those retranslated at the closing rate on each reporting date, the difference going to profit or loss, then settled at the rate on the day the payout lands. Because Amazon pays out roughly fortnightly, the receivable straddling a month end is usually just the part of one settlement that falls the wrong side of it.
Tracking Profitability by Marketplace
Revenue, cost of goods, Amazon selling fees, advertising and fulfilment should all be readable by channel. Without that split, a profitable UK operation can mask a loss-making US one, or the reverse. We set up marketplace-level tracking as standard for clients selling across more than one channel.
Inventory and COGS Across Two FBA Networks
UK FBA and US FBA stock sits in separate pools, and the landed cost per unit differs once freight and duty are counted. A single blended cost of goods hides the margin in each marketplace, so the books need to reflect which pool a sale came from. That comes from a landed cost calculated per unit in each pool, not from splitting one blended stock valuation after the event. The aggregate stock figure is the check those per-unit costs should tie back to.
Product Compliance and Regulatory Differences
The two markets run different regulatory regimes, and the gaps are worth planning for before listing.
Product Safety, Labelling and Certifications
Depending on the category, the US may bring in the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, whose role for food, supplements and cosmetics is labelling and ingredient compliance, or certification by the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, for anything that emits radio frequency. UL, formerly Underwriters Laboratories, is a different kind of requirement: it is a private certification body, and a UL listing is demanded by retailers, insurers and local electrical codes rather than by federal law, though Amazon itself asks for safety documentation in some categories.
On the UK side, the UK continues to recognise CE marking alongside or in place of UKCA for the Great Britain market under the Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) Regulations 2024, so UKCA is not the only route for most consumer goods; construction products and medical devices run separate regimes. Packaging usually needs adapting for allergen statements, warning labels and units of measurement.
Fulfilment, Freight and Logistics
FBA runs independently in each marketplace, so stock in UK fulfilment centres cannot fill US orders. Getting stock into the US takes a freight forwarder to handle customs, duty and delivery. Routing the first shipment through a US 3PL is one way to inspect goods and control replenishment before stock reaches FBA.
Localisation, Pricing and Returns
A US listing needs American English, local references and benefit framing written for US buyers. Spellings, units and references that read as British mark the listing as imported. Pricing displays differently too, with US prices shown before sales tax while UK prices include VAT. Returns flow back through each marketplace separately and need reconciling on both sides for VAT and stock records to hold up.
Brand Registration and Trademark Considerations
Brand Registry opens up A+ content, Sponsored Brands, brand protection and a storefront, and it needs a trademark in the territory where you sell, either registered or a pending application from a supported office such as the USPTO, EUIPO or UKIPO, enrolled on its serial number.
A UK mark and a US mark are separate registrations with different costs and timelines, and a US application can take the best part of a year to grant, longer if it draws an office action or an opposition. Enrolling on a pending application rather than waiting for the certificate is often what lets a launch go ahead. Raise the trademark early as a budget and planning point.
Which Marketplace Should You Choose?
There is no single answer to whether you should sell on Amazon US or UK, but there is a framework for placing your situation.
Start with Amazon UK if you are new to Amazon and want a simpler first market, your product already meets UK requirements, your advertising budget is modest, or Europe is the likelier next step, whether that is served from EU stock with a local VAT registration or from UK stock through the European Fulfilment Network.
Start with Amazon US if your product already sells well online and the unit economics hold once duty, freight and heavier advertising are counted, selling only into the US would put those sales outside the scope of UK VAT, and you have modelled what that costs in irrecoverable input VAT, or demand for your category is clearly stronger in the US.
Consider both if the product is established on one marketplace and both margin and cashflow can carry a second, the operation can handle two FBA networks, and the accounting support is in place to keep both sets of books clean.
How Elver Ecommerce Supports UK Sellers Across Amazon UK and Amazon US
Running both marketplaces well is an accounting problem before it is a marketplace one. The tax interview, USD payouts, landed cost and two FBA networks in one set of books land on the finance function.
We take this on for UK Amazon sellers. We complete the US tax interview and hold the treaty position behind it, so your Amazon US profits stay taxable in the UK and clear of withholding. We reconcile USD payouts and settlement reports into Xero through A2X, split profitability by marketplace so a strong UK operation never masks a weak US one, and model landed cost before you commit stock.
UK VAT returns are prepared and filed in-house. Where selling off Amazon or into Europe creates a filing obligation abroad, we stay your single point of contact and manage the representatives who file.
If you are weighing the move, book a call with our chartered accountants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a US company to sell on Amazon US from the UK?
No. A UK limited company sells on Amazon US through a North America seller account, completing Amazon’s tax interview with a W-8BEN-E and an EIN where required. A US entity adds cost most sellers do not need at launch.
Does selling on Amazon US affect my UK VAT position?
Sales fulfilled from US-held stock fall outside the scope of UK VAT, so if Amazon US is your only channel you may not need to register. Voluntary registration still lets you reclaim VAT on UK costs, and your UK sales follow the normal rules.
Will Amazon handle US sales tax for me?
Amazon collects and remits it across all 45 sales tax states plus DC, so you do not collect it yourself. There can still be a filing: FBA stock in a state can create nexus, and Washington expects a B&O return even where Amazon has already collected the tax. That is a return rather than a bill, and it is worth a view on the specific states involved rather than registering everywhere. Selling off Amazon changes the picture again.
How much do US import duties cost for UK sellers?
It depends where the goods are made rather than where you ship from. UK-origin goods carry a 10% tariff as at August 2026, on top of the product’s normal US duty rate. Most UK sellers ship stock made in China, which takes a higher, product-specific rate, so check the figure for your product’s country of origin and HTS code. The tariffs are under legal challenge, so confirm before each shipment.
Are Amazon fees higher in the US or the UK?
They sit close together. Amazon publishes the same referral fee range on both, most categories 8-15%, and the Professional plan is £25 a month excluding VAT against $39.99. FBA fees follow size and weight in both, though US fulfilment carries a 3.5% fuel surcharge, and advertising is where the two pull apart.
How do I account for US sales and currency conversion in my books?
Record each USD transaction at the rate on the date of sale, then retranslate any USD balance still outstanding at the closing rate on your reporting date, as FRS 102 requires. A2X posts a summarised journal per payout into Xero, split into sales, fees, refunds and tax.
Should I start on Amazon UK or Amazon US?
Start where the unit economics hold. Amazon UK suits sellers new to the platform and opens the European marketplaces, reached either from EU stock with a local VAT registration or from UK stock through the European Fulfilment Network. Amazon US suits products with proven demand and margin that survives duty, freight and heavier advertising. Model landed cost in both before committing stock.
