How do I specify VAT in an order? - stripe-payments

Question

We're based in the EU. When we sell our digital products to private persons or companies without a VAT number, we have to charge them VAT (Value Added Tax). This is what I'm trying:
import stripe
stripe.api_key = 'sk_test_xxx'
stripe.api_version = '2015-10-16'
product = stripe.Product.create(
id='product',
name='Product',
shippable=False
)
sku = stripe.SKU.create(
product='product',
price=100,
currency='eur',
inventory={'type': 'infinite'}
)
customer = stripe.Customer.create(
email='customer#example.org',
description="Customer"
)
order = stripe.Order.create(
customer=customer.id,
currency='eur',
items=[
{
'type': 'sku',
'quantity': 5,
'parent': sku.id,
'amount': 500
},
{
'type': 'tax',
'description': "20% VAT",
'amount': 100
}
]
)
The Order creation call gives me:
stripe.error.InvalidRequestError: Request req_xxx: Items of type tax are not supported at order creation.
When I replace the last order creation call without the tax:
order = stripe.Order.create(
customer=customer.id,
currency='eur',
items=[
{
'type': 'sku',
'quantity': 5,
'parent': sku.id,
'amount': 500
}
]
)
I'm getting back these order['items']:
[
{
"amount": 500,
"currency": "eur",
"description": "Product",
"object": "order_item",
"parent": "sku_xxx",
"quantity": 5,
"type": "sku"
},
{
"amount": 0,
"currency": "eur",
"description": "Taxes (included)",
"object": "order_item",
"parent": null,
"quantity": null,
"type": "tax"
},
{
"amount": 0,
"currency": "eur",
"description": "Free shipping",
"object": "order_item",
"parent": "ship_free-shipping",
"quantity": null,
"type": "shipping"
}
]
However, an order does not allow updating the items field after the order has been created.
What's the correct and semantic way to add VAT to the order items?

Answer 1

I contacted Stripe support and this should now be possible in a private beta. You can ask Stripe to join the taxes beta.
After joining, you can access documentation here: https://stripe.com/docs/relay#shipping-and-taxes and here: https://stripe.com/docs/relay/dynamic-shipping-taxes#order-creation-event.
There will be an option in your Stripe dashboard (Relay settings) to specify a "dynamic" taxes webhook where Stripe sends an Order to, and your server should then respond with a Order Item containing a tax entry. The webhook is hit immediately after creating an Order.