# GoodVat MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives AI assistants and agents access to global tax compliance knowledge and tools — built and maintained by [GoodVat](https://goodvat.com).

If you're selling anything, anywhere, this server answers the tax questions that come up: VAT rates and rules across the EU and UK, US state sales tax, India GST, registration thresholds, invoicing requirements, and more — plus live lookup tools to verify tax IDs.

## What it does

- **Tax guides & Q&A** — ask natural-language questions like "what's the VAT rate in France for digital goods?" or "do I need to register for sales tax in California?" and get accurate, sourced answers covering:
  - UK VAT
  - EU VAT (all member states)
  - US Sales Tax (state-by-state)
  - India GST
  - more jurisdictions added regularly
- **VAT number lookup (EU)** — validates EU VAT numbers in real time via the official [VIES](https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/) registry.
- **UK VAT number lookup (HMRC)** — *coming soon*.

## Usage

GoodVat's MCP server is hosted remotely over streamable HTTP at:

```
https://api.goodvat.com/mcp
```

### Option 1: Connect directly (remote HTTP)

If your MCP client supports remote/HTTP servers natively (e.g. Claude.ai, Claude Desktop's remote connectors, Cursor), point it straight at the URL above — no install needed.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "goodvat": {
      "url": "https://api.goodvat.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Option 2: stdio bridge (this package)

Some clients only support local stdio-based MCP servers. This package (`@goodvat/mcp-server`) is a thin stdio-to-HTTP bridge: it speaks stdio to your client and forwards each message to the remote endpoint above.

```bash
npx @goodvat/mcp-server
```

Add to your client's MCP server config:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "goodvat": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@goodvat/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}
```

## Requirements

- Node.js >= 18

## License

MIT