Submit your VAT return in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, entrepreneurs must file Value Added Tax returns with the Netherlands Tax Administration. In the VAT return, you declare the VAT you have charged your customers. You deduct the VAT that your suppliers have charged you. Submit your VAT returns on time to avoid an extra or assessment or fine.
On this page
- VAT return in short
- Registration with te Netherlands Tax Administration
- Filing your first VAT return
- File your VAT return online
- How to fill in the VAT return
- Are you eligible for the small businesses scheme (KOR)?
- Check if you are covered by VAT schemes or VAT exemptions
- File a VAT return for international trade
- Correct mistakes in your next VAT return
- Statistics: how much VAT does the government receive?
The Dutch term for Value Added Tax, VAT is belasting toegevoegde waarde, btw. A VAT return is a btw aangifte.
Want to file your VAT return?
Go to Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk
VAT return in short
In short, this is what the VAT return involves. For more details, please read on below.
- Where? You usually submit the return online. Sometimes, the first time is on paper.
- When? You have a fixed filing period. Usually quarterly. The first time, the period may be shorter.
- What info do you need? VAT that you have charged and VAT that you have paid.
- How? You complete the return. You will see at once whether you need to pay anything or will receive a refund. You will not receive a tax assessment (belastingaanslag).
Registration with te Netherlands Tax Administration
If you register your business in the KVK Business Register, KVK will pass on your details to the Tax Administration. The Tax Administration assesses whether you are an entrepreneur for VAT purposes. If so, you will automatically receive your:
- VAT number: to use for your dealings with the Tax Administration
- VAT identification number (VAT ID): to use for correspondence and invoices for your customers
Filing your first VAT return
You will also receive a letter from the Tax Administration explaining how and when you must submit your VAT return. Usually, you must submit your first VAT return on paper and return it by post. This tax return and payment will be handled slightly differently from submitting online. You will file next tax returns online.Read more about filing your first VAT return
Are you unable to register your company with KVK?
For example, because KVK does not see you as an entrepreneur. In some cases, (in Dutch) you will have to register with the Tax Administration yourself. You can do this using the form Opgaaf Startende onderneming (in Dutch).
Chat with the Tax Administration
Every day between 09:00 and 16:00 it is possible for starters and SMEs to chat with the Tax Administration. Go to Goede Start Belastingdienst to start a chat. You can also make an appointment for a video call with one of their advisers to ask them your tax questions.
File your VAT return online
You file your VAT returns digitally online at the website of the Netherlands Tax Administration. There are several ways of doing this.
- Log in at Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk. You log in using DigiD, eHerkenning, or a European approved digital identity (European login).
Always file a return: zero declaration
You must always file a VAT return. Even if you had no turnover in a period. Or if you did not receive or pay VAT. This is called a zero return (nihilaangifte, in Dutch).
File your VAT return monthly, quarterly, or yearly
The Tax Administration will notify you how often you have to file a VAT return: monthly, quarterly, or yearly. The Belastingdienst will also inform you of the ultimate filing date. The most common frequency is quarterly. The belastingdienst has a list of dates (deadlines) in 2026.
If you want to file your returns on a monthly or yearly basis, it is possible under certain conditions (in Dutch).
Submit and pay your VAT return on time
Always make sure to file your return on time. You need to keep an eye on the filing and payment deadlines (in Dutch) yourself.
If you fail to file or pay a tax return or pay on time, you will receive an additional tax assessment (naheffingsaanslag). Read more about additional VAT assessments.
You do not receive a payment link or request
After filing your VAT return, it is up to you to pay the amount you owe the Tax Administration. You do not receive an assessment, a payment link, or a request. Information about the method by which you can pay the VAT is included in the tax return's explanatory notes. It is important that you pay on time: before or on the last day of the month in which you need to file. For more information (in Dutch), go to the article Btw betalen of terugkrijgen on the Tax Administration website.
How to fill in the VAT return
In your VAT return, you must include at least the following:
- the VAT you have paid to your suppliers (input tax)
- VAT that has been reverse charged (verlegd) to you by another business, or that you have reverse charged yourself
- private use on which you are liable for VAT, such as your company car
The amount you owe or are due a refund is calculated automatically in your return. You will not receive a tax assessment based on your VAT return.
For instructions on how to fill out the VAT form, you can use the explanatory notes (in Dutch) on the Tax Administration website. The notes are available in Dutch, English, and German.
You calculate the VAT using cash accounting (kasstelsel) or invoice accounting (factuurstelsel). Are your customers mainly entrepreneurs and legal entities, such as foundations and associations? Then you use invoice accounting. You then state the VAT that you have charged to your customers during the declaration period. Even if a customer has not yet paid their bill during this period.
Cash accounting is for entrepreneurs who mainly supply private individuals. You declare the VAT on the income that has been credited to your bank account. Or that you received in cash.
Read more about calculating VAT with cash accounting (in Dutch) or invoice accounting (in Dutch).
There are different rates for VAT. Many goods and services are subject to 21% VAT. Sometimes the 9% rate applies. And sometimes you charge the 0% VAT rate, for example, for solar panels for a home. Some industries and activities are exempt from VAT.
You usually pay VAT on goods or services that you purchase for your business. You may deduct this VAT as input tax in your VAT return (in Dutch). However, there are conditions. For example, that you use the purchases for turnover on which you charge VAT. And that you receive an invoice with VAT. For some expenses, you may not deduct VAT. Find out when you are not allowed to deduct VAT (in Dutch).
In the last VAT return of the year, you also state the VAT for private use of company goods and services. For example:
- company car
- gas, water, electricity, and telephone
- business assets
Find out more about VAT and private use (in Dutch). You can also read more about calculating VAT in the Explanatory notes to the sales tax return (in Dutch) on Belastingdienst.nl.
Are you paid (in part) in crypto currencies? Such as Bitcoin. Like normal payments, these payments are part of your turnover. You file a VAT return on them. You then convert the value of the bitcoins into euros. Usually, you take the value on the invoice date. Read the exceptions for conversion (in Dutch) on belastingdienst.nl under ‘Vreemde valuta omrekenen’.
Are you eligible for the small businesses scheme (KOR)?
Entrepreneurs with an annual turnover that does not exceed €20,000 can participate in the small businesses scheme (kleineondernemersregeling, KOR). When you participate in the KOR, you do not charge VAT to your customers or pay VAT to the Tax Administration. On the other hand, you cannot deduct VAT on business expenses and investments. With a few exceptions, you no longer have to file a VAT return.
Is your annual turnover €2,200 or less? And you are not required to register your business with the KVK? If so, you can opt for the registration threshold for small businesses (registratiedrempel voor kleine ondernemers, in Dutch). The same rules apply to you as under the small businesses scheme (KOR).
Do you do business in other EU countries? And is your total turnover no higher than €100,000? If so, you may be eligible for the EU-KOR scheme. There may be other rules regarding your turnover in each country.
Did you purchase solar panels before becoming an entrepreneur? If so, you may have already used the KOR scheme. You are then already registered as a VAT entrepreneur with the Netherlands Tax Administration. Read more about solar panels and VAT.
Check if you are covered by VAT schemes or VAT exemptions
No VAT obligations for exempt activities
If you only carry out activities that are exempt from VAT, you often do not need to submit a VAT return. This applies, for example, if you provide services in the healthcare or education sectors. The Tax Administration will inform you of this. In such cases, you do not charge VAT to your customers and do not claim input tax.
Special rules for calculating VAT
Sometimes special rules apply when calculating VAT. For example, if you sell second-hand goods or travel arrangements. So check on the Tax Administration's website if special VAT rules apply to you (in Dutch).
File a VAT return for international trade
- Do you supply services to a foreign country or purchase services from abroad? Check the Tax Administration's tool for services to and from abroad (in Dutch). It shows who must declare the VAT on these services: you or your supplier. And in which country this is required.
- Do you supply goods abroad? Then use the Tax Administration's tool for supplying goods abroad (in Dutch). It shows who must declare the VAT on these services: you or your supplier. And in which country this is required.
Non-resident businesses
Non-resident businesses doing business in the Netherlands may have to file a VAT return as well. Read more about VAT for foreign entrepreneurs to find out if registration in your situation is necessary. If so, you must use the registration form for foreign companies.
Open days for starters and business owners
Do you have questions about running a business in the Netherlands? For example, about VAT or taxes? Visit an Ondernemersplein open day in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Eindhoven, Groningen, or Rotterdam. Talk directly with KVK advisers and experts from the Netherlands Tax Administration, UWV, BOIP, and other local partners. Look for an event near you.
Correct mistakes in your next VAT return
Have you made a mistake in a VAT return?
If the difference in the amount you have to pay or are due to receive is less than €1,000, you can correct the mistake in your next VAT return.
If it is more, you have to file an additional return. This is called a Suppletie-aangifte (in Dutch). You can find the form in the Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk online portal.
Statistics: how much VAT does the government receive?
The graph shows the total VAT received by the government, by quarter.
Source:Â CBSÂ CC BY 4.0Â