Netherlands
Provinces
Goods
Provinces
Goods
Digital services
About
Goods
About
Goods
About
Digital services
About
Digital services
Goods
Digital services
Goods
Digital services
VAT Standard rate
The VAT standard rate in the Netherlands in 2024 is 21%.VAT Reduced rate
You can apply a reduced rate of 9% for the following products:
- Food;
- Water;
- Agricultural products;
- Medicines and auxiliary products;
- Art, collectibles, and antiques;
- Books and periodicals.
You can apply the 0% rate for the following deliveries:
- Goods that you deliver abroad;
- Goods that have not yet been imported;
- Goods that you supply to the VAT warehouse or on it;
- Supply of ships and aircraft;
- Fishing;
- Excise goods.
Deductible VAT
If goods or services were used to make taxable supplies in the Netherlands, VAT in input invoices might be credited. Examples include: you bought goods from an entrepreneur in another EU country or you were transferred VAT.VAT rate
The standard VAT rate in the Netherlands in 2024 is 21%.VAT Reduced rate
The reduced VAT rate is 9% for digital books and newspapers.
VAT Standard rate
21%
VAT Reduced rate
9%, 0%
Thresholds
€10,000
Thresholds
From the 1st of July 2021, the distance selling thresholds were withdrawn and replaced by a unified threshold of €10,000 for all EU members. In other words, VAT should be charged at the VAT rate of the customer’s country of residence by companies whose annual taxable cross-border turnover is over €10,000.Registration procedure
You must send the following attachments to this form:- Documents showing which industry you are active in your home country;
- If you are registered with a foreign Chamber of Commerce: a certificate of registration;
- If you have an agent: a copy of the authorization;
- If you are resident in a non-EU country: a tax statement from that country;
- If the entrepreneur is a natural person or partner: a copy of the ID for any natural person who does not have a Social Security number;
- If your company has a different legal form: a copy of the instrument of incorporation.
Tax representative
There is no requirement to appoint a tax representative in the Netherlands.Keeping records
In the Netherlands, there are strict rules on the layout and format of VAT records to be kept by companies or their tax agents. Records must be kept by the taxable person or by the keeper of its accounts and reported to the competent Tax Agency. You will need to keep regular notes on your ICVs, consisting of the invoices you received and the expenses you spent on the ICVs. You are required to keep your records for 7 years.VAT payment date
If you are a budding entrepreneur the tax service will send you the first declaration for aspiring entrepreneurs in electronic form or on paper. You need to pay VAT, but you have not yet received a VAT return from the tax service. In this case, always request a VAT return within 1 month after the period for which you must pay VAT.Filing VAT returns
A taxpayer must transmit tax returns to the Btw-Alert by electronic means. If you submit your tax returns monthly, you must submit your tax return no later than 2 months after the reporting period. For example, the declaration for January must be submitted no later than the last day of March.VAT rates in the autonomous regions of the Netherlands
The autonomous regions of the Netherlands are:- Aruba (ABW)
- Curaçao (CUW)
- Sint Maarten (SXM)
- Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (BES islands).
| Region | Code | Country Code | Standard Rate | Reduced Rate |
| Aruba | ABW | NL-AW | 6% | 0% |
| Curaçao | CUW | NL-CW | 6% | 0% |
| Sint Maarten | SXM | NL-SX | 5% | 0% |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba | BES | NL-BQ | GCT: 8% | GCT: 0% |
E-invoicing in the Netherlands
The obligation to use electronic invoices has already been implemented in phases, with ongoing updates and possible future expansions. 2017- Issuing e-invoices became mandatory for suppliers to central government entities.
- Receiving e-invoices became mandatory for all central government entities.
- Issuing e-invoices became mandatory for all suppliers dealing with the central government.
- Receiving e-invoices became mandatory for local government bodies.
- Issuing e-invoices is expected to become mandatory for a broader range of businesses, including those dealing with local government entities and possibly in certain private sectors.
- Receiving e-invoices is likely to become a requirement for more businesses, ensuring all entities can process e-invoices in a standardized format.
- Potential introduction of mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT-registered businesses, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
- Continued expansion to ensure complete coverage across all sectors, possibly including non-resident businesses operating in the Netherlands.
Thresholds
Companies incorporated or having a permanent establishment in the EU can use the rules for low annual turnovers. In this case, the threshold is €10,000. Companies established outside the European Union cannot benefit from the intra-EU threshold. The threshold for registration for companies outside of the EU is zero. It means that they are obliged to register from the first sale. Such businesses may register for non-Union OSS instead of registration in Belgium. The threshold for registration for local businesses is €25,000.Pieces of evidence
There is a list of basic criteria to determine the location of the buyer. It is extremely important for determining tax obligations.- Customer’s permanent address;
- Billing address (bank or electronic payment operator);
- Internet Protocol (IP) address;
- Telephone number;
- The location of the customer’s fixed landline through which the service is supplied to him;
- Other commercially relevant information.
E-services list
A digital product is any product that is stored, delivered, and used in an electronic format. These are goods or services that a customer can receive by e-mail, by downloading them from the Internet, or by logging into a website. In particular, the law names the following as digital services:- Electronic books, images, movies, and videos, whether buying a copy from Shopify or using a service (for example Amazon Prime). In tax materials, these products are referred to as “Audio, visual or audiovisual products”;
- Downloadable and streaming music, whether buying an MP3 or using music services;
- Cloud-based software and as-a-Service products (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS);
- Websites, site hosting services, and Internet service providers;
- Online ads and affiliate marketing.
Registration procedure
To register, you need to fill out a registration application. To do this, you will need the following information about the company:- Full information about the company: Company’s name, a trading name of the company (If applicable), full postal address, email address and website of the taxable person, name and phone number of the contact person;
- National tax number (If applicable);
- Country in which the taxable person has his place of business;
- International bank account number or IBAN number and BIC;
- An electronic declaration that the taxable person is not registered for VAT within the Union;
- Date of commencement of using the scheme.
Tax representative
There is no requirement to appoint a tax representative in the Netherlands.Keeping records
The retention period of Tax documents for VAT is 7 years – the tax authorities have the right to request them.Filling VAT returns
VAT returns are generally filed quarterly. Taxable persons may be authorized by the VAT authorities to submit a monthly or annual VAT return. VAT returns must be filed within 1 month after the end of the tax period.VAT payment date
VAT amounts must be paid within 1 month after the end of the tax period.VAT rates in the autonomous regions of the Netherlands
The autonomous regions of the Netherlands are:- Aruba (ABW)
- Curaçao (CUW)
- Sint Maarten (SXM)
- Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (BES islands).
| Region | Code | Country Code | Standard Rate | Reduced Rate |
| Aruba | ABW | NL-AW | 6% | 0% |
| Curaçao | CUW | NL-CW | 6% | 0% |
| Sint Maarten | SXM | NL-SX | 5% | 0% |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba | BES | NL-BQ | GCT: 8% | GCT: 0% |
E-invoicing in the Netherlands
The obligation to use electronic invoices has already been implemented in phases, with ongoing updates and possible future expansions. 2017- Issuing e-invoices became mandatory for suppliers to central government entities.
- Receiving e-invoices became mandatory for all central government entities.
- Issuing e-invoices became mandatory for all suppliers dealing with the central government.
- Receiving e-invoices became mandatory for local government bodies.
- Issuing e-invoices is expected to become mandatory for a broader range of businesses, including those dealing with local government entities and possibly in certain private sectors.
- Receiving e-invoices is likely to become a requirement for more businesses, ensuring all entities can process e-invoices in a standardized format.
- Potential introduction of mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT-registered businesses, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
- Continued expansion to ensure complete coverage across all sectors, possibly including non-resident businesses operating in the Netherlands.
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