VAT in the Netherlands

VAT (btw) is often the first Dutch tax a foreign-owned company meets, because it applies from the first sale rather than at the end of the year. The general rate is 21%, and a 9% rate applies to a number of products and services, as the government’s page on VAT rates and exemptions explains. A business based outside the Netherlands that has to register applies to the Belastingdienst with a dedicated form for foreign entrepreneurs, and on many sales to Dutch companies the VAT is reverse-charged to the buyer (VAT for non-resident businesses). Sales to other EU countries, imports and services bought from abroad each follow their own rules, and these are where a new company most often makes mistakes.

Firms offering VAT in the Netherlands

Doorpol

Accounting firm · Boutique firm

Rotterdam

  • Accounting and bookkeeping
  • Tax compliance
  • VAT
  • +1 more

Languages: Polish · German · English

View profile of Doorpol

57 more firms offering VAT in the Netherlands

What to ask a VAT adviser in the Netherlands

Ask whether the firm will apply for the VAT number and file every return itself. Ask how it checks your sales invoices, how it treats goods you import or sell across EU borders, and whether it also prepares the EU sales listing when one is needed. If you sell online to consumers in other member states, ask how the firm handles those sales. Find out who answers a query from the Belastingdienst and whether that is inside the fee.

Firms on Accountanty

Accountanty lists 81 firms that handle VAT in the Netherlands: 69 accounting firms and 12 corporate service providers. Fifty-seven are small, 18 medium-sized and six belong to large networks. English is offered by 69 and Dutch by 63. Amsterdam has 44 of them, Rotterdam has 15 and The Hague has 13. For the corporate income tax side, see tax compliance in the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions

When does a foreign-owned Dutch company need a VAT number?

Before it issues its first invoice for taxable sales. Ask your adviser to apply as soon as the company is registered, so trading does not start without one and invoices do not have to be reissued.

Can a Dutch firm file VAT returns while the owners live abroad?

Yes. Eighty-one firms on Accountanty handle VAT in the Netherlands and 69 of them offer English. Agree who approves each return and who pays the VAT due from the company account.

What does a VAT adviser in the Netherlands need each period?

Sales and purchase invoices, import documents, bank statements and details of any services bought from abroad. If the same firm keeps your books, it will usually have most of this already.

Other services in the Netherlands

Accountants by city in the Netherlands

Setting up a company in the Netherlands: the guide and every firm

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules, rates and fees change: check them with the official sources linked on this page or with a qualified adviser before you act.