Remitting VAT

Natural persons and legal persons

Natural persons required to remit VAT to the Tax and Customs Administration include people with a one-person business. Legal persons - including public companies (NVs), private limited companies (BVs), foundations, municipalities and provinces - are also required to remit VAT.

No VAT within tax groups

Businesses registered in the Netherlands can merge to form a single organisation in financial, organisational and economic terms. This is called a tax group. If they form a tax group, businesses do not have to pay VAT when they supply each other with goods or services.

How and when should the VAT tax return be filed?

Information on how and when traders should file their VAT tax return is available on the Tax and Customs Administration's website.

File your tax return on time

It is important to file your tax return on time. If a trader files his return too late, he will receive a tax assessment and may have to pay a fine.

VAT registration number and reverse-charge mechanism

In some cases the customer, not the supplier, is responsible for remitting VAT. In such cases the VAT is charged by means of the reverse-charge mechanism. The supplier must state on the invoice that he is using this mechanism. He must also provide his VAT registration number and the number of the buyer.

VAT records

Traders must keep a record of the VAT they charge. Invoices also need to meet certain requirements. You can find more information on VAT records at Belastingdienst.nl.