Knowledge base
Knowledge base
In-depth articles on VAT, compliance and tax risks, news items and current developments. Written by our specialists, for professionals who want to stay ahead.
Knowledge base
Short-stay exception applies to a one-year holiday home let
The District Court of Gelderland held that a holding company letting a holiday home to its director for a year can still rely on the property decree. Actual occupation is what counts.
Read moreThe B2 Energy judgment: know who your customer is
The Court of Justice stresses that it is for the supplier to check its customer's VAT status. Relying on what the customer says is not enough for the zero rate.
Read moreTrust is good, checking is better, certainly in VAT
An employee issued more than 1,600 false invoices over three years. Who owes the VAT shown on them, the employee or the employer? The Court of Justice gives the answer.
Read more2026: VAT adjustment on services relating to immovable property
The Ministry of Finance proposes an adjustment scheme for services relating to immovable property from € 30,000. We understand the aim, but have reservations about the threshold and the scope.
Read moreWorking across the border, what are the VAT consequences?
A Dutch business is asked to paint a number of holiday homes in France. The VAT consequences differ sharply depending on whether the client is a private individual or a business.
Read moreCast shoes: standard or reduced VAT rate?
The Dutch Tax Administration took the view that cast shoes fall under the 21% rate. The District Court of Noord-Holland held that they count as splints and therefore attract the reduced rate.
Read moreHospice: exempt care or taxed short stay?
The Court of Appeal in The Hague and the District Court of Gelderland reached opposite conclusions in comparable cases on the VAT position of a hospice. The Supreme Court must now provide clarity.
Read moreInterval drinks at the theatre: wine at 9% VAT
The Court of Appeal in 's-Hertogenbosch held that an alcoholic interval drink included in the ticket price is an ancillary supply following the rate of the performance. There are strings attached.
Read moreNew VAT property decree: three important changes for landlords
The updated property decree brings a welcome concession where the option to tax is defective, new policy on service charges and a changed position on letting solar panels.
Read morePedicure and VAT: taxed or exempt?
Pedicure services are in principle subject to 21% VAT, but the medical exemption applies to certain treatments by medical pedicurists. We set out its scope.
Read moreIs a botox treatment exempt from VAT?
Cosmetic clinics generally employ doctors on the professional register. Does that also mean the medical exemption covers botox, fillers and other cosmetic procedures?
Read moreTax Plan 2024: the VAT and transfer tax measures
The caretaker government is abolishing the reduced rate for agricultural inputs and narrowing the overlap exemption on property share transactions. Other choices it leaves to its successor.
Read moreReclaim your foreign VAT before 30 September 2023
Did you receive invoices carrying VAT from other member states in 2022? You can reclaim that VAT, but the request must be in before 30 September. Do not leave it to the last minute.
Read morePartnership with Novak delivers an online VAT knowledge platform
The VAT portal launched on 18 September, an initiative of VAT INSTITUTE in partnership with Novak. The platform is built for tax specialists and accountants dealing with complex VAT questions.
Read morePolicy change: no simplified triangulation without the reverse charge wording
Until recently the Dutch Tax Administration accepted the wording "intra-Community supply". Since 2 September the invoice must literally state that VAT is reverse charged, or the simplification falls away.
Read moreWarning: fraudsters posing as VAT INSTITUTE
One or more individuals are posing as employees of VAT INSTITUTE and attempting to extract money from businesses for a VAT service. We dissociate ourselves entirely from these practices.
Read moreThe blurred boundaries of taxable person status
Does someone who has already passed through the taxable person gateway drag their occasional side activities in with them? Kostov suggested so, but Advocate General Kokott puts up a partition.
Read moreOnline purchases as a business: do not miss out on VAT
Buy online without giving your VAT number and the seller charges you 21% Dutch VAT that you cannot deduct. An unnecessary cost that is almost impossible to put right afterwards.
Read morePurchase and construction agreements and VAT
An old supermarket is redeveloped into homes for sale, with separate purchase and construction agreements. Are the land and the building work treated as a single supply or not?
Read moreAre membership fees taxable? Why you should not compare apples with pears
Whether a membership fee is taxable depends on the direct link between the payment and what the member gets in return. The classic Apple and Pear judgment shows how that works.
Read moreUpdate: acquiring new property through a share transaction from 2025
After consultation with the property sector the draft bill has been amended. There will be a 90% test, a 4% rate and transitional rules for projects under way, with effect from 2025.
Read moreDropshipping and VAT
Dropshipping raises questions ever more often, including from very young entrepreneurs. Does the dropshipper pay the import VAT? A short summary of the rules and the pitfalls.
Read moreDutch Tax Administration launches a site for foundations and associations
The new portal helps board members get to grips with their tax obligations. Whether the VAT information reflects every organisation's position correctly is another matter.
Read moreSupreme Court: no VAT exemption for a profit-seeking debt counsellor
Extending the social exemption to commercial providers is, according to the Supreme Court, contrary to the Act. A painful outcome, which the State Secretary moved quickly to repair.
Read moreCertainty starts with a conversation
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