VAT Rates in the Netherlands (2026): What Every Seller Needs to Know

VAT (BTW in Dutch) is something every seller deals with, but not everyone understands correctly. Using the wrong rate on your invoices can lead to problems during a tax audit. Here's the current situation.

The three VAT rates

• 21% — Standard rate — Applies to most goods and services. This is the default for the vast majority of products sold on marketplaces.
• 9% — Reduced rate — Applies to food and drink (non-alcoholic), books (including e-books), medicines, and certain agricultural products.
• 0% — Zero rate — Applies to exports outside the EU and intra-EU B2B sales to VAT-registered businesses (reverse charge mechanism).

Which rate applies to your products?

If you sell consumer electronics, clothing, home goods, or gadgets — it's 21%. If you're unsure whether a product qualifies for the reduced rate, check the Belastingdienst website or ask your accountant. When in doubt, charge 21%.

Common VAT mistakes

Applying the wrong rate. Selling food-grade supplements at 21% when they qualify for 9%? You're overcharging customers and may need to issue corrections.

Forgetting reverse charge for B2B. If a VAT-registered business in Germany orders from you, the invoice should have 0% VAT with a reverse charge note — not 21%.

Not registering for VAT. If your revenue exceeds the KOR threshold, you must charge VAT. Not optional.

KOR: Small business exemption

The Kleineondernemersregeling (KOR) exempts businesses earning less than €20,000/year from charging VAT. This simplifies your administration, but you also can't deduct VAT on your purchases. For most growing marketplace sellers, crossing this threshold happens quickly.

Keep your invoices correct

The easiest way to ensure the right VAT rate appears on every invoice is to configure it once in your invoicing tool and let automation handle the rest. Manual rate selection per invoice is a recipe for mistakes.