Invoice example Netherlands: 21%, btw verlegd, KOR

A correct Dutch invoice shows both parties' details, your KVK number and btw-id, a consecutive invoice number, the invoice date and delivery date, a description, the net amount, VAT per rate and the total. Below are three filled-in examples: a standard invoice with 21% VAT for a Dutch client, a reverse-charge invoice ("btw verlegd") for a business in another EU country, and a KOR invoice without any VAT.

The fields every Dutch invoice needs

The Dutch invoice requirements are called the factuureisen. Whatever your template looks like, these fields must be on it:

• Your details: business name, address, KVK number (from the Dutch business register) and btw-id (your VAT identification number, NL + 9 digits + B + 2 digits).
• Client details: name and address. For reverse charge, also the client's VAT number.
• Invoice number: unique and consecutive - one series, no gaps.
• Invoice date and delivery date (or the service period for ongoing work).
• Description and quantity: what you did and how much - hours, pieces, a package.
• Net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount per rate, and the total.

Your btw-id is not the same as your omzetbelastingnummer - the second one contains your BSN and never goes on an invoice. If that is new to you, read Dutch VAT number: btw-id vs omzetbelastingnummer first.

Example 1: invoice with 21% VAT for a Dutch client

The most common case: you work for a business in the Netherlands and charge the standard rate.

What to notice:

• Number 2026-0042 follows directly on 2026-0041. A prefix with the year is allowed, as long as the counter has no gaps.
• Two dates. The invoice date and the service period are both required. The invoice date normally decides which quarter the VAT belongs to in your btw-aangifte (VAT return).
• VAT per rate. If an invoice mixes 21% and 9% items (9% applies to, among other things, food, books, hairdressers and bicycle repairs), each rate gets its own line with net amount and VAT.
• Payment term. 30 days is the standard; between businesses the maximum is 60 days unless agreed otherwise.
• Deadline. Work done in October must be invoiced by 15 November at the latest.

Example 2: btw verlegd - what it means and how the invoice looks

Btw verlegd is Dutch for "VAT shifted": in English, reverse charge or "VAT reverse-charged". You do not charge VAT; your client declares it in their own VAT return. It applies in three situations:

• B2B services for a business in another EU country;
• subcontracting and hiring out staff in construction, cleaning and shipbuilding in the Netherlands;
• B2B deliveries of goods to another EU country - there the rate is 0%.

Here is the first case: you do consulting work for a company in Belgium.

What to notice:

• The words "btw verlegd" are on the invoice. Writing "reverse charge" next to it helps an international client understand it immediately.
• The client's VAT number is mandatory. Check it in VIES, the European VAT number check, before the first invoice.
• No VAT amount. Not "€ 0.00 VAT at 21%" - simply no VAT line with an amount.
• ICP-opgave. Services to a business in another EU country also go into your ICP-opgave, the EU sales listing you file with the Belastingdienst.

For a construction or cleaning subcontract in the Netherlands the invoice looks the same: "btw verlegd", the client's btw-id and no VAT amount - but no ICP-opgave, because the client is Dutch. Clients outside the EU usually get an invoice without Dutch VAT too, but the rules depend on the service, so check with your accountant. All cases in detail: reverse charge VAT in the Netherlands.

Example 3: KOR invoice without VAT

Under the KOR (kleineondernemersregeling, the small business scheme for turnover up to € 20,000 a year) you charge no VAT at all. Here a tutor invoices private lessons:

What to notice:

• No VAT rate and no VAT amount. Not 0%, not "VAT € 0.00" - the VAT lines are simply absent.
• A short mention of the KOR explains to the client why there is no VAT.
• Everything else stays. KVK number, btw-id, consecutive number, dates and description are still required.

Whether the KOR is worth it depends on your clients and costs - see KOR: the small business scheme.

Common mistakes on Dutch invoices

• The omzetbelastingnummer instead of the btw-id. Your BSN ends up on the invoice and VIES reports the number as invalid.
• A gap or a duplicate in the numbering. A missing number looks like a deleted sale to the Belastingdienst.
• Only one date. The delivery date or service period is missing.
• "btw verlegd" without the client's VAT number, or with a VAT amount anyway.
• "0% VAT" on a KOR invoice. Under the KOR there is no rate at all.
• Editing a sent invoice. An issued invoice is never deleted or changed. You correct it with a credit note.

For amounts up to € 100 a simplified invoice with fewer details is allowed, but a full invoice takes the same effort in a program and clients prefer it.

Why a Word or Excel template is risky

A free template looks like the quick start. The problems come later:

• Numbering. You copy last month's file and forget to change the number, or skip one. Gaps and duplicates are exactly what a tax inspector looks for.
• VAT totals. A formula that does not cover the new line, a 9% item calculated at 21%, a rounding difference - all manual errors in amounts you owe the Belastingdienst.
• Reverse charge and KOR. A template made for 21% does not switch by itself to "btw verlegd" or to an invoice without VAT lines.
• No overview. At the end of the quarter you have to add up all files by hand for your VAT return.

In ProFaktura you choose the client and the VAT situation, and the program builds the invoice: gapless numbering, all factuureisen, 21% / 9% / 0%, btw verlegd, KOR and intra-EU, in Dutch, English, Polish, Ukrainian or French. Invoices and credit notes are free, without limit, and for each one you can download an e-invoice (UBL, according to the European standard EN 16931) next to the PDF. Billing the same client every month? Read about recurring invoices.

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Read next: how to invoice in the Netherlands · reverse charge VAT · Dutch VAT number · recurring invoices