Some invoices in the Netherlands carry no VAT at all - not because the work is exempt, but because the customer settles the VAT instead of you. That is the reverse charge, in Dutch btw verlegd. It applies in three situations, it needs two extra lines on the invoice, and it is the mechanism most often done wrong by new entrepreneurs. Here is how it works.
In ProFaktura the reverse charge is one switch on the invoice - the program adds the btw verlegd line and the customer's VAT number and removes the VAT. Free, without limit.
Normally you charge btw (Dutch VAT: 21%, 9% or 0%) on your invoice, the customer pays it to you, and you pass it on to the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax office) in your quarterly btw-aangifte (VAT return). With the reverse charge the flow is shifted: you invoice without VAT, and the customer reports the VAT in their own return - and, if they are entitled to it, deducts it in the same return.
The result for a business customer is usually zero: VAT in, VAT out. For you it means one thing above all: no VAT on the invoice, but two extra pieces of information instead. Miss them and the invoice is not valid.
The reverse charge is never a choice. Either the situation falls under it, and then you must apply it, or it does not, and then you charge VAT as usual.
You are a subcontractor - a tiler, a painter, an electrician, a cleaner - working for a main contractor in the Netherlands. Or you hire out your people to such a contractor. The VAT is shifted to the contractor. Your invoice states btw verlegd and the contractor's btw-id, and shows no VAT amount. This is the most common case for tradespeople and it applies even though both of you are Dutch businesses.
You design a website for a company in Germany, translate documents for an agency in Belgium, consult for a start-up in Ireland. The customer is a business with a VAT number in another EU member state. Your invoice states btw verlegd, carries the customer's VAT number, and shows no VAT. On top of that you report the sale in an ICP-opgave (the intra-EU sales listing) alongside your VAT return.
You ship products to a business customer in another EU country. Here the invoice shows the 0% rate instead of btw verlegd - the VAT amount is zero, the customer's VAT number is on the invoice, and the delivery goes into your ICP-opgave. The mechanics differ slightly, but the practical result is the same: no Dutch VAT on the invoice and an extra listing for the tax office.
Customers outside the EU are a separate story. Usually you charge no Dutch VAT, but whether you do depends on the kind of service and where the rules say it takes place. Confirm it with your accountant before the first invoice rather than after the first audit.
A reverse-charge invoice must meet all the normal Dutch invoice requirements (factuureisen) plus two extra items. In full:
Send the invoice no later than the 15th day of the month after the month of delivery, and keep a copy for 7 years like every other invoice.
Example: tiling subcontract. You tile two bathrooms for Bouwbedrijf De Vries B.V., a Dutch main contractor. Agreed price € 4,800 net.
Invoice 2026/0037, dated 12 September 2026, work completed 10 September 2026. Lines: tiling bathroom A € 2,600, tiling bathroom B € 2,200. Subtotal € 4,800. VAT: btw verlegd. Customer VAT number: NL001234567B01. Total to pay: € 4,800. Payment term 30 days.
No 21%, no € 1,008 VAT line. De Vries reports € 1,008 in its own return and deducts it in the same return. You report the € 4,800 as reverse-charged turnover in your btw-aangifte - your accountant or the return form shows the box. No ICP-opgave, because the customer is Dutch.
Example: web design for a German company. Same invoice layout, customer Müller Logistik GmbH, VAT number DE123456789, amount € 2,500, line btw verlegd, total € 2,500. Because the customer is in another EU country, you also list this € 2,500 under the customer's VAT number in your ICP-opgave for that quarter.
Invoicing without VAT does not mean the sale disappears from your books. You still file your btw-aangifte every quarter - by the last day of the month after the quarter, so Q3 by 31 October - and the reverse-charged turnover is reported there in its own box. Your purchases are unaffected: the VAT on your tools, van or software you deduct as usual.
For EU customers add the ICP-opgave for the same period. The amounts on the ICP must match what you reported in the return, so keep the two in step. If you correct a quarter later, you do that with a suppletie (supplementary return).
Are you in the KOR small business scheme? Then you charge no VAT on any invoice and have no quarterly return - the reverse charge does not come into play on your outgoing invoices. Cross-border work under the KOR is a case for your accountant.
When you create an invoice in ProFaktura, you choose the VAT treatment per document: 21%, 9%, 0%, btw verlegd or intra-EU. Pick btw verlegd and the program:
Invoices, credit notes and the reverse charge are in the free plan. With Pro you also get the quarterly VAT dashboard, which shows your revenue, costs and VAT due per quarter - useful when the return is due and you want to know which part of your turnover was reverse-charged.
Not sure your invoices tick every box? Our guide on how to invoice in the Netherlands walks through the requirements line by line, and the page on the VAT return explains where the numbers end up each quarter.
It means the VAT is shifted to the customer. You do not charge VAT; your business customer reports and settles it in their own VAT return. The invoice shows the words btw verlegd and the customer's VAT number instead of a VAT rate and amount.
Yes. Every reverse-charge invoice must carry the customer's btw-id. Without it the invoice does not meet the Dutch invoice requirements and the customer cannot process it correctly. Check the number before you invoice.
No. The reverse charge only works between businesses. A consumer has no VAT number and no VAT return, so you charge Dutch VAT as usual - also for construction or cleaning work.
No. The ICP-opgave is only for business customers in other EU countries: services under the reverse charge and goods at 0%. Domestic subcontracting in construction, cleaning or shipbuilding goes on your normal VAT return, not on the ICP.
Usually you charge no Dutch VAT, but the rules depend on the kind of service and where it is deemed to take place. This is one to confirm with your accountant before you send the first invoice.
Read next: how to invoice in the Netherlands · VAT return in the Netherlands · KOR small business scheme