Payment provider fees (Stripe, Mollie)

If you sell online, customers often pay through a payment provider such as Stripe or Mollie. The provider keeps fees and pays out the rest. So on your bank account you see less than your customer paid.

Book gross, not net

Your revenue is the full amount your customer paid. The provider's fees are a separate cost item. So do not book only the amount that arrives in your bank. Otherwise your revenue and your VAT are too low.

An example

A customer pays €121, of which €21 is VAT. The provider keeps €2 in fees and pays out €119. You book €100 revenue and €21 VAT, and €2 in costs.

VAT on the fees

Payment services are usually exempt from VAT. (Belastingdienst: financial services) Check what your provider's invoice says:

• No VAT and "exempt": you book the costs without VAT.
• "VAT reverse-charged" by a provider from another EU country: you declare the VAT in box (rubriek) 4b and deduct it in 5b. (Belastingdienst: services from other EU countries)
• Dutch VAT on the invoice: you deduct it in 5b.

Monthly overview

Most providers make a monthly invoice or an overview with all fees. That invoice is your proof of the costs. Keep it in your records.

In ZZPboek

Link the payout on your bank to the sales invoices it contains. You book the difference as payment provider costs. That way your revenue, your VAT and your bank all agree.