Services to clients outside the EU

Many freelancers work for clients outside the EU, such as in the United Kingdom, Switzerland or the United States. For many services to foreign customers, the service is taxed in the customer's country. (Belastingdienst: services in international trade)

No Dutch VAT

Do you supply a service to a business outside the EU, and is the service taxed there? Then you do not charge Dutch VAT. On the invoice, you state that no Dutch VAT has been charged.

Not in the return

The Belastingdienst (Dutch tax authority) says you do not have to declare such a service in your VAT return if the service is taxed in the country outside the EU. (Belastingdienst: services to customers in non-EU countries)

Please note

• This applies to services to businesses. Other rules apply to private individuals outside the EU.
• Some services follow their own rule, for example services relating to immovable property. If you are unsure, use the help on the Belastingdienst pages.
• The revenue does count towards your profit for income tax.

In ZZPboek

Choose the country for the client. For a business client outside the EU, the app puts no Dutch VAT on the invoice. The revenue counts in your revenue and your profit. By default, the VAT overview shows this revenue separately, outside the boxes (rubrieken). Did your earlier return put these services in rubriek 1e or 3b? Then choose that under Settings → Dashboard & Tax. Your total revenue is the same for every choice.