Filing a VAT return for the first time, box by box

When do you file, and when must the return be in?

Usually per quarter. After your registration with KVK (the Dutch Chamber of Commerce), the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) tells you whether it sees you as an entrepreneur for VAT and for which period you file. For a starting sole proprietorship that is almost always the quarter. You then get a letter every year with all periods, the deadlines and the payment references (betalingskenmerken), and those same dates are in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk.

The return and the payment must be in on the last day of the month after the quarter. For 2026: the first quarter by 30 April, the second by 31 July, the third by 31 October, and the fourth quarter by 31 January 2027. Note that the payment must also be in the Belastingdienst account on time; a transfer on the last day is late.

A different period is possible. Per month if you request it, and per year only if you meet all the conditions, including paying less than €1,883 VAT a year and not holding an artikel 23-vergunning (a licence to account for import VAT in your return). You request a change in writing from your tax office; the Belastingdienst answers within six weeks and the change takes effect from the next period.

• Quarter is the standard; the letter and Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk give the dates.
• 2026: 30 April, 31 July, 31 October, and 31 January 2027 for the fourth quarter.
• The payment must be in their account on time, not just transferred.

What do you need before you start?

Three things. First, all invoices you sent in the quarter, with per invoice the amount without VAT and the VAT amount. Second, all invoices and receipts for business costs you received in the quarter, with the VAT amount on them; only on those may you reclaim the VAT, and only if the invoice meets the requirements. Third, your login details for Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk.

What counts is the invoice date, not the payment date. An invoice you sent on 28 March that was paid in April belongs in the first quarter. That is called the invoice system (factuurstelsel) and it is the standard for those who supply to businesses. If you mainly supply to consumers, the cash system (kasstelsel) may apply and you count on the payment date; the Belastingdienst tells you which system applies to you.

Whoever uses a bookkeeping platform has the four numbers ready once the invoices and receipts are in it. That saves not only time in adding up, but also mistakes: an invoice you forgot to book, you also miss in your return.

• Sent invoices, received invoices and receipts, login details.
• The invoice date counts, not the payment date (factuurstelsel).
• A platform that prepares the four numbers prevents the adding up and the forgotten invoice.

What do you fill in at box 1: your turnover in the Netherlands?

In box 1a you enter on the left your turnover on which you charged 21% VAT, without the VAT, and on the right the VAT you calculated on it. The worked example from the Belastingdienst: three invoices of €2,000 without VAT in a quarter, each with €420 VAT, gives 6,000 on the left and 1,260 on the right. Box 1b works the same for turnover at the reduced rate of 9%, for example for books or food; for most services of a maker, 1b is empty.

Box 1e is for turnover at 0% or turnover that is not taxed with you, and boxes 1c and 1d are for special schemes that rarely affect a starting sole proprietorship. Round the amounts to whole euros; the return works in whole euros.

The amount on the right does not have to be exactly 21% of the amount on the left, because you add up the VAT from your invoices and those are rounded per invoice. A small difference is normal. A large difference means an invoice is missing or counted twice.

• 1a: turnover without VAT on the left, the calculated VAT on the right, for the 21% rate.
• 1b: the same for 9%; 1e for 0%; 1c and 1d rarely.
• Whole euros; a small difference from rounding is normal.

What do you fill in at box 5: the input VAT and the balance?

Box 5a shows the total VAT you owe from the boxes above; the form calculates that itself. In box 5b you enter the input VAT (voorbelasting): the Dutch VAT on goods and services you bought for your business, such as software, a laptop, a bookkeeper or hosting with a Dutch provider. You may deduct it if you have an invoice that meets the requirements and the costs are for your business. The term voorbelasting on this site explains the conditions.

The balance is 5a minus 5b. If it is positive, you pay that amount; if it is negative, you get it back. In the worked example: 1,260 owed, 420 input VAT, 840 to pay. You pay with the payment reference from the letter or from Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk, because without a reference the Belastingdienst cannot link your payment to your return.

For VAT on costs from other EU countries (for example a software subscription with a foreign provider where the VAT is reverse-charged to you), a different route applies, via box 4 and then again 5b. That already happens often in a first return, especially for makers with AI subscriptions; the term verlegde btw (reverse-charged VAT) explains it.

• 5a: the total owed, calculated by the form.
• 5b: the Dutch VAT on your business costs, with an invoice.
• 5a minus 5b: pay or get back, always with the payment reference.

Which boxes do you usually leave empty?

You leave box 2 (reverse-charge schemes within the Netherlands) empty unless you work in a sector where the VAT is shifted to the customer, such as construction. Box 3 is about supplies and services abroad: to a business in another EU country (3b, which also requires a listing of intra-EU supplies, the opgaaf intracommunautaire prestaties) or outside the EU (3a). Box 4 is about what you bought abroad on which you have to declare the VAT yourself, which does happen with foreign software subscriptions.

Whoever supplies only to Dutch customers in the Netherlands and buys only from Dutch providers fills in 1a and 5b and leaves the rest empty. As soon as a foreign customer or a foreign subscription comes along, a box is added, and that is the moment to read the term about it or to ask someone.

Never let a box be set to zero because you do not understand it while something does belong in it. An empty box that should have been filled you correct with a supplementary return (suppletie), and that is more work than looking it up beforehand.

• Box 2: only with a reverse charge within the Netherlands.
• Boxes 3 and 4: abroad, sales and purchases; with AI subscriptions this comes sooner than you think.
• Only the Netherlands: 1a and 5b, the rest empty.

Which mistakes are most common in a first return?

Entering the amount including VAT as turnover, where the amount without VAT belongs. Reclaiming the VAT on a receipt that is not a valid invoice, or on an expense that was partly private. Counting an invoice on the payment date instead of the invoice date. Filing the return but not paying, or paying without a payment reference. And skipping the return because there was no turnover: a nil return (nulaangifte) is also a return, and not filing it leads to a fine.

Two mistakes are specific to makers. The first: reclaiming VAT on a foreign subscription as if it were Dutch VAT. Such an invoice usually shows no Dutch VAT but a reverse-charge note, and then it belongs in box 4. The second: taking part in the kleineondernemersregeling (KOR, the Dutch small businesses VAT scheme) and still putting VAT on invoices or reclaiming it. With that scheme you file no return at all; the article about it explains when that fits.

All mistakes can be fixed. A mistake in a return you already filed you correct with a supplementary return if the difference is more than €1,000, and otherwise in the next return. The term suppletie on this site describes how.

• Enter turnover without VAT, reclaim only on valid invoices, count on the invoice date.
• File even with zero turnover; pay with the reference.
• Foreign subscriptions belong in box 4; with the KOR you file no return.

What do you do after filing?

You keep the return itself, the confirmation and the support: the list of invoices that belonged to 1a, the list of receipts that belonged to 5b, and the proof of payment. That falls under the seven-year retention obligation and it is what you show when the Belastingdienst asks a question. A return without support is a number without a story.

Then set aside the VAT of the next quarter as soon as it comes in. The VAT on your invoices was never yours; whoever leaves it in the ordinary account spends it and has to find it again in the month after the quarter. A separate account or a fixed reserve per paid invoice solves that. The article on setting money aside covers this.

And note what you will do differently next time. A first return takes an afternoon; the fourth takes a quarter of an hour, if the bookkeeping was kept up during the quarter itself. That is the whole secret, and it is no secret.

• Keep the return, confirmation, support and proof of payment: seven years.
• Set aside the VAT of the next quarter as soon as it comes in.
• The first time an afternoon, the fourth a quarter of an hour.

Sources

Checked on 5 September 2026. The worked example and the boxes come from the Belastingdienst; the dates are those of 2026. The explanation per box is in the Belastingdienst brochure that accompanies the digital VAT return.

• Belastingdienst, I have to file a VAT return, how do I fill it in
• Belastingdienst, when must my VAT return and payment be in
• Belastingdienst, rates and exemptions
• Belastingdienst, the return period for VAT

Further reading

Three places that connect to this.