How does the EU-KOR work?
The EU-KOR sits next to the Dutch KOR and does not replace it. The Dutch scheme looks at your turnover in the Netherlands against the threshold of €20,000; the EU scheme looks at your turnover in the whole Union against the threshold of €100,000. In addition, each country has its own national threshold below which you may supply exempt there, and that threshold applies alongside the Union threshold. So you can stay under €100,000 and still fall outside the scheme in a specific country.
Access runs through a prior notification, and that is the part that surprises people. You report in advance in which country or countries you want to apply the scheme, and that notification must be in four weeks before the start of the period. The country you name checks within fifteen working days whether you stay below the national threshold. No later than 35 working days after your notification you have the number with which you may actually apply the exemption.
Once you take part, an obligation is added that is separate from your regular VAT return: every quarter a turnover report with your turnover in the whole EU for that period. You file that report with the Dutch Belastingdienst and not with the countries themselves. Do not forget that the clock for access runs forward: the calculation back from the desired start date is what determines whether you are on time, not the moment you think of it.
Where is the EU-KOR in the law?
These legal sources come from the specialist dossiers that were reviewed on 24 August 2026. Mind the difference that becomes large in a dispute: a statutory article next to a value is where that value is found, not a justification for how it applies to your situation.
- Article 25 of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968)carries the Dutch KOR, which the EU scheme sits next to
The links go to the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl, in the version that applied on 24 September 2026.
What does basestep do with the EU-KOR?
basestep does not deliver the quarterly report as a document; you file it yourself. What is coming is the screen underneath: your turnover per member state for the quarter, the EU total and where you stand against the Union threshold. The platform already keeps the figures per country, so this is presentation and not new bookkeeping.
All calculations, explanations and signals in basestep are calculation support and instruction, not tax or legal advice. Amounts are estimates based on your own input; the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) sets the assessment.
Where does it go wrong with the EU-KOR?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Registering too late
The notification must be in four weeks before the period, and the number only follows no later than 35 working days after that. Anyone who decides in December to join from 1 January will not make it.
Only looking at the Union threshold
The €100,000 is the upper limit across all countries together. Each country also has its own national threshold, and that can be much lower than your turnover there.
Forgetting the quarterly report
The quarterly turnover report is separate from your VAT return and therefore easily drops out of view. It belongs to the scheme and not to your filing rhythm.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.