How does the kleineondernemersregeling (KOR) work?
The scheme trades simplicity for deduction. You do not have to put VAT on your invoices or file a return, but you can no longer reclaim the VAT on your purchases either. For someone who mainly sells their own hours that is often favourable; for someone who buys a lot with VAT it usually is not.
The threshold is about turnover, and not all income counts. The release of an amount owed to a creditor, a debt collection fee and statutory commercial interest are not consideration for a supply and therefore not turnover within the meaning of Article 25. That difference is small on your bank statement and large for the question of whether you are still below the threshold.
The scheme runs per calendar year and not per financial year or per twelve months. That makes the year end important: an invoice that falls in January instead of December because of its issue date counts towards the new year.
What most starters do not see coming is the adjustment (herziening). If you reclaimed VAT on something expensive that lasts several years, and you then join the scheme, you must pay back part of that deduction. That runs over five financial years for movable goods and ten for immovable property, counted from the financial year in which you started using the asset. Not in months: the year you started using it is year one, even if that was in December.
There is a threshold that removes most cases. If the amount to be adjusted stays below €500 per financial year, you do not have to adjust anything. A laptop of €1,400 excluding VAT gives €294 of input VAT, and three remaining years of that is €176: below the threshold, so no adjustment. With an investment of a few thousand euros you do go above it. If an asset is only put into use while the scheme already applies, it is not an adjustment but a deduction rule: you had no right to the deduction and you pay it back in one go.
Where is the kleineondernemersregeling (KOR) in the law?
These legal sources come from the specialist dossiers that were reviewed on 31 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 15(6) of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968)carries the adjustment of previously deducted input VAT, with the period of five financial years for movable and ten for immovable capital goods
- Article 25 of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968)governs the exemption and states the turnover threshold of €20,000 per calendar year
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 kleineondernemersregeling (KOR)?
The tax engine monitors the threshold during the year and only counts what is turnover within the meaning of Article 25. If you get close, the platform warns you before you go over it, with the current figure and the legal reference.
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 kleineondernemersregeling (KOR)?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Joining shortly after a large purchase
If you have just reclaimed VAT on equipment or a renovation, joining can mean that you pay back part of it. Calculate the adjustment before you register; below €500 per financial year it is not needed, above it it is.
Counting interest and collection costs
Statutory commercial interest and a debt collection fee are not consideration for a supply and do not count towards the threshold. If you count them, you think you are near the threshold sooner than you are.
Buying a service from abroad
If you use the scheme and buy a service from another country where the VAT is reverse-charged to you, you must report that VAT and you cannot deduct it. That is one of the places where the scheme costs money instead of saving it.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.