How does rubriek 1a work?
The boxes are not bookkeeping categories but return boxes. They exist to show the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) what happened per rate and per type of supply. Your own general ledger can therefore be arranged differently from the return, and that is normal; there only has to be a reconciliation between them.
Besides 1a and 1b, there are boxes for supplies where the VAT is reverse-charged, for supplies to and from abroad, and for input VAT. For a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) that supplies to Dutch customers in the Netherlands, 1a, 1b and 5b are often the only ones that get filled.
A correction always follows the original supply: the same rate, the same box, but negative. The period of the correction, however, is the period of the credit note itself.
Where is rubriek 1a 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 9 of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968)sets the rates that rubrieken 1a and 1b go back to
- Article 15 of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968)the deduction of input VAT that ends up in rubriek 5b
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 rubriek 1a?
The tax engine calculates your VAT per box and shows the derivation: which invoices end up in which box and why. You file yourself. The overview is an estimate based on your own input; the Belastingdienst sets the assessment.
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 rubriek 1a?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
The credit note in the wrong box
A correction belongs in the box of the original supply, even if your rate has since changed. If you put the credit note in the box of today, you shift turnover between rates.
Treating boxes as general ledger accounts
Your general ledger may be arranged more finely or more coarsely than the return. As long as the reconciliation is correct that is no problem; it becomes one as soon as you copy the return directly from an account balance.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.