How does input VAT work?
VAT is a tax on added value, and the deduction of input VAT is the mechanism that makes that true. You charge VAT on what you sell, you deduct the VAT you paid on what you bought, and on balance you only pay on the part of the value you added. As a result, VAT stays neutral within a chain of businesses and only really bites at the final customer who cannot deduct.
The deduction is not all or nothing. If you use something both for business and privately, you only deduct the business part, and you must be able to substantiate that part. For some expenses the law excludes the deduction entirely or limits it, which means that an expense that is deductible for income tax may still give no VAT deduction. Those two systems do not run in parallel, and that is one of the most common sources of confusion.
The timing follows the invoice. If you receive an invoice from February in March, the input VAT belongs in the period of issue. An invoice you only find in the third quarter while it was issued in the first quarter therefore does not simply belong in your return for the third quarter.
Where is input VAT 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 15 of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968)governs the deduction of input VAT and the conditions under which that deduction exists
- Article 35a of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968)lists the details that must be on the invoice; without such an invoice there is in principle no right to deduction
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 input VAT?
For an expense with VAT deduction, basestep asks whether you have an invoice that meets the requirements. The platform cannot check that, but it can ask for it, and it states that difference plainly. The deduction comes back in box 5b (rubriek 5b) of your VAT overview, with the derivation next to it.
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 input VAT?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
The card receipt without details
A till receipt of a few tens of euros is usually enough for your costs, but gives no VAT deduction as soon as the invoice requirements are not met. For a business purchase, ask for an invoice in your name, even for small amounts.
Deduction in the wrong period
A late invoice belongs in the period of issue. If you correct that afterwards, that is a suppletie (a correction of an earlier VAT return) and not an adjustment of the current return.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.