Btw calculator: add or remove Dutch VAT at 21%, 9% or 0%.

Btw is short for belasting over de toegevoegde waarde: the Dutch word for VAT. The tax itself is formally called omzetbelasting (turnover tax). On a Dutch invoice or price tag you see "btw" next to the rate, and "excl. btw" or "incl. btw" next to the amount. This btw calculator works with the three Dutch rates: 21%, 9% and 0%.

The standard rate is 21%. The reduced rate of 9% applies to food and non-alcoholic drinks, medicines, books and newspapers, and some services such as hairdressers and bicycle repairs. The 0% rate applies to exports outside the EU and to goods sold to a VAT-registered business in another EU country. Healthcare, education and most financial services are exempt (vrijgesteld): no VAT is charged and none can be reclaimed.

Multiply by 1.21 for the 21% rate or by 1.09 for the 9% rate. € 100 excluding VAT becomes € 121.00 at 21% (€ 21.00 VAT) and € 109.00 at 9% (€ 9.00 VAT). Select "Add VAT" in the calculator, enter the net amount and pick the rate.

Removing VAT from a gross amount means dividing, not subtracting. € 121.00 including 21% VAT divided by 1.21 is € 100.00; the VAT is € 21.00. A common mistake is to take 21% of the gross amount: 21% of € 121.00 is € 25.41, which is too much. Select "Remove VAT", enter the gross amount, and the calculator divides for you. € 100.00 including 21% VAT is € 82.64 net plus € 17.36 VAT.

Yes. A VAT-registered business deducts the VAT on its business costs, called input VAT (voorbelasting), on its VAT return. Most businesses file every quarter with the Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax authority, and pay the difference between the VAT they charged and the VAT they paid. Under the small businesses scheme (KOR, turnover up to € 20,000 a year) you charge no VAT and reclaim none. Exempt activities give no right to reclaim either.

0% applies to goods you export outside the EU and to goods you sell to a VAT-registered business in another EU country. For most services to a business abroad the VAT is reverse-charged (btw verlegd): you charge no VAT and the customer reports it in their own country. The invoice must show the customer’s VAT number and the words "btw verlegd" or "VAT reverse-charged". Choose 0% in the calculator and the net and gross amounts are the same.

It works in whole cents and rounds half a cent up. On an invoice you may round the VAT per line or on the invoice total, as long as you do it the same way every time. A difference of one cent between this calculator and your invoicing software comes from that choice, not from the rate.