Help > The Bookie Online > Expenses > Business expenses

Basic Explanation | expenses and various costs categories

Which costs fall under which cost item?

You include business expenses in your administration in order to keep a proper administration and to get tax deductions.

If you hava a Plus subscription, you just have to forward expenses and we take care of the rest.

If you have a Basis subscription, you need to process the expenses yourself. Here you can read how to add it to your administration. To enter these costs, choose a correct cost item. Since there are so many, we have made a preselection for you. However, you can always adjust these cost items to your own requirements. Here you can read how to do that under your administration settings.

If you have incurred costs, as with (almost) all your other expenses, you must have an invoice or receipt with the VAT statement that is addressed to your company. So take a photo of all your receipts and collect your online invoices. Read here how to add them.

Rent

This concerns the rent of your workspace, studio or workshop. This also includes storage. Depending on the agreements with your landlord, your rent may or may not be taxed with VAT. So check yourself whether your rent is exempt from VAT or whether you can reclaim the 21% VAT. Do you use a workspace in your home? Then in a very limited number of cases you are eligible for a deduction of costs. In most cases you may not deduct the costs of the workspace. Test it here yourself: https://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenhulpen/werkruimte/

Workspace interior

You may only declare the layout of your workspace as costs when you actually rent a workspace. This includes, for example, desks, tables, chairs, plants and the like.

Office equipment

Materials for your workplace: paper, pens, toilet paper etc.

Clothes and Workwear

Clothing that can only be used for work, or that has a company logo of at least 70 cm2.

Public transport

By adding a monthly or quarterly printout of your mijnns.nl to the publications in Je Bookie App, you have everything in one overview. Don't forget to take out your personal travel costs here. You can also choose to record your trips in a kilometer registration. By adding the number of kilometers times € 0.19 per kilometer to your expenses, you can replace the train tickets.

Car

Means of transport: purchase of means of transport with a purchase price greater than € 450 excl. VAT.

Other car costs

Leasing costs of the company car.

Mileage allowance for private transport

If you are driving a private car for business purposes, then you may not state separate costs (such as gasoline and parking costs). Though, you may include € 0.19 cents per driven kilometer in your administration. Read what the tax authorities say. These costs have 0% VAT. That is one of the reasons why many customers enter this expense into their administration at the end of the year. You do have to prove the driven kilometers with a thorough kilometer registration.

Work by third parties

If you hire another freelancer for an assignment or your company, the activities fall under this heading.

Further training

Courses, training courses, seminars and workshops. Costs for new knowledge (in a different field) count as private costs. You may possibly include these costs in the income tax return as training expenses.

Example of a question asked by a Bookie Baas: 

QUESTION I am teaching German in other languages which I am still taking courses in. Now, I see these courses as continuing education because they ensure me the ability of explaining complex grammar structures in the language of my students and therefore keep them studying with me and also recruit new ones. So, I was wondering if I can add these as "education".

ANSWER If you’re taking courses to improve your teaching, these are costs can be seen as business expenses. You can add these costs under “Staff training costs” in the The Bookie webapp.

Professional literature

Books and online files that you need for the practice of your profession.

Mobile phone

Download your invoice and check that it contains VAT. Add this to your expenses. We will apply the private correction at the end of the year. Please note that an invoice can be subdivided into the payment of a device and your calling costs. You enter this separately.

Software

These are, for example, programs such as Adobe, Final Cut etc. Please note that VAT is often shifted. You can indicate this when spending under VAT transfer. Read here how VAT transfer works.

Bank charges

Your bank also charges costs. You will find this on your printout of the quarter or year. There is also no VAT on these costs. *

Administration costs

These are, for example, the costs of your Bookie. You can find these monthly invoices in The Bookie Webapp under your Account. Read here how and where.

Legal costs

Costs that you incur in relation to your company: advice, representation, drafting contracts.

Insurance in general

This includes, for example, your professional and business liability insurance. These costs are exempt from VAT. NB Insurance tax is also 21% but not deductible. *

Promotion

One of the requirements of the Tax Authorities to measure whether you are an entrepreneur for income tax is the following:
You depend on clients for your existence. To be an entrepreneur, you must identify yourself sufficiently, for example through advertising, an internet site, a signboard or your own stationery.

by Mari Last update: 02 Feb, 2024