How much money do I have to set aside for VAT tax and when do I have to pay this?
Perhaps unnecessarily, we'll first explain what the declaration is, since terms are often used interchangeably here. The VAT tax return also has the following names: quarterly return and sales tax return. You will regularly hear words such as recovering, declaring, subtracting, reclaiming, staging. This ensures that many starting entrepreneurs have often heard the clock ring, but do not know where the clapper is. That is why we explain it easy below.
How much VAT do I need to pay every quarter? (according to the tax authorities)
The VAT tax return relates to the revenue you make each period. In short, the VAT received (on your invoices) 'belongs' to the Tax Authorities and needs to be paid to them. Before you do that, the paid VAT (on your business expenses) may be subtracted. In some cases this is possible on a yearly or monthly basis, but in general entrepreneurs in The Netherlands do their VAT return every three months (that's why it's called a quarterly return). The payment should be received on the bank account of the Tax Authorities before the 1st, so:
1st quarter - January till March -> tax return done and tax paid in April
2nd quarter - April till June -> tax return done and tax paid in July
3rd quarter - July till September -> tax return done and tax paid in October
4th quarter - October till December-> tax return done and tax paid in January
Outgoing invoices
The invoices you send usually include VAT. Depending on your field of work, this is often 21%, but if you are an artist, athlete or repairman, for example, you may charge 9% for some services. In addition, there is also a 0% rate or you may be exempt from VAT. In the latter case you work for example youth or in education, you are a journalist or you compose. In this case you cannot deduct all VAT. Below how that works.
With the sales tax return, the invoice date is leading and not the payment date. This means that you may have already had to pay the VAT on your invoice to the Tax Authorities before the invoice has been paid to you.