Conditions for claiming refund of VAT
You are only permitted to deduct or claim refund of the VAT that you have paid over the purchase of goods and services if you satisfy the following 2 conditions:
- You use the goods and services for business and not personal use.
- You use the goods and services for activities over which VAT is charged.
Furthermore you may only submit a claim for refund if:
- you are not required to file a VAT return in the Netherlands
- the Dutch VAT has been charged to you
- the VAT is deductible as input tax for the Dutch entrepreneur
- the amount of VAT for which you claim refund is at least € 50 per calendar year or € 400 per quarter
Please note!
Goods and services for which the VAT is reverse-charged to the client or for which the 0% tariff applies also count as taxed.
The VAT charged over food and drink in catering establishments can never be deducted. However you may deduct the VAT charged over the cost of overnight accommodation and suchlike if you incur these costs in relation to taxed services.
Mixed use
Do you also use goods or services for exempted services? This entails mixed use. You are then required to divide the input tax into one part which you may deduct and the other part that you may not deduct.
Example
You have business premises in the Netherlands. You lease half of the premises to a shopkeeper charging VAT and the other half to an insurance agent charging no VAT. The latter only provides exempted services. If you have painting work carried out in the premises then you are only able to deduct half of the VAT charged to you for the service, because half of the premises are used for exempted services.
