UK companies: Dutch VAT and tax after Brexit

A business from outside the EU since Brexit

For VAT and customs, the United Kingdom has been outside the EU since 1 January 2021. A UK limited company is therefore treated like any other business from outside the EU.

Northern Ireland is the exception for goods: for supplies of goods, the EU rules for VAT and customs duties still apply there. A business in Northern Ireland that trades goods with the EU uses a VAT number starting with XI.

Goods: an EU EORI number and import VAT

Goods sent from Great Britain to the Netherlands are imported. Every customs declaration in the EU needs an EORI number from an EU customs authority. A UK company applies for it in the EU country where it files its first declaration; an EORI number issued in the UK is not that registration.

Import VAT is due at import. With a Dutch VAT registration you deduct it in your Dutch VAT return. Under the trade agreement, goods of UK preferential origin can enter at a reduced rate or at 0% customs duty, with the right proof of origin.

What usually applies

• Stock in the Netherlands, for example with a 3PL or for a marketplace: you register for Dutch VAT. Through a marketplace, the marketplace is in many cases treated as the seller to the consumer
• Sales from Dutch stock to consumers in other EU countries: the Union OSS, from the first sale
• Services to Dutch businesses: the VAT is usually reverse-charged to your customer, so you often do not need a Dutch VAT number
• Digital services to consumers in the EU: the non-Union OSS, in one EU country
• Dutch VAT on your costs without a Dutch VAT number: a refund request with the Dutch tax authorities, within six months after the end of the calendar year
• Staff or an office in the Netherlands: possibly a permanent establishment, with Dutch corporate income tax on its profits, and Dutch payroll

For companies from Switzerland and Norway, see our dedicated page.

A UK VAT number is not an EU VAT number

A supplier in the Netherlands can only zero-rate an intra-Community supply to your company with a VAT number from another EU country. The simplified rules for triangulation (ABC) deals also need an intermediary identified for VAT in an EU country. A UK VAT number is not enough for either.

Logging in: eHerkenning

To log in to the online portal of the Dutch tax authorities yourself, a company needs eHerkenning, the Dutch business login, at level EH3 or higher. It is bought from an approved provider. When we file your returns, you usually do not need it yourself: you authorise us instead.

What we do

We look at your sales, goods flows and people in the Netherlands and tell you which registrations you need. Then we arrange the Dutch VAT registration (€ 275, everything included), an EU EORI number if needed (€ 59), and file every Dutch VAT return in our package: € 100 per month, € 150 with the OSS return. Staff in the Netherlands? We also run the payroll: see payroll for foreign employers.