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vAT exemption – maximum turnover (Belgian vs non-Belgian activities)

ST
09/11/2023
Question

Hello,

I have a small business that is exempted from VAT.

On the internet I read this: “For the determination of the maximum annual turnover, you only need to determine the turnover from your Belgian activities. For this, you only need to include the sales and services normally subject to VAT, but here too, there are a number of exceptions.”

Question 1: What exactly is meant by ‘Belgian activities’? I currently mainly provide services to foreign (European and non-European) customers, so that vAT is reversed anyway. But I would be surprised if I could provide unlimited services to foreign customers without incurring a loss of my vAT exemption.

Question 2: If I were to also provide educational services (and therefore become subject to VAT), is it correct that I should not include my turnover from those services either?

Thanks in advance!

Sources:

https://www.zelfstandige.vlaanderen/de-vAT-vrijstellingsregeling-wat-is-het-en-is-het-echt-interessant/https://www.sbb.be/nl/magazine/vAT-vrijstelling-tot-25000-euro-de-kleine-ondernemingsregeling-interessant-voor-jou

I have since found more information about this myself:

  • https://www.sbb.be/nl/magazine/consultancy-buitenlandse-facturatie

"You are considered a 'small business' if your annual turnover does not exceed 25,000 euros. In that case, you do not have to charge vAT on your invoices. However, international invoicing is completely excluded from this scheme. Just like companies subject to VAT, you must therefore state 'vAT reverse-charged' or 'services taxable where the recipient is established', depending on where your professional client is established. Foreign assignments do not count towards the €25,000 threshold.

https://www.mijntipsenadvies.be/2016-09/hoe-als-kleine-ondernemer factureren to buitenlandse customer VLTBTWAR_EU04040201</

You provide services to a subject to VAT from a other EU Member State

The so-called B2B main rule?

Yes! In other words, it does apply to small businesses. Consequently, the services provided by a small business to a foreign subject to VAT person must, as a rule, be localised at the place where the recipient of the service is established.Those 'transactions taking place abroad' do not count towards the calculation of the €25,000 turnover threshold. In other words, you can invoice €30,000 worth of services to foreign subjects to VAT and still fall under the small business scheme.How to invoice? Without VAT! You must now simply state 'VAT reverse charged' on your invoice. Your foreign subject to VAT customer will then charge VAT themselves and must pay it to the foreign treasury.Please note 1! Your invoice must not refer to the special exemption scheme for the so-called small business scheme. This is not possible because the services are located outside Belgium and are therefore subject to foreign vAT legislation.Please note 2! You must also include your sales in an intra-Community declaration under code 'S', unless your sales are already exempted from VAT under foreign VAT legislation.Does this also apply to the supply of goods? Or only to services? I sell on Bol.com, and create a sales invoice to them (i.e. abroad). I am subject to the exemption scheme, but due to rising turnover, I would exceed the threshold of 25,000. But the question now is whether my turnover from Bol should be included or not.Thanks in advance!

I'm not that familiar with selling goods myself, but since the VAT exemption is a national scheme, I suspect that foreign sales of goods don't count towards that threshold either. However, I believe the intra-Community scheme for goods is different from that for services. I believe that you have to charge vAT instead of reverse charge vAT, just like in the sale of services to European private persons? I believe that a separate exemption scheme has recently been introduced at European level, which you can apply for separately (this is of no benefit to me because I simply reverse charge vAT anyway, so I am not familiar with the details).

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