As an entrepreneur subject to VAT, in Belgium you have to charge VAT on the products and services you sell. Apart from some exceptions, VAT is part of being a business owner.
The 21% VAT rate counts as the most general one, but for some goods and services other VAT rates may apply, such as 6 or 12%.
Depending on the services or products you sell, you need to take into account different VAT rates. It will be the products or services you sell that determine your VAT rate. So your VAT rate does not depend on your customer!
What VAT rates are there? 🔎
21% – the default category
On most products and services, a 21% VAT rate must be charged. In other words, this is the standard VAT rate. If the product or service you sell does not explicitly qualify for an exception (6% or 12%), you must apply 21% VAT to it.
12% – meals and some exceptions
A 12% VAT is to be paid on meals sold and consumed on site. In contrast, if the meal is a takeaway (and therefore not consumed on site) then a 6% VAT rate applies, see below for the 6% list.
Drinks that are to be collected are also at 6%, but for drinks consumed on site 21% VAT applies.
The following is a list of other products and services that also qualify for the 12% VAT exception:
- Meals consumed on site in restaurants or catering establishments
- Takeaway meals (since March 1, 2026)
- Restaurant and catering services (excluding beverages and simple delivery of prepared meals)
- Coal
- Tires for agricultural machinery and tractors
- Phytopharmaceutical products
- Supply of social housing
- Margarine
- Copyright, culture, sports, and entertainment (since March 1, 2026)
- Hotels and campsites (since March 1, 2026)
6% – basic goods
A long list of goods and services that are considered necessities are covered by the 6% VAT rate.
In the food sector, this applies to basic ingredients: meat and fish, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, fats & oil and takeaway meals. Medicines, transportation, flowers, plants and bicycle and shoe repairs are also subject to the 6% VAT rate.
Here is the complete list of products & services to which you must apply 6% VAT:
- Live animals, meat and offal, fish, crustaceans, shellfish and mollusks (excluding caviar, langoustines, crabs, lobsters, crayfish, oysters and food prepared with them)
- Milk and dairy products, eggs, honey
- Vegetables, fruits, plants, roots and tubers for food purposes
- Peels of citrus fruits and melons
- Plant-based products (cereals, nuts, legumes)
- Products of the milling industry, malt, starch
- Fats and oils
- Other foodstuffs (basic products for beverages, except beers with >0.5% alcohol and other beverages >1.2% alcohol)
- Animal feed, fertilizers, animal products
- Ordinary natural water (via distribution)
- Pharmaceutical products (medicines)
- Magazines and books
- Original works of art, collectors’ items, antiques
- Cars for passenger transport for disabled persons, their parts and accessories
- Coffins
- Orthopedic appliances and wheelchairs
- Agricultural services
- Passenger transport
- Cultural, sports or entertainment facilities
- Copyrights, concerts, and performances
- Work on real estate related to private homes older than 10 years (under certain conditions)
- Floriculture and ornamental horticulture
- Bicycle repairs
- Repairs of footwear and leather goods
- Repairs and alterations to clothing and household linen
And mileage allowance? 🚗
You must charge mileage allowance according to the VAT rate you apply to the rest of your sales invoice. The marginal item (charging mileage allowance) follows the principal item (the services or goods you invoice).
The secondary item is thus subject to the same VAT rate as the main item. This means that you must also charge VAT on the mileage allowance, in accordance with the VAT rate applied to the rest of the sales invoice.
What if I have to charge different rates?
For example, suppose you are a garden contractor selling plants and also planting them on site. Then you may apply two VAT rates.
The price of the plants is at 6% VAT and your services are at 21% VAT. You may indeed issue a single sales invoice, but simply with a split between the plants and the services.
👀 Note: It is not mandatory to make a split, but if you don’t, the highest VAT rate will apply to the total price!
An invoice with 0% VAT, help?
No worries, there are two main reasons why a business owner may issue a correct invoice and still charge 0% VAT:
- VAT exemption scheme for small businesses: If your turnover remains limited, you may charge 0% VAT. Please note: you cannot recover VAT in this case.
- VAT reverse charge: This often applies in the construction industry or to invoices between European businesses subject to VAT.
1. VAT exemption scheme for small businesses
Belgian entrepreneurs can make use of the VAT exemption scheme. This is an option available to them if their annual turnover remains limited.
This means that they are fully entitled to charge a VAT rate of 0% on their sales invoices. The downside is that these entrepreneurs are of course not allowed to recover VAT on their purchases.
Are you exempted from VAT, but have you received an invoice with 0% from a European supplier? Then be sure to read this article!
Would you like to know more about this VAT exemption scheme?
Discover the difference between subject to VAT and exempted from VAT here.
2. VAT reverse charge
This is another scheme in which a VAT rate of 0% is applied. It is a scheme that is used between businesses that are subject to VAT.
VAT reverse charge is common in the construction sector, on the one hand, and in invoicing between European businesses that are subject to VAT, on the other.
Find out everything you need to know about the VAT reverse charge scheme here!
