Are you purchasing goods or services from suppliers based in a different EU country than the one where you're registered as a self-employed professional?
Here's how to correctly record those expenses in Accountable, whether your supplier is a freelancer or a company.
Purchases between businesses or freelancers based in two different EU countries fall under the EU reverse-charge system.
This means:
As the customer, you don’t pay VAT to your supplier.
As the supplier, you don’t charge your local VAT to clients in another EU country.
Your supplier can verify the validity of your VAT number via the EU VIES tool.
👉 In practice, if your VAT number is mentioned on the invoice, your supplier issues it without VAT
Go to Expenses > Upload a new expense, and select the invoice.
Click on Review now.
When asked “Is this a proper invoice?”, answer Yes if your VAT number is shown on the invoice.
Category: Select the one that matches the nature of the purchase. For example:
➤ Technology & Communication > Technology service or software.
VAT rate on the document:
➤ Select 0%
➤ When asked “Why is there no VAT on this expense?”, choose:
“Intra-EU reverse charge regime”
6. Make sure to select the VAT rate that would apply to this purchase in Belgium, in the section 'What VAT rate would apply to this purchase in Belgium?'
Step | Action |
1. Upload the document | 📥 Go to Expenses > Upload a new expense and select the invoice. |
2. Check the invoice | ✅ For the question "Is this a valid invoice?", answer Yes if your VAT number appears on it. |
3. Choose the category | 📊 Select the category that matches the type of purchase (e.g. Technology service or software). |
4. Set the VAT rate | 🧮 Select 0% VAT. |
5. Justify the absence of VAT | ✏️ For the question "Why is there no VAT?", choose "Intra-EU reverse charge". |
6. Indicate the Belgian rate | 🇧🇪 Select the VAT rate that would apply to this purchase in Belgium. |
7. Define professional use | 💼 Indicate the percentage of professional use of the expense. |
8. Save | 💾 Review all information and save the expense. |
If recorded correctly in Accountable, intra-EU purchases are automatically placed in the correct boxes of your VAT return.
Grid 86 – Intra-EU reverse-charge purchases of goods
Grid 81 – Raw materials and goods for resale
Grid 55 – VAT due on intra-EU reverse-charge purchases
Grid 59 – Deductible VAT on purchases
Grid 82 – Miscellaneous goods & services
Grid 83 – Investment goods
Grid 88 – Intra-EU reverse-charge purchases of services
Grid 55 – VAT due on intra-EU reverse-charge purchases
Grid 59 – Deductible VAT on purchases
Grid 82 – Miscellaneous goods & services
These are reverse-charge operations, meaning they cancel each other out for VAT purposes: The VAT due (Box 55) is offset by the deductible VAT (Box 59), provided the expense is 100% professional.
🔗 Accountable handles all the calculations for you automatically.
In your income tax return, the net amount (excluding VAT) of the expense is deductible in proportion to its % of professional use (e.g., 100%, 75%, etc.).
What if VAT was wrongly charged on the invoice?
Contact your supplier and ask for a corrected invoice without VAT. If your VAT number is valid, they shouldn’t charge local VAT.
Can I deduct this expense in my VAT return?
Yes, as long as the expense is recorded under the correct regime, it will be included in the appropriate boxes of your VAT return.
❓ Need help? Feel free to reach out to us!
Author - Valesca Wilms
As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.
Who is Valesca ?Thank you for your feedback!
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