{"id":17082,"date":"2025-01-20T18:27:38","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T17:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/?p=17082"},"modified":"2025-12-08T18:06:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:06:43","slug":"vat-rates-in-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.accountable.eu\/en-be\/blog\/vat-rates-in-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"VAT rates in Belgium: when to charge 6%, 12% or 21%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you\u2019re self-employed in Belgium, there are different VAT rates depending on the product or service you sell. Most products and services are subject to the default VAT rate of 21%, but when should you be charging 6% or 12% VAT? And which products and services are exempt from VAT, meaning you need to apply a 0% VAT rate? We\u2019ll cover all that in this article!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is VAT?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A quick reminder: \u2018VAT\u2019 stands for \u2018value added tax\u2019.<\/strong> It\u2019s a tax that has to be paid on almost all products and services sold in Belgium.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a self-employed person, you need to charge VAT on top of the price of the product or service<\/strong> you sell to your customers, and you also need to pay the VAT your suppliers charge you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You report to the government the VAT you\u2019ve charged and the VAT you\u2019ve paid. If you received more VAT than you paid, you have to pay the difference to the VAT authorities.<\/strong> And what if you paid more VAT than you received? In this case, you\u2019ll get it back once you file your VAT declaration.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n \n

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Under certain conditions, self-employed people are eligible for the\u00a0VAT exemption scheme for small businesses<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> This means you don’t have to charge VAT to your customers, but you still have to pay VAT to your suppliers and other businesses subject to VAT. When you\u2019re self-employed and exempt from VAT, you don\u2019t have to\u00a0file a VAT return<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n\n

VAT rates in Belgium: which one to apply?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To avoid any problems with the tax authorities, you need to make sure you stick to the rules when it comes to VAT. But when you\u2019re newly self-employed, it\u2019s not always easy to navigate Belgium\u2019s different VAT rates.<\/strong> To make it easier, here\u2019s an overview of the VAT rates applied in Belgium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These depend on the products and services you offer,<\/strong> not on your legal status (sole trader or company) or the type of customer (private or professional).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard VAT rate of 21%<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Belgium, the default VAT rate is 21%.<\/strong> This is the rate you\u2019ll see most often,<\/strong> except for a product or service included in the list of reduced VAT rates (see below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some examples of products and services subject to the default rate of 21%:<\/p>\n\n\n\n