Working on a building as a subcontractor? Then you charge your contractor no VAT. You write 'btw verlegd' on the invoice, and the contractor declares the VAT.
In short
Btw verlegd — the Dutch reverse-charge rule (verleggingsregeling) — means that your customer declares the VAT, not you as the supplier. In the Netherlands it applies to a subcontractor who, on behalf of a contractor, does physical work on buildings, other immovable property or ships — building, demolishing, installing, maintaining, repairing or cleaning — and also to anyone who lends out staff for such work. You then charge no VAT, but write 'btw verlegd' on the invoice, together with your contractor's VAT identification number (the number preceded by the country code NL) and the amount per VAT rate. On your VAT return that turnover goes in box 1e. The VAT you pay yourself on tools and materials for that work you simply deduct as input VAT; if all you invoice is reverse-charged, you therefore usually get VAT back from the Dutch Belastingdienst. In the booxx accounting software you choose the VAT code 'BTW verlegd' on the invoice line: the invoice then shows no VAT amount but the statement 'Btw verlegd' and the VAT number you recorded for your contractor, and the turnover goes into box 1e automatically.
The essentials
Which work
Physical work on immovable property or ships: building, demolishing, installing, maintaining, repairing and cleaning. Mainly in construction, shipbuilding, cleaning and landscape gardening.
On your invoice
No VAT amount, but the words 'btw verlegd', your customer's VAT identification number and the amount per VAT rate.
On your VAT return
You enter the turnover in box 1e. Your contractor declares the reverse-charged VAT in box 2a and deducts it again on the same return.
No reverse charge
For design work, security and rental; for work you do more than half in your own workshop; and for work on goods you sold to the contractor yourself.
Example: an invoice with btw verlegd
This is the invoice of a plasterer working as a subcontractor for a construction company, on a new-build project. Names, addresses and numbers are made up; the lines are the details the Dutch Belastingdienst requires on every invoice, plus what reverse charge adds.
Example: an invoice with btw verlegd
From
M. Kowalski Stukadoor, Voorbeeldstraat 1, 1234 AB Utrecht
To
Bouwbedrijf Voorbeeld B.V., Voorbeeldweg 10, 1234 CD Utrecht
Your VAT ID and KvK number
NL001234567B01 · KvK 12345678
Your customer's VAT ID
NL009876543B01 — required with btw verlegd
Invoice number and date
2026-014 · 30 September 2026
What you did
Plastering walls and ceilings, new build Voorbeeldweg block B: 120 m² at € 30.00
Date of the work
1 to 26 September 2026
Amount excluding VAT, per rate
€ 3,600.00 (21%)
VAT
btw verlegd — no VAT amount
Amount due
€ 3,600.00
Three lines make this a reverse-charge invoice: your contractor's VAT ID, the words 'btw verlegd' where the VAT amount would normally be, and a total without VAT. You enter the € 3,600 in box 1e of your VAT return; your contractor declares the 21% VAT (€ 756) himself in box 2a. In booxx, the VAT code 'BTW verlegd' on the invoice line puts all of this on the invoice for you.
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When are you a subcontractor?
A main contractor (hoofdaannemer) works for a client in construction, shipbuilding or cleaning. If he hands part of that work to you, you are a subcontractor (onderaannemer) and you shift the VAT to him. This can run down a chain: if you in turn hand the work to someone else, you are the contractor for that person, and he shifts the VAT to you.
If you work directly for the owner of the house or building, you are not a subcontractor but the contractor yourself. The subcontracting reverse charge then does not apply and you charge VAT as usual. One exception: a client who counts as an eigenbouwer — for example a housing association (woningcorporatie) that also builds itself and directs the work — is treated as a contractor. They can show you a copy of their Verklaring Eigenbouwerschap from the Dutch Belastingdienst.
The same applies to lending out staff: if your people remain employed by you but work on another business's assignment, you shift the VAT on that work to the hirer (inlener).
This explanation is about a subcontractor established in the Netherlands. If your business has no fixed establishment for VAT in the Netherlands — for example because it is registered only in your home country — a different rule applies: the reverse charge for supplies by foreign businesses.
What goes on your invoice
On top of the usual invoice details you add three things: the words 'btw verlegd' instead of a VAT amount, your customer's VAT identification number, and the amount per VAT rate as it would apply if the VAT were not reverse-charged. The VAT identification number is the number preceded by a country code — for a Dutch contractor, NL.
Take that number seriously. The Dutch Belastingdienst must be able to establish who your customer is; if it cannot, you applied the reverse charge wrongly and the VAT can still be assessed on you. So ask for the number before your first invoice, and record it with the customer in your books.
Why a subcontractor gets VAT back
You charge no VAT, but you do pay it: on tools, materials, your van and your phone. You deduct that VAT as input VAT, even if all your turnover is reverse-charged. On your return your turnover then sits in box 1e without VAT, with your input VAT below it — on balance you get money back.
The Dutch Belastingdienst works through the example itself: a subcontractor in construction with € 15,000 in turnover, all of it reverse-charged, and € 7,000 in purchases. 21% input VAT is € 1,470, and that is what she gets back. So do not skip that return because there is nothing to pay anyway.
If your turnover stays under € 20,000 per calendar year, you can join the small businesses scheme (KOR). You then no longer file a quarterly return, but you no longer get that VAT back either — € 1,470 a year in the example above. Work it out before you register: the more materials you buy, the more the KOR costs you.
When it goes wrong
If you charge VAT anyway while the reverse charge applies, you have wrongly sent an invoice with VAT. You must then still declare and pay that VAT, and your contractor may not deduct it — he should ask you for a corrected invoice. The other way round, you remain responsible for the VAT you shift. So find out before you invoice whether the rule applies to this job, not when the contractor calls.
What your bookkeeping needs to handle
Two kinds of turnover side by side is the normal case: reverse-charged work for contractors, and ordinary jobs with VAT for private customers. Your bookkeeping must let you choose per invoice line whether the VAT is reverse-charged, so that reverse-charged turnover lands in box 1e and the rest in the box for its rate.
And the other way round: if you hire a subcontractor yourself, he shifts the VAT to you. You declare that VAT in box 2a and deduct it on the same return, so on balance you pay nothing. A package that posts this for you keeps you from forgetting to declare it or deducting it twice.
In booxx this works per invoice line. Choose the VAT code 'BTW verlegd' and the line charges no VAT, the invoice carries the statement 'Btw verlegd' and your customer's VAT number, and the turnover counts in box 1e; an ordinary line on the same or another invoice stays in the box for its rate. A purchase invoice with the code 'BTW verlegd naar u' books the reverse-charged VAT in one go as payable in 2a and as input VAT, so the return shows both boxes and the balance is zero. The software works in Dutch, English, Polish, Hungarian and Romanian; the invoice itself goes to your contractor in the language you set for them.
Updated October 2, 2026. General explanation of the Dutch rules, not tax advice — for your own situation, decide together with your accountant or the Dutch Tax Administration.
Frequently asked questions
I am renovating a private customer's bathroom. Do I write 'btw verlegd' on the invoice?
No. The subcontracting reverse charge only applies when you work on behalf of a contractor; the VAT then passes to another business. If you work directly for a private customer, you are the contractor yourself and you charge VAT as usual.
I make window frames in my workshop and fit them on site. Do I reverse-charge the VAT?
Not if you do more than half of the work in your own workshop: then you charge your contractor VAT as usual. Nor do you reverse-charge for work on goods you sold to the contractor yourself.
My contractor wants an invoice with VAT, even though I am a subcontractor. What now?
If the reverse charge applies, there should be no VAT on it. If you send an invoice with VAT anyway, you must declare and pay that VAT, and your contractor may not deduct it — he should ask for a corrected invoice. If you are unsure whether the work falls under the rule, put it to your accountant or the Dutch Belastingdienst before you invoice.
Do I still file a VAT return if all I send are 'btw verlegd' invoices?
Yes. You enter the reverse-charged turnover in box 1e and deduct the VAT on your purchases for that work as input VAT, so you usually get money back. The return only lapses if you join the small businesses scheme (KOR, at most € 20,000 turnover per calendar year) — and the refund lapses with it.
Which accounting software suits a freelancer in construction with btw verlegd?
Software that can choose per invoice line between VAT and 'btw verlegd', puts reverse-charged turnover in box 1e, prints your contractor's VAT number on the invoice and books reverse-charged VAT on your own purchases in 2a. The booxx software does all four, and also works in Polish, Hungarian, Romanian and English — for people who work in construction and don't read Dutch.
Create a set of books, send your first invoice and see whether it works for you. The first 90 days are free and no payment method is asked for, so there is nothing to cancel later.