Short answer
You can send an invoice without VAT under the Dutch small businesses scheme (KOR, turnover up to €20,000 a year) or the Belgian small business exemption scheme (up to €25,000). The invoice shows no VAT amount. Dutch invoices state that the KOR applies; Belgian invoices must carry a fixed statement.
Freelancers and small business owners in the Netherlands and Belgium can often send an invoice without VAT, but each country has its own scheme, turnover threshold and invoice wording. This guide covers both countries separately and keeps the Dutch and Belgian terms you will see on official forms.
When can you send an invoice without VAT?
An invoice shows no VAT when you are exempt or when someone else accounts for the VAT. The most common situations for freelancers and small businesses are:
- You use a small business exemption: the KOR (kleineondernemersregeling) in the Netherlands or the exemption scheme (vrijstellingsregeling) in Belgium.
- Your service is exempt, such as certain healthcare, education or financial services. You then cannot deduct the VAT on related costs.
- Your customer pays the VAT under a reverse-charge rule, for example a business customer in another EU country, Dutch subcontracting in construction (btw verlegd) or certain Belgian construction work (medecontractant).
- You sell goods to a VAT-registered business in another EU country or export goods outside the EU. Extra conditions apply, such as both VAT numbers on intra-EU invoices and proof of export.
Your Europe (European Commission): cross-border VAT
In the Netherlands: who can use the KOR?
The KOR (kleineondernemersregeling) is a VAT exemption for businesses established in the Netherlands with turnover of no more than €20,000 per calendar year, both in the year you join and in the year before. You charge no VAT, file no VAT returns and cannot reclaim VAT on costs and investments. Sole traders, partnerships and legal entities such as a bv can join.
You must be registered for VAT before you apply in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk. Participation starts at the earliest with the next return period, and processing takes four weeks: to join on January 1, 2027, your application must arrive by December 4, 2026.
If your turnover passes €20,000 during a year, the exemption ends immediately: the sale that takes you over the limit already carries VAT on the full amount, and you must deregister right away. You then cannot rejoin for the rest of that year and the following year.
Business.gov.nl: small businesses scheme (KOR)
Belastingdienst: leaving the KOR and the turnover limit (in Dutch)
In the Netherlands: what goes on a KOR invoice?
Under the KOR you do not have to issue invoices for VAT purposes, but you may, for example when a business client asks for one. Do not show a VAT amount or a VAT rate, not even 0%, and state that you apply the KOR. The Dutch tax authority does not prescribe a fixed sentence; a clear option is "Vrijgesteld van btw op grond van de kleineondernemersregeling (KOR)", meaning exempt from VAT under the small businesses scheme.
According to KVK, the Dutch business register, your VAT number is not required on a KOR invoice. If you cite the law, note that since January 1, 2025 the KOR exemption is in article 25a of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968), not article 25.
Other Dutch invoices without VAT follow their own rules. For exempt services, state that an exemption applies unless the description already makes that clear. For domestic reverse charge, write "btw verlegd" and add the customer’s VAT number.
In Belgium: who qualifies for the small business exemption?
Belgium’s small business exemption scheme (vrijstellingsregeling voor kleine ondernemingen) applies when your annual turnover is no more than €25,000 excluding VAT. You remain VAT-registered but charge no VAT, file no periodic VAT returns and cannot deduct input VAT. The scheme is optional: you can choose the normal VAT regime instead.
Some businesses are excluded altogether, including those carrying out construction work (werk in onroerende staat), restaurants and caterers that must use a registered cash register system, businesses that regularly supply used materials, waste or scrap, and VAT groups.
If your turnover exceeds the threshold by no more than 10% (up to €27,500), you keep the exemption for that year and move to the normal regime on January 1 of the next year. Above €27,500, you charge VAT from the transaction that takes you over the threshold.
In Belgium: the required statement and Peppol e-invoicing
Belgian invoices under the scheme show no VAT and must state "Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting" (special tax exemption scheme) instead of the VAT, as Royal Decree no. 1 has required since January 1, 2025. Copy it word for word.
Since January 1, 2026, Belgian VAT-registered businesses must exchange structured e-invoices with each other, normally over the Peppol network; a PDF by email no longer qualifies. The Belgian government confirmed in April 2026 that businesses under the exemption scheme are in principle covered too. If you only invoice consumers, your outgoing invoices are out of scope, but you must still be able to receive e-invoices from Belgian suppliers.
Belgian government: questions about the B2B e-invoicing obligation
Example: the same €600 job in each country
A freelance designer invoices a logo: 8 hours × €75 = €600. Under the normal regime the client would pay €600 plus 21% VAT (€126), so €726, in both countries. Under either small business scheme the invoice total stays €600. The trade-off: if the designer buys a laptop for €1,210 including €210 VAT, that €210 cannot be reclaimed.
Invoice lines under each scheme
Netherlands (KOR): Logo design, 8 hours × €75 = €600.00 Total due: €600.00 Vrijgesteld van btw op grond van de kleineondernemersregeling (KOR). Belgium (exemption scheme): Logo design, 8 hours × €75 = €600.00 Total due: €600.00 Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting
Creating these invoices in Factuur Simpel
Factuur Simpel has no dedicated KOR or exemption-scheme setting. Add a 0% VAT rate in the settings and use it for your invoice lines so no VAT is calculated, then save the required statement as fixed text in the invoice footer. Check the PDF before you send it: it should show no VAT amount or rate.
For reverse charge, switch on "btw verlegd" per invoice or as a default per customer. The invoice then shows "BTW verlegd", or the Belgian medecontractant text when you or your customer is based in Belgium, instead of a VAT amount. Invoice labels are in Dutch.
Frequently asked questions
What should a KOR invoice say in the Netherlands?
State that you apply the KOR, for example "Vrijgesteld van btw op grond van de kleineondernemersregeling (KOR)", and show no VAT amount or rate. The Dutch tax authority does not prescribe a fixed sentence, and KVK notes that your VAT number is not required on a KOR invoice.
What is the mandatory statement for Belgian small businesses?
Invoices under the Belgian exemption scheme must state "Bijzondere vrijstellingsregeling van belasting", Dutch for "special tax exemption scheme". It tells the customer that no VAT is charged because the supplier applies the exemption scheme. The invoice shows no VAT amount.
Can I show 0% VAT instead of an exemption statement?
No. Under the Dutch KOR the invoice shows no VAT rate or VAT amount, not even 0%; you only state that the KOR applies. In Belgium the fixed statement takes the place of the VAT details. In the Netherlands, 0% belongs to other situations, such as exports and sales of goods to businesses in other EU countries.
Do small businesses in Belgium have to use Peppol?
In principle, yes, for invoices to Belgian VAT-registered customers. Since January 1, 2026, structured e-invoices are mandatory between Belgian VAT-registered businesses, and the government has confirmed this includes the exemption scheme. If you only invoice consumers, you still need to be able to receive e-invoices from Belgian suppliers.
Invoices without VAT, with the right statement
Try Factuur Simpel free for 30 days. Save your KOR or exemption statement in the invoice footer, choose the VAT rate per line and keep track of what is still unpaid.
Free trial. Choose a paid subscription afterward.