Bookkeeping for a childminder: exempt from VAT, and then?
Written by Ilias Aarrass7 min read · Published on · Last reviewed on 
In short
Childcare falling under the Childcare Act is exempt from VAT: you charge no VAT, generally file no VAT return and cannot reclaim the VAT on your purchases.
- Whether you are an entrepreneur for income tax depends on your independence, your risk and the number of families.
- Food, materials, training and insurance are deductible; housing costs for a non-independent workspace are not.
- Your turnover is what the agency pays you, not the total the parents pay.
- Your time records determine both your parents' childcare allowance and your own hours criterion.
As a childminder you earn your money at home, with a handful of parents and a childminding agency in between. That makes your records simple in one respect: childcare is exempt from VAT, so you charge no VAT and generally file no VAT return. But the questions do not end there. Are you actually an entrepreneur in the eyes of the tax authorities? What can you deduct from your profit when you work in your own home? And what should your time records look like, now that the same hours determine your parents' childcare allowance? This article walks through them.
VAT: exempt, with one exception
Childcare that falls under the Childcare Act is exempt from VAT. You are registered in the national childcare register, work through a childminding agency, and your care therefore falls within the exemption. In practice that means: no VAT on your invoices, no VAT return, but also no VAT back on your purchases. So you buy the nappies, the toys and the stair gate including VAT, and that whole amount is your cost.
The exception is on the purchasing side. If you buy a service from a supplier abroad who charges no VAT, for example a software subscription from Ireland, you must declare that VAT yourself. Because you are exempt you cannot deduct it, so you genuinely pay it. That is precisely the difference between an exemption and the zero rate, which is often confused.
Are you an entrepreneur for income tax?
This is the key question in this trade, and the answer is not automatically yes. The tax authorities look at independence, entrepreneurial risk, the number of families, the scale of your care and whether you present yourself outwardly as a business. If you look after children from several families, set your own rate, days and conditions, and bear the risk when a family stops, that points to entrepreneurship.
If you occasionally look after the children of a single family, it is more likely income from other activities. You still declare the income, but you have no right to the entrepreneur's deductions. The difference is big: only as an entrepreneur do you get the self-employed deduction and the SME profit exemption. Read the criteria in entrepreneur for income tax or for VAT and in from side earnings to a business.
Worked example: from hourly rate to profit
- Care: 3 children, 25 hours a week, 46 weeks
- 3,450 care hours
- Rate € 6.50 per child per hour
- € 22,425 turnover
- Costs: food, materials, insurance, training
- around € 3,500
- Profit before entrepreneur's deductions
- around € 18,900
Result: If you meet the hours criterion and are an entrepreneur, the self-employed deduction and the SME profit exemption still come off that
Which costs can you deduct?
You work in your own home, which makes the line between business and private harder to draw than in other trades. The rule of thumb: costs you would not incur without the childminding are business costs. Costs you would have had anyway are not.
| Item | Deductible? | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Food, nappies, care items | Yes | only the share for the children in your care |
| Toys, playpens, high chairs, gates | Yes | above € 450 capitalise and depreciate |
| Paediatric first aid, training, screening certificate | Yes | required for your registration |
| Liability and accident insurance | Yes | insofar as taken out for the business |
| Rent, energy, renovating the home | Usually not | see [workspace at home](kb:werkruimte-aan-huis-aftrekbaar) |
| Trips to school or activities | Yes | with [mileage records](kb:kilometeradministratie-bijhouden) |
The agency and its cashier role
Parents usually pay the agency, which then pays out your share. Your turnover is what you receive for the care, not the total the parents pay: the agency fees they pay are neither your turnover nor your cost. If you pay a contribution to the agency yourself, that is a cost item. Check the agency's annual statement against your own records; differences almost always come from months that straddle the year end.
Hours: important twice over
Your time records do double duty. First, together with your rate they determine the childcare allowance your parents receive; a correction afterwards means they have to repay, and that is a conversation you would rather avoid. Second, they determine whether you meet the 1,225-hour criterion, and therefore whether you qualify for the self-employed deduction.
For that hours criterion not only care hours count, but also the time you spend on preparation, shopping for the childcare, conversations with parents, administration, training and contact with the agency. Record those hours weekly rather than estimating afterwards; see keeping time records and the self-employed deduction and the hours criterion.
- Note per day which children were present and at what times; that list also substantiates your figures towards the agency.
- Keep your indirect hours in the same list, with a short description.
- Keep the agency's annual statements for seven years, like the rest of your records.
- Set money aside monthly for the assessment; no tax is withheld. See how much to set aside.
Frequently asked questions
Do I charge VAT on childminding?
No. Childcare falling under the Childcare Act is exempt. You put no VAT on your invoices and generally file no VAT return, but you also cannot reclaim VAT on your purchases.
Am I automatically an entrepreneur as a childminder?
No. It depends on your independence, the number of families, your risk and the scale of your care. With one family and limited hours it is more often income from other activities, and then you miss the entrepreneur's deductions.
Can I deduct part of my housing costs?
Usually not. A room in your own home without a separate entrance and its own facilities is a non-independent workspace, and those costs are not deductible. The furnishings you buy specially for the childcare are.
What about the childcare allowance?
Your parents apply for it, not you. Your hours and rate do determine their amount, so accurate time records prevent repayments on their side. If you have children in childcare yourself, see childcare allowance as a freelancer.
I also look after my own child. Does that count?
Not for your turnover: there is no payment against it. The hours you spend on your own child do not count towards the hours criterion either. So keep those hours separate from your care hours.
Sources
- Exemptions in VATBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
- Childminding: rules and registrationRijksoverheid · rijksoverheid.nl
- Conditions for the hours criterionBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
Sources checked on
This article provides general information based on the rules known for 2026 and does not replace personal tax advice. For your specific situation, we're happy to take a look with you.
