Bookkeeping for the self-employed web designer: VAT across borders
Written by Ilias Aarrass7 min read · Published on · Last reviewed on 
In short
With a business client in the EU you reverse-charge the VAT and file an EU sales listing; bespoke work for a consumer stays taxed with 21 per cent Dutch VAT, and fully automated services follow the client's country.
- Check your EU client's VAT identification number via VIES on the day you invoice.
- VAT on subscriptions from Ireland or the United States you declare yourself and deduct again in the same return.
- Web design falls under the 21 per cent rate, not under the low rate for copyright-related supplies.
- Projects across the year end are valued as work in progress and prepaid retainers must be allocated to the right year.
Web design is a trade without stock, without a van and with few tools. Yet the bookkeeping is no simpler than a contractor's, because your clients are everywhere and so are your suppliers. A client in Belgium, a hosting company in Germany, a design program invoicing from Ireland: each of those lines has its own VAT treatment. This article sets out what to do per situation, plus the items that come up with longer projects and maintenance contracts.
VAT per client type
For services the main rule is: supply a business in another EU country and the service is taxed there, so you reverse-charge the VAT. Supply a consumer and the service is in principle taxed in the Netherlands, so you charge 21 per cent. There is one important exception to that second rule: digital services that run entirely automatically, such as hosting, a template from a web shop or an online course without guidance. Those are taxed in the client's country.
Bespoke work where you design, consult and deliver yourself is not a digital service in that sense: there is human involvement. In practice that saves you a lot of admin, because only genuinely automated services bring you to the EU threshold and the One Stop Shop scheme.
| Client | Type of work | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Business in the Netherlands | everything | 21% |
| EU business with a valid VAT ID | everything | reverse-charged, plus an EU sales listing |
| Consumer in the Netherlands | everything | 21% |
| Consumer in the EU | bespoke work with your involvement | 21% Dutch VAT |
| Consumer in the EU | hosting, template, off the shelf | the client's country's VAT above the threshold |
| Client outside the EU | services to a business | not taxed in the Netherlands |
What you buy in yourself
Your tools are software, and that rarely comes from the Netherlands. Design and AI subscriptions, hosting, plug-ins and stock images are often invoiced from Ireland, Luxembourg or the United States without VAT. You then declare that VAT yourself in your return and deduct it again in the same return. On balance it costs nothing, but forget it and your return is wrong. See VAT on invoices from Google and Meta and deducting software and AI subscriptions.
Hosting and domain names you buy for a client can be passed on in two ways. Sell them as your own service with a mark-up and it is turnover with 21 per cent VAT. Merely advance the money with the invoice in the client's name and it is a disbursement. Pick one approach and record it in your terms; see passing on costs.
Worked example: invoicing a German business
- Design and build
- € 4,500
- First year hosting, passed on with a mark-up
- € 180
- VAT on the invoice
- € 0, with the note VAT reverse-charged
- What you still have to do
- report € 4,680 in your EU sales listing
Result: The EU sales listing is a separate filing alongside your VAT return. Forget it and you get a penalty, even though not a single euro of VAT is involved
Projects, retainers and extra work
Web design often works with projects lasting weeks to months. If such a project runs across the year end, the part worked belongs to the old year as work in progress. If you work with down payments, the amount received is not yet turnover until you have delivered, but the VAT usually becomes due when you issue the invoice. See booking advances and down payments.
Maintenance contracts and retainers are invoiced in advance, monthly or yearly. If you receive the amount for a whole coming year in December, part of that turnover belongs to the new financial year; see selling subscriptions and VAT. And always record extra work in writing before you carry it out, because 'could you just add one more page' is the most common cause of an unpaid final invoice. See agreeing and invoicing extra work.
- Record in your terms who owns the design and the source code after payment.
- Charge a fixed price for a complete project with clear delivery points rather than hours.
- Track hosting and domains registered in your name separately; you are responsible for them until you transfer them.
- If you process visitors' personal data for a client, you need a processor agreement.
Long-term with a single client
Many web designers grow into secondment: three days a week at one agency, for years. That is the point at which the question arises whether you are still an entrepreneur. If you work in their office, with their equipment, in their team and under their direction, it looks like employment. Read false self-employment and the DBA Act and how many clients you need.
Frequently asked questions
Do I charge VAT to a client in Belgium?
If it is a business with a valid VAT identification number, you reverse-charge the VAT and include the turnover in your EU sales listing. If it is a consumer and you deliver bespoke work, you simply charge 21 per cent Dutch VAT.
Does web design fall under the low VAT rate?
No, web design is 21 per cent. The low rate for certain copyright-related supplies applies to writers, journalists and composers among others, not to designing and building websites.
How do I pass on hosting?
As your own service with a mark-up, it is turnover with 21 per cent VAT. Only if the invoice is in the client's name and you pass on exactly the same amount is it a disbursement.
My subscriptions arrive from Ireland without VAT. What do I do?
You declare the VAT yourself in box 4b and deduct the same amount as input VAT in box 5b. On balance you pay nothing, but the return must still show it.
A client in the United States: do I charge VAT?
With a business client outside the EU your service is not taxed in the Netherlands; you invoice without VAT with a reference to the place of supply. Do keep evidence of your client's business status.
Sources
- VAT on services to customers in other EU countriesBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
- Services to consumers in other EU countriesBelastingdienst · 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.
