VAT exemption for education: when does it apply and what does CRKBO do?
Written by Ilias Aarrass7 min read · Published on · Last reviewed on 
In short
Vocational education is exempt from VAT if the provider is listed in the CRKBO, and that register has two variants: teachers are only exempt as subcontractors, institutions also directly to the market.
- Statutory education and tutoring for pupils in regular education are exempt without a CRKBO listing too.
- A mainly recreational or team-building workshop and coaching without a training programme are taxed at 21 per cent.
- With exempt turnover your right to deduct input VAT lapses; with mixed turnover you split it in proportion.
- A CRKBO listing does not work retroactively: invoices from before your registration stay taxed.
If you teach, train or tutor, the first question is not what your rate is, but whether you must charge VAT. Education has its own VAT exemption, and it works out differently per situation: the same training can be exempt when you deliver it for an accredited provider and taxed at 21 per cent when you sell it directly to a company. Anyone who does not look into it charges the wrong rate for years and usually only finds out in an audit. This article explains which forms of education are exempt, what the two CRKBO registers mean, and what an exemption does to your VAT deduction.
Which education is exempt?
The exemption has a few clear categories. Statutory education is exempt: the education that schools, vocational colleges, universities of applied sciences and universities provide under the education acts. General education for children and young people is exempt too, as is tutoring and exam training that ties in with that regular education. Vocational education is exempt if the provider is listed in the CRKBO, the register that exists specifically for that exemption.
Outside that, the ordinary 21 per cent applies. A workshop that is mainly entertainment or team building, coaching without an educational character, advice you hand out along the way and a training from an unregistered provider to a company are all taxed. So it is not about how instructive something feels, but about the form: is this education in the legal sense, and who provides it?
| Situation | VAT |
|---|---|
| Teaching at a school or college, through the institution | Exempt |
| Tutoring or exam training for pupils in regular education | Exempt |
| Vocational training by a provider listed in the CRKBO | Exempt |
| Training for a company without CRKBO registration | 21% |
| Workshop that is mainly recreational or team building | 21% |
| Coaching or advice without a training programme | 21% |
Two CRKBO registers, two outcomes
The CRKBO has a teachers' register and an institutions' register, and that difference is bigger than it looks. If you are in the teachers' register, the exemption only covers vocational education you deliver as a subcontractor for an educational institution. Sell the same course directly to a company or to individuals and you charge 21 per cent.
If you are in the institutions' register, all your vocational education is exempt, including what you sell directly to the market. That register comes with heavier requirements, including an audit of your training programme, your information provision and your complaints procedure. For anyone whose main activity is training, that is usually the right registration; for anyone who occasionally stands in as a guest lecturer, the teachers' register is enough.
What an exemption costs you
Working exempt sounds attractive, but it has a price: on exempt turnover you may not deduct input VAT. The VAT on your laptop, your course material, your website, your rent and your own training then becomes a cost. If you mainly work for companies that reclaim VAT anyway, the exemption gains your client nothing while costing you your deduction.
The other way around, the exemption is worth a great deal if you teach individuals, schools or care institutions: they cannot reclaim VAT, so you are 21 per cent cheaper for them without earning less yourself. The trade-off therefore depends entirely on your audience. See also VAT exemption versus the zero rate for the fundamental difference between the two.
If you recently made a large investment on which you deducted the VAT, for example refitting your classroom, and then switch to exempt turnover, part of that VAT may need to be adjusted. See VAT adjustment on investments.
Worked example: the same training, two routes
- Two-day training, your price
- € 2,000
- Directly to a company, without exemption
- € 2,420 including VAT, net cost to the client € 2,000
- Directly to individuals, without exemption
- € 2,420 and they do not get that VAT back
- Same training, exempt
- € 2,000, no VAT
Result: For a business client the exemption makes no difference in cost. For individuals it saves € 420 on the same training. Against that, with exempt turnover you no longer get back the VAT on your own costs.
Mixed turnover and your records
Most self-employed teachers have both: exempt lessons through institutions and taxed trainings or advice alongside. Keep those two streams apart in your books, because you need them to split your input VAT. Costs belonging only to your taxed work are fully deductible; mixed costs are split in proportion. The method is set out in splitting VAT on taxed and exempt turnover.
State on every exempt invoice why you charge no VAT, for example a reference to the education exemption and your CRKBO registration. An invoice without VAT and without explanation raises questions in your client's finance department, and in an audit you must be able to substantiate the exemption. More about the sector as a whole is covered in bookkeeping for freelancers in education.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a CRKBO listing to teach exempt?
For vocational education, yes. For statutory education and for tutoring pupils in regular education the exemption applies without a listing.
What is the difference between the teachers' and institutions' registers?
With the teachers' register only your work as a subcontractor for an educational institution is exempt. With the institutions' register all your vocational education is exempt, including directly to companies and individuals.
Can I deduct the VAT on my course material?
Only in so far as it belongs to taxed turnover. With fully exempt turnover your right to deduct lapses; with mixed turnover you split the input VAT in proportion.
Does a one-day workshop count as education?
Only if it is vocational training and you are listed in the CRKBO. A workshop that is mainly recreational or team building is taxed at 21 per cent, however instructive it may be.
Sources
- Which education is exempt from VATBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
- Vocational training and the CRKBO registerBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
- The register explained brieflyCRKBO · crkbo.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.
