Pitane Image

Entrepreneurs who do not reclaim VAT leave an average of around 260 euros per year.

One in three self-employed persons who travel by public transport for business do not reclaim the VAT paid. This is mainly because they do not know that they are entitled to this. Entrepreneurs who do not reclaim VAT leave an average of around 260 euros per year. This is the conclusion of research by Knab among more than 800 self-employed persons. Since this week, all customers can check in and out on public transport with their debit card. This introduction of OVpay was the reason for Knab to investigate how self-employed persons deal with their business public transport journeys from a tax point of view.

research

The research shows that two out of ten self-employed people take the train, bus, tram or metro for their business trips. They mainly do this to travel to their clients or customers. It is an average of four hours per week. The 9 percent VAT on the public transport ticket can be settled by self-employed persons with their VAT return as long as it does not concern commuting. 28 percent of those surveyed – who are entitled to it – do not reclaim the VAT because they do not know the rule. Another 5 percent do not reclaim VAT for other reasons. For example, because they think it is too much trouble, since the Tax and Customs Administration requires a trip registration.

pass on

Business travel costs are all costs you incur as an entrepreneur if you have to travel for your work. The business travel expenses are regarded by the tax authorities as business expenses and therefore you may pass them on to the customer. Whether you do this by including the travel allowance separately on the invoice or whether you simply request a higher standard hourly rate for your service does not matter to the Tax and Customs Administration. All travel costs are simply regarded as turnover. You are therefore also obliged to submit a VAT return as a self-employed person or entrepreneur. 

Read also  Turbo Plan 2030: freight transport by intercity smart move or pathetic?

You normally need a correct invoice to be able to deduct VAT, but the Tax and Customs Administration has made an exception for public transport tickets within the Netherlands. You may therefore deduct 9% VAT without it appearing on your transaction overview or ticket.

In many cases, VAT on public transport is deductible, but not always. We explain the situation for each reason for travel. The VAT is deductible for all business transport and business trips by public transport. For employees without a subscription, you may deduct the VAT on commuting. For employees with a subscription, you may only reclaim VAT if the subscription costs remain below € 227 per year.

You can therefore reclaim the VAT for many of the public transport costs that your organization incurs. This is very easy with the NS-Business Card: you will receive a VAT invoice every month with a clear overview of all transport costs incurred and the associated VAT percentages. Completely tax-proof of course!

(Text continues below the photo)
Four hours of public transport per week will easily cost you about 60 euros. Of this, 5 euros is VAT. That sounds like a small amount, but on an annual basis this is 260 euros.

You can reclaim the paid VAT for public transport: the bus, tram, metro, train or public transport bicycle. A standard VAT rate of 9% applies to public transport. Four hours of public transport per week will easily cost you about 60 euros. Of this, 5 euros is VAT. That sounds like a small amount, but on an annual basis this is 260 euros. Every year. Almost every entrepreneur knows that he can deduct his business travel expenses – minus the VAT – from the profit. But the fact that you can usually also reclaim the VAT paid is apparently much less known.

Read also  Digital revolution in the taxi market requires stricter rules

automatically register journeys via OVpay

Self-employed persons who use their debit card to check in and out can view their trip registration via the OVpay website. They can submit a printout of this as proof, if the Tax and Customs Administration checks them on this. This means that the argument that it takes too much effort to keep a good trip registration is also a thing of the past, says Oskar Barendse, Financial Expert, Knab.

Related articles:
DVDP
Print Friendly, PDF & Email