Invoicing without a Chamber of Commerce number: when is it allowed?
You have finished a job and an invoice needs to go out, but you are not registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. Is that actually allowed? The short answer is: sometimes, but it depends on what you do and how often. Below you will find when you can invoice without a KvK number, when registration becomes mandatory, and what changes for your invoice and your tax return once it does.
Can you send an invoice without a KvK number?
An invoice is essentially a request for payment with a justification underneath it. Dutch law does not require a Chamber of Commerce (KvK) number on it: the mandatory invoice details cover your name and address, your client's details, a date, a sequential number, a description of what you delivered and the amount. A KvK number is not among them.
What does matter is whether the Chamber of Commerce considers you to be running a business. If you do something incidentally, a single job for an acquaintance for instance, you usually do not have to register for that and you can simply invoice as a private individual. You then declare that income in your income tax return, normally as income from other activities.
Practice is more stubborn than the rule, though. Many business clients want to see a KvK number on the invoice for their own records, and some clients' accounting systems will refuse an invoice without one. Being allowed to and being able to are two different things here.
When does registering with the KvK become mandatory?
The dividing line is whether you are running a business. The Chamber of Commerce looks at several things at once: do you supply goods or services independently, do you do so with a certain regularity, and do you ask a market rate for it. If the answer to that is yes, you are required to register, even for small amounts and even if you have a job on the side.
Regularity is usually where it comes unstuck. One job a year for a neighbour is something else than sending an invoice to changing clients every month. As soon as you actively look for customers, present yourself as offering a service or take on work structurally, the Chamber of Commerce considers you an entrepreneur.
The Dutch tax authority applies its own assessment for VAT and for income tax, and that does not always coincide with the Chamber of Commerce view. You can, for example, be an entrepreneur for VAT purposes without counting as one for income tax. If you are unsure where you stand, have it checked by a bookkeeper rather than judging it yourself.
What goes on an invoice without a KvK number?
The mandatory parts stay the same as on any other invoice: your own name and address, the client's name and address, the invoice date, a unique and sequential invoice number, the date you delivered, a clear description and the amount. Without any one of those it is not a valid invoice, with or without a KvK number.
The invoice number is the part that most often goes wrong. It has to be sequential, so no gaps and no duplicates, even when months pass between two invoices. So do not start again at 1 every year without a year in front of it, and keep the series in one place rather than across loose files.
If you charge no VAT because you are not a VAT entrepreneur, state explicitly that no VAT has been charged. An invoice where the VAT is simply absent without explanation raises questions with your client's bookkeeper, and those questions end up back with you.
How does VAT work without a KvK number?
VAT and the Chamber of Commerce are two separate things. If you are a VAT entrepreneur, the tax authority issues you a VAT identification number, and that number does belong on your invoice. In practice you usually apply for it through your KvK registration, which is why the two are often arranged at the same moment and appear to be one and the same.
If you are not a VAT entrepreneur, you charge no VAT and there is therefore no VAT number on your invoice. The consequence for your client is that there is nothing to reclaim: they pay your amount and that is it. For a private client that makes no difference; for a business client your invoice is effectively more expensive than the same job with VAT on it.
There is also the small businesses scheme, which lets you choose not to charge VAT below a certain annual turnover. That is not the same as not being a VAT entrepreneur: you do hold a VAT number and you have to register and deregister for the scheme. So work out which of the two applies to you before you set up your invoice.
What are the risks of waiting too long?
If you keep invoicing while you should in fact have registered, you run two risks at once. The first is that the tax authority determines afterwards that you should have remitted VAT on those invoices. You can usually no longer pass that VAT on to your clients, so it comes out of your own margin.
The second risk is missing out on deductions and entrepreneur schemes. Anyone who counts as an entrepreneur for income tax can, under conditions, use allowances such as the self-employed deduction, and can deduct business costs. If you are not registered, you forgo that for the whole period you waited.
In practical terms the threshold for registering is low: you can do it online, you receive your KvK number straight away and the tax authority is informed automatically. If you are unsure whether you are there yet, look at the regularity of your work rather than at the amounts. Anyone invoicing every month is an entrepreneur, even when the invoices are small.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send an invoice without a KvK number?
Yes, if you deliver something incidentally and are not running a business. The legally required invoice details do not ask for a KvK number. If you work for clients with any regularity, you are probably required to register and the answer changes.
Does an invoice without a KvK number need a VAT number?
Only if you are a VAT entrepreneur. If you are not, you charge no VAT and no VAT number appears on the invoice. Do state explicitly that no VAT has been charged, otherwise it raises questions with your client's bookkeeper.
What happens if I register with the KvK too late?
The tax authority can determine afterwards that you should have remitted VAT on earlier invoices, and you usually cannot recover that VAT from your clients. You also miss out on entrepreneur deductions for that period. Have your situation assessed by a bookkeeper if you are unsure.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. When in doubt, consult an adviser; rules can change.