Invoice requirements in the Netherlands: what must you include?

The Dutch Tax Authority has a fixed list of requirements. Miss any of them and your customer can't reclaim VAT — and you risk issues during an audit. Here's the checklist.

An invoice that doesn't meet the legal requirements is still technically an invoice, but your customer will run into problems when reclaiming VAT or during a tax audit. Here's the checklist.

Required on every invoice

1. The word "invoice" (or "factuur" for Dutch-language invoices).
2. Invoice number (sequential — see invoice number policy).
3. Invoice date.
4. Supply date (if different from the invoice date).
5. Supplier details: name, address, Chamber of Commerce number, VAT ID.
6. Customer details: name, address, and VAT ID for B2B transactions.
7. Description of the goods or services provided.
8. Quantity and unit.
9. Amount excluding VAT.
10. VAT rate per line item.
11. Total VAT amount.
12. Total including VAT.
13. Payment term (or due date).
14. Where applicable: "VAT reverse charged" for reverse-charge transactions.

Recommended extras (not mandatory)

• IBAN + BIC.
• Payment methods (iDEAL link, bank transfer).
• Reference to quote / purchase order for business customers.
• Terms and conditions / fine print on the reverse side or via URL.

Common mistakes

• VAT number missing on a customer invoice for an intra-Community supply (reverse charge).
• Invoice number sequence has a gap or duplicate.
• Invoice date > 14 days after supply (technically permitted, but creates friction with payment terms).
• "Disbursements" not clearly separated from your own services.

See also: invoicing guide, invoice number policy.