For freelancers with clients abroad

Clients everywhere. Btw right every time.

A client in Berlin, one in London, one in New York. Each needs a different invoice, and the Dutch btw return wants each in a different box. Bilio picks the treatment from the client’s country and VAT number, prints the legal wording, and fills in the ICP list for you.

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Free plan, no card · In English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Bulgarian · Data stored in the EU

The short answer

Do I charge btw to clients outside the Netherlands?

For business clients in another EU country with a valid VAT number, you charge 0% under the reverse charge, print “btw verlegd” or “VAT reverse charge” with their VAT number, and list them on your ICP return. For business clients outside the EU, the service is usually not taxed in the Netherlands, so 0% with the right wording. Private clients in the EU are usually charged Dutch btw.

Checked by Stefka Ivanova, founder of Bilio and a freelancer in Amsterdam, on .

EU business client
0%, reverse charge, on the ICP list
Outside the EU (UK, US)
Usually 0%, outside the scope of Dutch btw
EU private client
Usually Dutch btw (21%)
VAT number check
VIES, before you invoice
Btw return boxes
Rubriek 3b (EU) and 1e (outside EU)
How Bilio helps

What changes when Bilio does the admin.

Developers, designers, consultants and translators with clients in other countries.

  • 01

    The right btw from the country

    Pick the client’s country and VAT number; Bilio suggests 21%, reverse charge or outside-EU, and prints the legal wording (article 196 for EU reverse charge).

  • 02

    VAT numbers checked with VIES

    Bilio checks the client’s VAT number with the EU’s VIES service, so a reverse-charge invoice doesn’t rest on a typo.

  • 03

    ICP list and btw boxes, filled in

    EU services land in rubriek 3b and on the ICP list, non-EU in the right box. Export the ICP list and copy it into Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk.

  • 04

    Any currency, euros in the books

    Bill in dollars or pounds; Bilio converts at the ECB rate for your books and your btw return.

  • 05

    Invoices in their language

    Your Berlin client gets a German invoice with the UStG lines, your Madrid client a Spanish one; set it per client. English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Bulgarian.

  • 06

    E-invoices when clients ask for them

    Download any invoice as UBL (Peppol BIS 3.0) or XRechnung for German public bodies, free. Belgian businesses need e-invoices since 2026; sending over Peppol is included on Business.

Natively AI

Ask about your own numbers, in plain English.

Bilio’s AI financial advisor answers from your invoices and expenses (Pro). Or connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor to Bilio and ask there (Pro and Business); nothing is sent or changed without your OK.

AI does

Read receipts, suggest categories, add up the quarter, explain the btw boxes and the income tax lines, draft invoices.

You do

Check the figures and file them. Bilio doesn’t file for you and doesn’t give tax advice; for a complex situation, see an adviser.

Connect your assistant
  1. Which of my clients are on this quarter’s ICP list?
  2. Draft an invoice for Larkspur Inc in New York: $4,000 for October.
  3. Which invoices this quarter used the reverse charge?
  4. How much did I invoice outside the EU this year?
  5. What goes in rubriek 3b this quarter?
The Dutch tax year

Four btw returns and one income tax return.

The btw return is due by the last day of the month after each quarter; the income tax return by 1 May the year after. With EU business clients you also file an ICP return (opgaaf intracommunautaire prestaties) each quarter, on the same deadline as the btw return. Bilio builds the list.

  • €1,200zelfstandigenaftrek 2026, with 1,225 hours
  • €2,123startersaftrek, up to 3 times in your first 5 years
  • 12.7%MKB-winstvrijstelling on profit after deductions
  • €20,000turnover limit for the KOR

Figures for 2026 from the Belastingdienst and business.gov.nl. Check them before you file.

Dutch tax terms

The tax office’s Dutch, in plain English.

Btw verlegd (reverse charge)
For services to a business in another EU country, the client accounts for the VAT. Your invoice shows 0%, “VAT reverse charge” and both VAT numbers.
ICP (opgaaf intracommunautaire prestaties)
A quarterly list of your EU business clients, their VAT numbers and what you invoiced them under the reverse charge. Due with the btw return.
Rubriek
A box on the Dutch btw return, such as 1a (sales at 21%), 1e (0% or not taxed in the Netherlands), 3b (services to EU businesses) and 5b (btw on your costs).
Btw
Dutch VAT (belasting toegevoegde waarde). Usually 21%, 9% for some goods and services. You charge it on your invoices and pay it to the Belastingdienst every quarter, minus the btw on your business costs.
Questions

Common questions.

What is the reverse charge?
For services to a business in another EU country, the client accounts for the VAT in their own country instead of you charging it. Your invoice shows 0%, the words “VAT reverse charge” (or “btw verlegd”) and both VAT numbers.
What is the ICP return?
The opgaaf intracommunautaire prestaties: a quarterly list of your EU business clients with their VAT numbers and the amounts you invoiced them under the reverse charge. Bilio builds it from your invoices.
Do I charge btw to a client in the US or the UK?
For business clients outside the EU, services are usually taxed where the client is, so you invoice without Dutch btw and mention that the service is outside the scope of Dutch VAT. Some services, like those tied to property in the Netherlands, are exceptions.
Can I invoice in dollars?
Yes, in any currency. Bilio converts the amount to euros at the ECB rate for your books and btw return.
Does Bilio file my taxes?
Bilio prepares the figures; you file them yourself in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk (btw) and in your income tax return. Bilio does not file for you and does not give tax advice.

Guides

Bilio is also for

Get started

Your first invoice takes four minutes.

Create an account with your email and follow the five-step setup: business details, VAT and KvK, IBAN, first client, first invoice. No card, no setup fee, no downloads. Cancel any time and take your data with you.

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