Accounting
Bookkeeping
Finance
Invoice, Receipt or Simplified Bill? What Dutch Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Each Type
Factuur, kassabon, or kwitantie? See which Dutch documents qualify for BTW deduction, the €100 rule, and a real worked example.
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15 mins
Intro
A box of kassabonnen handed to a bookkeeper at year-end is one of the most common sources of BTW problems for Dutch entrepreneurs. The difference between a factuur, a bon, and a kwitantie is not merely a question of format; it determines whether BTW can actually be deducted, whether the document represents a legal payment obligation, and whether it will hold up if the Belastingdienst ever runs a boekenonderzoek on your administration.
Most founders learn the hard way, usually after their bookkeeper flags a purchase that cannot be reclaimed. This article walks through what each document actually does, the €100 threshold that decides whether a simple receipt is enough, a real worked example of exactly where this goes wrong, and the special cases, fuel, public transport, and cash, that most guides skip entirely. It also covers what a full Dutch invoice legally has to contain, and what happens administratively when a supplier simply refuses to give you one.
Three Documents, Three Different Jobs
In Dutch business administration, three documents get confused constantly because they look similar and sometimes serve overlapping purposes. What each one actually does legally determines whether BTW can be deducted, whether a payment obligation exists at all, and whether the document survives scrutiny later.
Document | Dutch term | What it does | Creates payment obligation? | Sufficient for BTW deduction? | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Invoice | Factuur | Requests payment for goods or services delivered | Yes | Yes, if all mandatory fields are present | Wet OB 1968 art. 35a |
Till receipt / simplified invoice | Kassabon / vereenvoudigde factuur | Proves payment at point of sale; qualifies as a simplified invoice if ≤ €100 | No, payment is already made | Yes if ≤ €100 with minimum fields present; no if above €100 without full invoice fields | Wet OB 1968 art. 35b |
Receipt of payment | Kwitantie | Confirms a specific payment has been received | No, it confirms payment already done | No | Civil law only |
Public transport ticket | Vervoersbewijs | Proof of travel; treated as an invoice for BTW purposes | No | Yes, 9/109 of the fare, unless the journey was home-to-work commuting | Belastingdienst policy |
Key takeaway: A kassabon and a kwitantie are not the same document. A kassabon is issued by the seller at the moment of sale. A kwitantie is issued by the recipient of a payment to confirm they received it. Neither one is a factuur, and only a kassabon up to €100 can substitute for one in your BTW administration.
Getting this distinction right matters most at the point where your BTW return actually gets filed, since a document that looked fine in a drawer all quarter can turn into a real problem the moment you try to claim it; see when to file VAT for how these documents feed into that process.
The €100 Rule and Why It Catches So Many Entrepreneurs Out
The single most consequential rule in this entire area is the €100 threshold. A kassabon, or any simplified invoice, can only be used for BTW deduction if the total including BTW does not exceed €100. Above that amount, a full factuur is required, one that includes the buyer's name, address, and BTW number. A kassabon above €100 without these fields is legally insufficient for voorbelasting deduction, no matter how clearly the BTW amount is printed on it.
Watch out: If you buy something for more than €100 and receive only a kassabon, you cannot fix this retroactively. The seller cannot issue a backdated factuur after the BTW period has closed without creating a compliance problem of their own. Always ask for a factuur op naam at the point of purchase for any zakelijke aankoop above €100.
Worked example: the MediaMarkt laptop. A Dutch BV founder buys a laptop for €800 at MediaMarkt. The cashier hands over a printed kassabon showing the purchase, the 21% BTW rate, and the BTW amount. The founder files it away, expecting to deduct the €138.84 in BTW on the next quarterly return. Their bookkeeper flags the problem immediately: the kassabon contains no business name, no company address, and no BTW identification number for the buyer. Under Wet OB 1968, voorbelasting on a purchase above €100 can only be deducted if a full factuur exists that names the buyer. The kassabon does not qualify, and the €138.84 in BTW is simply unrecoverable from this purchase.
What the founder should have done instead: at the point of sale, ask for a "factuur op bedrijfsnaam" and hand the company name, address, and BTW number to the cashier. Most large retailers, electronics stores, office suppliers, and hardware chains among them, can generate a full factuur on request in about two minutes at the till, and doing so recovers the full BTW on every qualifying purchase rather than leaving it stranded on a bon that cannot be used.
What a Full Invoice Must Contain in the Netherlands
When a Dutch BTW-registered supplier issues an invoice, the law specifies exactly what it must contain. A factuur missing a mandatory field is invalid as a BTW document, which means the client cannot deduct voorbelasting based on it at all, regardless of how much BTW was actually paid.
Full factuur (required for all purchases above €100 and all B2B transactions):
Factuurdatum (date of invoice)
Unique sequential invoice number (factuurnummer)
Supplier's full name and address
Supplier's BTW identification number (BTW-id)
Client's full name and address
Client's BTW number, for B2B transactions
Description of goods or services
Quantity and unit price per line
BTW rate applied per line (0%, 9%, or 21%)
BTW amount per line
Total amount excluding BTW
Total amount including BTW
Reference to reverse charge, if BTW-verlegd applies
Reference to the exemption, if the supplier operates under KOR
Vereenvoudigde factuur (a kassabon qualifies here, for totals ≤ €100 including BTW):
Factuurdatum
Supplier's name and address
Description of goods or services
BTW rate or BTW amount, one of the two is sufficient
Buyer's name and address: not required
Invoice number: not required
Buyer's BTW number: not required
Key takeaway: A vereenvoudigde factuur omits the buyer's details entirely. That is exactly why it can only be used for BTW deduction when the total is €100 or less: the Belastingdienst accepts the risk of anonymous BTW deduction at small amounts, but above €100 it needs to know who is actually claiming the deduction.
If you are setting up structured or digital invoicing for your own business and want to make sure every outgoing invoice hits these fields automatically rather than relying on someone remembering them, e-invoicing Netherlands covers what that transition looks like.
Special Cases: Fuel, Public Transport, and Cash Transactions
Three common transaction types sit outside the standard factuur or kassabon framework entirely, each with its own BTW rules, and each is practically important enough that most entrepreneurs run into it sooner or later.
Fuel receipts (brandstofbonnen). A fuel receipt for a business vehicle is acceptable for BTW deduction even above €100, provided the payment is traceable to the entrepreneur as the buyer. Paying with a company pinpas, creditcard, or a business tankpas creates that traceability. A cash fuel receipt above €100 with no name attached to it does not qualify. For entrepreneurs running a business car, the simplest fix is to always pay for fuel with the company card rather than personal cash or a personal card.
Watch out: If a business car is also used privately, the BTW deduction on fuel is subject to a private use correction (BUA privégebruik auto). Even with a fully valid receipt, the entire BTW amount cannot always be deducted once private use enters the picture.
Public transport (vervoersbewijzen). An OV-chipkaart statement or a printed OV ticket qualifies as a valid BTW document on its own. BTW on public transport sits at 9%, and the deductible fraction works out to 9/109 of the total fare. A journey that is entirely woon-werkverkeer, regular commuting between home and a fixed workplace, is treated as private by the Belastingdienst, and the BTW on it is not deductible. Business travel to clients, meetings, and other locations, by contrast, qualifies without complication.
Cash transactions and kwitanties. When a payment is made in cash and the buyer needs proof of it, a kwitantie is the right document. It is issued by the recipient of the payment and confirms the amount received; it is not a BTW document, and a separate factuur still needs to exist for the transaction to be properly recorded in the BTW administration. For cash transactions above €3,000, Dutch law under the WWFT requires additional identification procedures on top of the usual paperwork. If any of this is starting to feel like more than you want to track manually, accountant or bookkeeper covers where professional support typically picks up this kind of detail.
Each of these three exceptions exists because the standard factuur or kassabon framework does not map cleanly onto how the underlying transaction actually happens. Fuel is bought at unattended pumps at odd hours; public transport is paid for through a chip card system that was never designed with BTW administration in mind; and cash still moves through plenty of legitimate Dutch business, particularly in retail and hospitality, without a bank record attached to it. Knowing which of the three situations you are in front of, rather than trying to force every receipt into the same factuur-shaped box, is what actually saves time at quarter-end.
A Decision Checklist for Your Administration
When a document lands in your business administration and you are not sure how to treat it, this sequence resolves almost every real-world case.
Step 1: Is it clearly labelled as a factuur with your company name and BTW number on it? → Yes: enter it in the BTW administration and claim voorbelasting, provided BTW is shown at the applicable rate. → No: go to step 2.
Step 2: Is the total amount including BTW €100 or less? → Yes: check whether it shows the supplier's name, a description, and a BTW rate or amount; if so, it qualifies as a vereenvoudigde factuur and can be used for deduction. → No, above €100: go to step 3.
Step 3: Is it a fuel receipt paid with a traceable business payment method, a company card or tankpas? → Yes: acceptable for BTW deduction above €100 under the brandstofbon exception. → No: go to step 4.
Step 4: Is it an OV ticket or an OV-chipkaart statement? → Yes: a valid BTW document; deduct 9/109 of the fare unless the journey was home-to-work commuting. → No: go to step 5.
Step 5: Is it a kwitantie, or a receipt of payment with no BTW details at all? → Yes: this is not a BTW document; keep it as proof of payment only, and make sure a separate factuur exists for the underlying transaction. → None of the above: contact your bookkeeper directly; the BTW on this purchase may simply not be recoverable.
Watch out: A supplier who refuses to issue a factuur op naam for a purchase above €100 is making it impossible for you to deduct the BTW, even though that is your right as a BTW-registered entrepreneur. If a supplier cannot or will not provide a compliant factuur, factor the irrecoverable BTW into the true cost of the purchase before you decide whether it is worth it.
Once a document has cleared this checklist and become a genuine outgoing invoice, keeping track of whether it actually gets paid is a separate problem entirely; see automating debtor management for how that side of the process typically works.
Get Your Invoicing and Receipts Working Together, Not Against You
The difference between a factuur, a kassabon, and a kwitantie sounds like a small administrative detail until it costs you real, unrecoverable BTW on a purchase that should have qualified. The €100 rule, the fuel receipt exception, and the public transport rules all exist for good reasons, but none of them are intuitive on first encounter, and by the time a bookkeeper flags the problem, the purchase has usually already happened.
If you want a system that flags which documents are missing the right fields before they become a quarterly BTW problem, book a demo and we will walk through how your current receipts and invoicing setup handles this. If you are earlier in the process of setting up your business entirely, our team can also help you incorporate your BV or get your bookkeeping and payroll running correctly from your very first purchase.
FAQs
What is the difference between a factuur and a kassabon in the Netherlands?
A factuur is a legal invoice requesting payment, and it must meet mandatory content requirements to be valid for BTW purposes. A kassabon is a proof of payment issued at the point of sale; it can substitute for an invoice for BTW deduction only when the total is €100 or less and it contains the minimum required fields.
Can I use a kassabon to deduct BTW?
Yes, but only if the total including BTW is €100 or less and the kassabon shows the supplier's name and address, a description of the purchase, and either the BTW rate or the BTW amount. Above €100, you need a full factuur with your business name and BTW number on it.
What is the €100 rule for simplified invoices?
Purchases totalling €100 or less, including BTW, can use a simplified invoice, a vereenvoudigde factuur, which omits the buyer's details entirely. Above that threshold, a full factuur naming the buyer is required for the BTW to be deductible.
What is a vereenvoudigde factuur?
A vereenvoudigde factuur is a legally recognised reduced-format invoice under Wet OB 1968 art. 35b, permitted for totals of €100 or less. It must show the date, the supplier's details, a description of what was supplied, and the BTW rate or amount, but it does not need the buyer's name, address, or BTW number.
Can I use a fuel receipt above €100 for BTW deduction?
Yes, as an exception to the general €100 rule, provided the payment can be traced to the entrepreneur, typically by paying with a company card or business tankpas rather than cash. A cash fuel receipt above €100 without the buyer's details does not qualify.
What is a kwitantie and when do I use one?
A kwitantie is a document confirming that a specific payment has been received, typically used for cash transactions. It is issued by the recipient of the payment, not the seller at the point of sale, and it is not a BTW document; a separate factuur is still needed for the transaction to be recorded properly.
Can I deduct BTW on public transport tickets?
Yes. An OV-chipkaart statement or printed ticket counts as a valid BTW document, and you can deduct 9/109 of the fare, since public transport carries 9% BTW. Regular home-to-work commuting is treated as private use and is not deductible.
What happens if I lose a factuur?
Without the original invoice, you generally cannot substantiate a BTW deduction if the Belastingdienst asks for evidence. Contact the supplier for a duplicate copy where possible; most suppliers can reissue an invoice, since they are also required to retain their own copies for seven years. If a supplier has gone out of business or genuinely cannot provide a replacement, keep whatever secondary evidence you have, a bank statement showing the payment, an order confirmation email, correspondence referencing the purchase, since this can help support your position even though it does not fully replace a missing invoice.
How long do I need to keep invoices and receipts in the Netherlands?
Invoices and kassabonnen used in your administration must be retained for seven years under the AWR, including digital copies, which must remain retrievable in a legible format. Property-related documents carry a longer ten-year retention requirement.
What should I do if a supplier refuses to issue a factuur op naam?
Ask again, clearly stating your company name, address, and BTW number, since most suppliers can generate this on request even after the initial sale is rung up. If they genuinely cannot or will not provide one, the BTW on that purchase becomes an unrecoverable cost, which is worth factoring in before deciding whether the purchase is still worthwhile.
Written by
Nick Knuppe
CEO & Founder
