AI & Software

AI agents as a service: VAT and contracts in the EU

Updated: 21 July 2026 Holdwise editorial team AI agents VAT Contracts

An AI agent can look like software and like consultancy at the same time. EU VAT has very different rules for the two. How you invoice depends on which type your product is. What your contract must say depends on how much the agent does on its own.

Short answer

If you sell agents as a self-service subscription, the sale is an electronically supplied service for EU VAT. Consumers then pay the VAT rate of their own country, and you declare it in one OSS return in the Netherlands. If you provide agents as guided work made for each client, with configuration, training and human steering, the ordinary rules for services apply. EU business clients then get an invoice with the VAT reverse-charged, and consumers usually pay Dutch VAT. Profit tax is the same in both cases. The biggest difference is in the contract. An agent acts on its own, so your terms must limit what those actions can cost you.

At Holdwise, we keep this answer up to date and change it when the rules change.

Which category applies

EU VAT has a category for electronically supplied services. These are largely automated, with minimal human work. An agent that customers switch on themselves and that then works on its own is in this category. You charge VAT where the consumer lives and report it in the OSS return. If you do substantial work per client, such as scoping, configuring and supervising, the ordinary service rules apply. These have their own place-of-supply test. If you only review an occasional edge case by hand, the service stays in the automated category.

Per customer type

EU consumers who buy the self-service version pay the local VAT of their country, through OSS. EU business clients get an invoice excluding VAT, with the VAT reverse-charged, in both categories. For customers outside the EU, the sale is usually outside EU VAT. Some of those countries have their own rules, as described in the routine per country outside the EU. If you sell the same agent as self-service and as custom work, show the two separately on your invoices. If you combine them in one vague package, the most difficult rules of both can apply.

What the contract must include

An agent that sends mail, books meetings or transfers data can cause much more damage than a dashboard. Put four clauses in your terms. The first is a liability cap, for example twelve months of fees. The second excludes consequential loss. The third is about the nature of AI and gives the customer a duty to check important actions. The fourth is for agents only. It says that the customer sets and controls the agent’s permissions. Take out insurance up to the cap. Any remaining risk should be limited to the BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company).

The VAT return is due every quarter, the payroll every month and the annual accounts once a year. Read more about this work, and how the monthly amount is calculated, on bookkeeping in the Netherlands.

Margin: what the model costs you

Agent costs rise and fall with usage. Record model spend per client or per agent. Your prices then match your real costs, and a future buyer can see your cost and revenue per customer. You can read more about this habit in the bookkeeping guide. With usage-based pricing, per task or per credit, the VAT stays the same. The VAT rules depend on the type of service and the type of customer.

Free advice

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Part of Doing Business in the Netherlands, the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

My agent works inside the customer's own accounts. Whose risk is that? +

Share it in the contract. The customer grants and limits the permissions, and you warrant that the agent stays within them. Write that split down, because it is the paragraph you need when something goes wrong.

Is outcome-based pricing (pay per result) treated differently for VAT? +

The VAT treatment depends on the level of automation and the type of customer, whatever your pricing model is.

Do the EU AI rules apply to my little agent? +

It depends on the level of risk. Under the EU AI rules, most tools only need transparency and documentation. High-risk uses have heavier duties. If you write down what your agent does and where it stops, you meet most of these duties. Buyers ask for the same information.

Sources Belastingdienst · KVK · wetten.overheid.nl Last updated: 21 July 2026