AI & Software

Selling SaaS outside the EU from the Netherlands

Updated: 6 October 2026 Holdwise editorial team VAT Non-EU Export

You can sell software worldwide from the start. Outside the EU, many countries have their own VAT rules for digital services. With a quarterly check, you keep track of all of them.

Short answer

Sales to customers outside the EU fall outside Dutch and EU VAT. Your invoices to businesses and consumers there are free of EU VAT, and you keep full deduction of the VAT on your costs. Two caveats apply. More and more countries have their own rules for foreign digital services, each with a local registration threshold. The UK has had such rules since Brexit. App stores usually handle this local tax for you. All revenue still counts for Dutch profit tax.

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

VAT in the Netherlands

Services to customers outside the EU are taxed where the customer is. They stay outside your Dutch VAT return. Your invoices are VAT-free, and you keep your full input-VAT deduction on costs. Corporate tax or income tax applies as usual. Every euro of worldwide revenue counts toward your Dutch profit. That profit is taxed in your personal return, or in your BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company) at 19% on the first €200,000 and 25.8% above.

VAT in other countries

Many countries now tax foreign providers of digital services to their consumers. Each country has its own rate, threshold and online portal. The UK has had such a system since Brexit, like many others. The pattern is the same everywhere. Below the threshold, you are free of obligations there. Above it, you register locally and pay the tax. Sales to businesses usually fall outside these rules, because the business customer accounts for the tax itself. Above all, keep track of the countries where your revenue is growing.

The quarterly routine

Once a quarter, export revenue by country from your payment provider. Look at which countries outside the EU are becoming a real share of sales, and check the threshold in each one. This way, you register in good time, well before it is required. If you sell through app stores, most of this work is done for you. The platform already handles the consumer side worldwide.

You can import into the EU through the Netherlands and pay zero VAT at the border. See fiscal representation for non-EU importers. There you read about the Article 23 licence, the EORI number and the monthly work involved.

Every quarter and every year, a Dutch company keeps records and files returns. What does it cost to hand this work over? See bookkeeping in the Netherlands for owners abroad.

One more American detail

If you sell through US platforms that pay royalty-like income, there is one more item. These platforms can withhold up to 30% US tax. Under the tax treaty between the US and the Netherlands, this is reduced to 0% if you file the right form. See the W-8BEN-E for your Dutch BV. Direct invoices to US business clients normally fall outside this rule.

Free advice

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We help you with import and export: VAT, customs numbers and licences. Tell us where you stand or what you are planning. You get free advice on your next step.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do I prove a customer is outside the EU? +

With the same location evidence that your checkout already collects for the OSS: billing address, bank country and IP address. You use the same evidence for your EU rates and for the zero rate outside the EU.

Do I charge US sales tax to American customers? +

That depends on the state. Each US state has its own sales tax rules for SaaS and its own thresholds for when you must register (nexus). Use the same quarterly routine. Watch where your revenue is concentrated, and act when you come close to a threshold.

What if I crossed a local threshold months ago and only notice now? +

Register and correct the position. Most countries have procedures for late registration. With the quarterly routine, this rarely happens.

Sources Belastingdienst · KVK · wetten.overheid.nl Last updated: 6 October 2026