Creators

Course and digital product income: VAT, delivery and rights

Updated: 2026-08-17 Holdwise editorial team

For VAT (value-added tax), a course is a digital service, and the VAT rate of the buyer's country applies. Whether you or the platform accounts for the VAT depends on the selling model. You settle both questions once, when you set up your BV (besloten vennootschap, a Dutch private limited company). A course is often the second source of income for a creator, after the audience and before large brand deals. At Holdwise, we keep this answer up to date and change it when the rules change.

The VAT rate of the buyer's country

If you sell a course to a private buyer in another EU country, the VAT rate of the buyer's country applies. With the EU VAT scheme for cross-border sales (OSS), you need one registration and one quarterly return in the Netherlands. The Dutch Tax Administration then pays each country its share. If you sell to a business in another EU country, the business accounts for the VAT. Check its VAT number in VIES (the EU online check of business VAT numbers).

If you sell to a buyer outside the EU, the sale is outside Dutch VAT. Keep proof of where the buyer is, such as the payment data and the address given at checkout.

Who accounts for the VAT

A marketplace selling in its own name accounts for the VAT and pays you a share. Your invoice is to the marketplace.
With your own checkout, you account for the VAT yourself, through the OSS return.

Read the terms of each sales channel once and note which model applies. The same two models apply to memberships. See subscription income.

Live cohorts and recorded courses

A recorded course that is delivered automatically is a digital service. A live cohort with real teaching hours can be treated differently, because a person teaches it. The place-of-supply rules for education have their own limits. If a course has both parts, agree the split with your bookkeeper before you sell it.

What you keep

The material, the platform, the buyer list and the trademark belong to the company. The company owns them, so you can transfer them when you sell. This is important when someone offers to buy your business. See selling your channel or brand. For your archive, see your content library.

Take a lower customary salary if a new BV is still unable to pay the full amount, for up to three years. A prior consultation with the Tax Administration gives certainty in advance. Also borrow up to €500,000 from your own BV. The lower salary is what saves tax. At €36,000 in place of €58,000, you keep about €7,100 a year more. After a later dividend, about €2,800 of that remains. The loan gives you access to money, but your tax stays the same. Calculate it with your own figures. Course income often comes in peaks around launches, so make the salary decision early. See how creators pay less tax.

Free advice

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

Frequently asked questions

Which VAT applies to a course sold abroad? +

For private buyers in another EU country, the VAT rate of their own country, reported through the EU VAT scheme for cross-border sales (OSS). For business buyers, the buyer accounts for the VAT.

Does the marketplace handle the VAT? +

Yes, if it sells in its own name. You then invoice the marketplace. With your own checkout, you account for the VAT yourself.

Is a live cohort treated the same as a recording? +

A recording delivered automatically is a digital service. A live cohort with real teaching hours can fall under different place-of-supply rules.