Creators

Writing and newsletter income: rates, rights and the list

Updated: 2026-08-17

Writing income arrives in three shapes, and each carries its own treatment: a paid newsletter with subscribers, commissioned pieces for publishers, and advances or royalties from a book. The differences sit in the VAT (value-added tax) rate, in what you sell versus what you license, and in who owns the audience afterwards. Here is each of them.

The paid newsletter

Subscribers pay for a digital service, so the VAT follows the customer's own country when they are private persons elsewhere in the European Union, filed through One Stop Shop (OSS). Whether you or the platform accounts for it depends on the model, exactly as with memberships: subscription income.

One point deserves its own line: the subscriber list belongs to your business and travels with it. Export it regularly and keep the export somewhere you control. A list held solely inside a platform is an asset you rent.

Commissioned writing

An article for a publisher is a service to a business. Domestically you charge the Dutch rate; to a business elsewhere in the Union the VAT shifts to the recipient; outside the Union it falls outside Dutch VAT. Certain supplies by writers and journalists qualify for the reduced rate, and the boundary is narrow, so agree the treatment with the publisher in advance and confirm it in the invoice.

Books, advances and royalties

An advance is turnover in the year you receive it, and it is settled against later royalties.
Royalties are turnover as they accrue. From foreign publishers they may carry withholding at source, reduced or removed by treaty — the American case is worked through in US withholding.
Rights stay with you as the maker until you transfer them in writing. Licensing for a period and a territory keeps the work reusable; an outright sale ends that.

What belongs to the company

Held inside your BV (besloten vennootschap, a Dutch private limited company), the rights to your writing, your list and your archive form a transferable asset rather than a personal arrangement. That matters on the day someone offers to buy: selling your channel or brand.

A multi-year lower customary salary agreed with the tax authority, combined with borrowing up to €500,000 from your own BV, saves roughly €18,000 to €20,000 a year in the growth phase. With writing income spread across years, the salary decision is worth taking early: how creators pay less tax.

Advice, free of obligation

Would you like our team to take a look at your situation?

Tell us where you stand or what you’re planning. Our team replies with advice, free of any obligation.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What VAT applies to a paid newsletter? +

For private subscribers elsewhere in the European Union, the rate of their own country, filed through One Stop Shop. The model decides whether you or the platform accounts for it.

Is a book advance taxable when I receive it? +

Yes, it is turnover in the year of receipt and is settled against later royalties as they accrue.

Should I license or sell my writing? +

Licensing for a period and a territory keeps the work reusable and leaves the rights with you. An outright sale ends that, so price it accordingly.