Getting started
Getting a Belgian VAT number
Your enterprise number and your VAT number are the same digits. They are not the same thing — and assuming they are is the single most common administrative mistake new businesses make in Belgium.
Who needs a Belgian VAT number
Anyone who independently and regularly supplies goods or services in Belgium is in principle a taxable person for VAT. That applies whether it is your main activity or something you do alongside a job.
Certain activities are exempt by their nature — much of medical and paramedical work, education, and insurance mediation among them. That is different from the small business exemption below, which looks at your turnover rather than your profession.
If you are not established in Belgium
A foreign business can be required to register for Belgian VAT without having any establishment here — for example when holding stock in Belgium, supplying goods locally, or carrying out certain works on Belgian immovable property. Depending on your country of establishment, a fiscal representative may be required.
Decision
Normal regime or exemption scheme?
If your annual turnover stays below the statutory threshold, you may choose. The choice determines whether you can reclaim VAT, so it is not a formality.
| Normal regime | Exemption scheme | |
|---|---|---|
| Charge VAT to customers | Yes | No |
| Reclaim VAT on purchases | Yes | No |
| Periodic VAT return | Quarterly or monthly | None |
| Annual client listing | Yes | Yes |
| On your invoice | VAT rate and amount | A reference to the exemption scheme |
| Makes sense when | You invest or purchase a lot, or your customers are VAT-registered businesses. | Your costs are low and your customers are private individuals. |
Small business exemption threshold
€25,000annual turnover, excl. VAT
Go above it and you fall into the normal VAT regime.
Indicative figure, last checked on 21 August 2026. Confirm the current amount before relying on it.
How to activate VAT status
Get your enterprise number first
There is nothing to activate without a registration in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. See becoming self-employed or company registration.
File the declaration of commencement of activity
Form E-604A. It tells the VAT administration that you are starting, which activities you carry out and which regime you choose. Most business counters will file it for you as a paid service; you can also file it yourself.
Choose your regime and filing frequency
Normal regime or exemption scheme, and under the normal regime: quarterly or monthly returns. Quarterly is standard for smaller businesses.
Wait for confirmation
Only once your VAT status is active may you charge and reclaim VAT. Allow anything from a few working days to a couple of weeks.
What changes once you are VAT-registered
- Your invoices must meet the VAT rules: your VAT number, your customer's number for B2B, the rate, the amount and the mandatory wording.
- You file returns periodically, quarterly or monthly. In practice your accountant does this.
- You pay over the VAT you charged, less the VAT you paid. Set that money aside — it is not turnover.
- Belgian B2B invoices go out electronically in a structured format over the Peppol network — a plain PDF by email no longer satisfies the requirement.
- You file an annual client listing of your Belgian VAT-registered customers.
- Intra-EU supplies bring extra obligations: your customer's VAT number has to be verified, the reverse charge applied where relevant, and EC sales lists filed.
Questions about Belgian VAT
Is my VAT number the same as my enterprise number?
The same digits, prefixed with BE. But it is only a valid VAT number once VAT status has been activated. You can perfectly well hold an enterprise number while your VAT number does not yet work — which is exactly where new businesses get caught.
How long does activation take?
Usually a few working days to a couple of weeks, depending on the completeness of your filing. Do not plan it for the same week as your first invoice.
What does it cost?
The activation itself with the VAT administration is free. If a business counter or service provider files it for you, you pay them for the service. Ask what is included before you agree.
When is the exemption scheme worth it?
When your annual turnover stays under the statutory threshold, your customers are mostly private individuals, and you have few purchases or investments. If you sell to VAT-registered businesses it is usually not an advantage: your customer reclaims the VAT anyway, and you cannot deduct yours.
Do I need a fiscal representative?
Only in specific situations, mainly where a business established outside the EU has to register for Belgian VAT. Businesses established in another EU member state can generally register directly. Which applies to you depends on where you are established and what you do here.
Can I reclaim VAT on costs from before I started?
In some cases yes, for instance on investment goods you still use in the business, subject to conditions and time limits. Keep your start-up invoices and put them in front of your accountant rather than throwing them away.
Related
- Starting a business in BelgiumWhere VAT activation sits among the other formalities.
- Becoming self-employedThe registration that has to happen before this one.
- Company registrationVAT activation is one of the steps that follows the incorporation deed.
- Ongoing VAT administrationDeadlines, documents for your accountant and the returns coming up.
VAT activation handled as part of your start
We prepare the filing, check that your registered activities match what you actually do, and follow up until your VAT status is genuinely active.