Tax on the profit margin, not the full sale price — the scheme that avoids double taxation on secondhand goods.
Margin VAT is a special VAT scheme for secondhand goods dealers.
Instead of calculating VAT on the full sale price, it's calculated on the profit margin actually made.
A private individual sells an antique cabinet to a dealer — no VAT, since it's a private sale.
Without a margin scheme, the dealer would owe VAT on the full sale price — even though no VAT could be deducted on the purchase.
To avoid that double taxation, only the added value gets taxed: the margin.
The difference between the purchase and sale price:
Simplified example for Belgium, at a 21% VAT rate.
No — VAT rates, admin requirements, and invoice rules differ per country. Vintro Pro accounts for the VAT rate applicable in the dealer's own country.
Standard rate of 21% — VAT is calculated on the realised margin, not the full sale price.
Its own "margin scheme". Dealers below the VAT threshold and not VAT-registered owe no VAT on their margin.
Not every item automatically qualifies — origin and how it was acquired matter.
For each item, you should ideally be able to show:
Without this data, correctly applying the margin scheme becomes difficult — or impossible.
An antique dealer buys three unique pieces — each needs its own tracked purchase and sale price:
VAT isn't usually shown separately as on a standard invoice — the invoice must instead reference the margin scheme applied:
"Margin scheme — second-hand goods"
Always check the exact wording required in your own country.
The hard part usually isn't the formula — it's gathering the right data.
Per item, Vintro Pro keeps purchase price, sale price, dates, photos, and the realised margin together — calculated automatically, applied correctly per country.
Ready for your VAT return and your accountant, with no manual calculations.
Where to find this in the app: the 📦 (stock) tab → 🛠️ Actions → under Reports. There you have 🧾 Margin VAT calculation for your return per period and 📦 Year-end stock per financial year for your annual close. Both produce a PDF. How the calculation itself works is explained here.
No. Regular VAT is calculated on the full sale price. Margin VAT only on the realised margin.
Generally not — the scheme is meant for specific categories of secondhand goods meeting certain conditions.
Without a purchase price, no correct margin can be calculated.
No — how the margin scheme applies and the VAT rates differ per country.
Vintro Pro calculates your margin VAT automatically per item, correctly applied per country — with clear reports for you and your accountant.