Vintro Pro
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Vintro Pro
NL · FR · EN
A type with high margins and therefore high amounts. All the more reason to have the buying side right.
Second-hand handbags fall under the margin scheme.
Second-hand handbags fall under the margin scheme. A full rebuild with new leather and new hardware sits against the renovated-goods exclusion.
A carried bag is tangible movable property that can be used again. That clears the tax authority’s test.
What sets this type apart are the amounts. At a margin of a thousand euros or more, every mistake in the calculation weighs heavily, and a missing proof of purchase weighs heavier still.
Buy from a private individual, at auction or from a colleague working under the margin, and there is no deductible VAT. That is exactly the situation the scheme exists for.
The age of the bag does not matter. A piece from 1985 and a bag from last season follow the same rule, as long as both are used and usable again.
Belgium’s FPS Finance defines second-hand goods as “tangible movable property that is suitable for further use as it is or after repair”. Excluded are, among others, new goods, precious metals, precious stones and pearls, renovated goods, goods that are consumed on first use, and goods that cannot be used again in the same state.
That is the whole test, and it is a test about the goods, not about your trade. Alongside second-hand goods, FPS Finance explicitly names works of art, collectors’ items, antiques and second-hand means of transport. The scheme sits in article 58, § 4 of the Belgian VAT Code and is worked out in Royal Decree no. 53 of 23 December 1994. This page describes the Belgian scheme; the four-country panel below shows where the Dutch, French and UK rules diverge.
The example is a vintage designer bag: bought for €900.00, sold for €1,750.00. Put your own figures in.
Sold at a loss: there is no margin, so no VAT is due. A negative margin does not give you anything back either.
The VAT is inside the margin, not on top of it. That is the mistake this calculator is built to prevent: 21% on a €400 margin is €84, while you owe €69.42. How to do this across a whole return period — and why France calculates piece by piece by law — is set out in How do you calculate margin VAT?
Renovated goods are excluded. Restitching a bag, replacing a lining or cleaning the hardware stays repair. A bag rebuilt with new leather and new hardware sits against the exclusion.
New bags from end-of-line stock are new goods, even if the model is discontinued. Where that line runs is set out in Is an unused item second-hand goods?
Whether handbags fall under the scheme is answered the same way in all four countries: it is European law. The rate and the calculation method are not.
Margin across the whole return period. Article 58, § 4 VAT Code and RD no. 53.
Globalisation scheme or individual method. Wet OB 1968, article 28b onwards.
Legally piece by piece. Globalisation is an option there, not the default. CGI art. 297 A.
HMRC’s own scheme, outside the EU. Below the registration threshold you pay nothing.
At these amounts that is the most expensive mistake on the list. Without a register as required by Royal Decree no. 53 your margin cannot be demonstrated.
On an €850 margin that is €178.50 instead of €147.52. At these amounts it adds up per bag.
The margin is selling price minus purchase price. Repair costs sit outside it.
New goods are excluded, even if the model is no longer made.
Written on 8 September 2026. The scheme, the definition of second-hand goods and the exclusions were measured on 8 September 2026 at Belgium’s FPS Finance, Regeling van belastingheffing over de marge, which names article 58, § 4 of the VAT Code and Royal Decree no. 53 of 23 December 1994 as its basis. Since 1 January 2026 the law of 19 December 2025 excludes goods bought at a reduced rate from the margin scheme — explained in circular 2026/C/14 of 13 January 2026, measured via eur-lex.europa.eu on 31 August 2026. FPS Finance has not yet updated its own page on that point — re-checked on 10 September 2026.
This is an explanation, not tax advice. Whether the margin scheme is the right choice in your case, and how to enter it in your return, is a question for your accountant.
Yes. A carried bag is tangible movable property that can be used again, which is the definition of second-hand goods at Belgium's FPS Finance. The scheme sits in article 58, § 4 of the Belgian VAT Code and in Royal Decree no. 53 of 23 December 1994.
Repairing is fine: the word sits in the definition of second-hand goods. A bag rebuilt with new leather and new hardware lands on the renovated-goods exclusion.
That falls outside. New goods are expressly on the exclusion list, even if the model is no longer produced.
In Belgium, €147.52. The margin is €850, and €850 × 21/121 gives €147.52. Charge 21% on top of the margin and you would pay €178.50 — over €30 too much per bag.
The same question, a different kind of piece. The answer differs more often than you would expect.
Every piece gets its own purchase price, selling price and scheme. Vintro Pro keeps margin goods separate from the rest and works out your margin per return period.
Free up to 10 pieces, no card number and no end date.