Frequently asked questions · Which pieces qualify

Does a piece you repair stay a margin good?

The law names repair in so many words. Cleaning and mending does not change the scheme.

Yes. The definition covers goods suitable for further use, as they are or after repair. Restoring a cabinet, rewiring a lamp or servicing a bicycle therefore does not take the piece out of the margin scheme. What you put in in parts and hours does not raise your purchase price — the margin stays the difference between what you paid and what you receive.

That last part is what surprises dealers. Buy a cabinet for 200 euros, put 150 euros of new fittings and hours of work into it, and sell it for 600: your margin for VAT is 400 euros, not 250.

If you buy those parts with VAT, that VAT is normally deductible as a business cost — which is separate from the margin scheme on the piece itself. Explain the distinction to your accountant once and it is settled.

Where this comes from

Anchors, each checked on 30 August 2026: directive 2006/112/EC art. 311 (EU), article 58 §4 of the Belgian VAT Code, Wet OB 1968 art. 28b ff. (Netherlands), CGI art. 297 A (France) and gov.uk, VAT margin schemes (UK).

This is an explanation, not tax or legal advice. Put your own situation to your accountant.

Read next

Also worth knowing

How do you price a unique piece?

Start from what the piece really cost you: the purchase price plus transport, any import costs, and whatever you put into repair. Then account for the VAT that sits inside your margin, because you pay that over. What is left is your real profit — and only then do you compare with what similar pieces fetch.

Read the full answer

Are all second-hand goods margin goods?

No. A good is only a margin good if you bought it from someone who could not charge VAT on it: a private individual, a non-taxable person, or a dealer who sold under the margin scheme himself. Bought on an invoice showing deductible VAT, the piece is second-hand but not a margin good.

Read the full answer

Every piece with its purchase price, photo and origin in one place

Vintro Pro keeps, per piece, what you paid, when, and where it came from. Your stock list and your margin VAT build themselves while you work.

Free up to 10 pieces, no card number and no end date.