Frequently asked questions · Margin VAT

What VAT rate do you charge on the margin?

Your country's rate, but on an amount that already contains the VAT.

In Belgium the standard rate of 21 %, and this is where it usually goes wrong: the margin is a VAT-inclusive amount. You calculate margin × 21/121, not margin × 21 %. On a margin of 100 euros that is 17.36 euros, not 21 euros. The Netherlands also uses 21 %, France 20 %, and in the UK HMRC itself calls it one sixth of the margin.

The VAT sits inside the margin because your customer pays a single price and no VAT appears separately on your invoice. What is left between purchase and sale is therefore not pure profit: tax is hidden in it. Add 21 % on top and you overpay — and that mistake only surfaces at your return.

Two countries land on the same amount, two on another. That matters for anyone selling in more than one country: the same margin produces a different payment.

What you pay on a margin of 100 euros

Belgium 21 % → €17.36

margin × 21/121

Netherlands 21 % → €17.36

the same standard rate as Belgium

France 20 % → €16.67

margin × 20/120, CGI art. 278

UK 16.67 % → €16.67

HMRC itself calls it one sixth of the margin

Each rate checked on 2 September 2026 at the government itself: FPS Finance, VAT rates (Belgium, 21%); Belastingdienst (Netherlands, 21%); impots.gouv.fr, Plusieurs taux de TVA (France, 20%, CGI art. 278); gov.uk, VAT margin schemes (UK, 16.67% — one sixth).

Where this comes from

Each rate checked on 2 September 2026 at the government itself: FPS Finance, VAT rates (Belgium, 21%); Belastingdienst (Netherlands, 21%); impots.gouv.fr, Plusieurs taux de TVA (France, 20%, CGI art. 278); gov.uk, VAT margin schemes (UK, 16.67% — one sixth).

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

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Also worth knowing

Do you calculate the margin per piece or per period?

In Belgium the profit margin is looked at per return period: you add up all purchases and all sales in the period and only then take the difference. That is the globalisation method. In France the statutory default is per piece, with globalisation as an option; in the UK the Margin Scheme is per piece and Global Accounting per period.

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Can an antiques dealer use the margin scheme?

Yes. An antiques dealer may use the margin scheme for pieces bought from someone who could not charge VAT: a private individual, a non-taxable person, or a fellow dealer who sold under the margin scheme himself. You then pay VAT on your profit margin instead of on the full selling price. On a piece bought with deductible VAT, it is not allowed.

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