Do you reverse charge VAT as a subcontracted electrician?

Yes, if as a subcontractor you do physical work on a building or other immovable property, for a contractor who has taken on the work. Think of wiring in a new-build home or replacing a consumer unit for an installation company. You then charge no VAT. You put "VAT reverse charged" on the invoice, with the contractor's VAT number, and the contractor declares the VAT on your work.

You do not reverse charge for standalone solar panels, for work you mostly do in your own workshop, for a sale with a small installation and if you work directly for a private customer or an owners' association. For a charging point or home battery in subcontracting, the Belastingdienst gives no explanation of its own. There you check first.

In this article

1. What is the reverse charge scheme in construction and installation?
2. When do you reverse charge VAT as an electrician?
3. When do you not reverse charge VAT?
4. What about solar panels, charging points and home batteries?
5. What must be on an invoice with reverse charged VAT?
6. What happens if you wrongly reverse charge?
7. Do you need a G account as a self-employed person without staff?

What is the reverse charge scheme in construction and installation?

A scheme in which not you, but your client declares the VAT on your work. Normally the business that does the work pays the VAT. The law makes an exception for cases designated by the government, to better secure the collection of VAT (VAT Act 1968, article 12(5)).

Subcontracting in construction is such a case. The VAT Implementing Decree defines a contractor as someone who, outside employment and for a price, carries out physical work on immovable property. A subcontractor is someone who carries out that work wholly or partly for a contractor. If a subcontractor does such work, the VAT is reverse charged (VAT Implementing Decree 1968, article 24b).

In your VAT return you enter the reverse charged turnover in box 1e. The contractor declares the reverse charged VAT in box 2a (Belastingdienst, installers and suppliers of solar panels). You simply deduct the VAT on your own purchases, such as cable, materials and the van.

That reverse charging works against fraud has also been measured. European research on the reverse charge for trade between businesses found that it reduced a certain type of VAT fraud involving cross-border supplies. For 2003 to 2019, the researchers estimated the gain for the treasury at 7.5 to 7.7 billion euros. They also saw fraud shift to countries without such a scheme (Stiller & Heinemann, 2024). That research was about trade in goods in the EU, not construction, but it shows why the legislator chooses reverse charging.

When do you reverse charge VAT as an electrician?

If you do physical work on immovable property for a contractor. The Belastingdienst lists building, demolishing, installing, maintaining, repairing and cleaning (Belastingdienst, reverse charge for subcontracting). Installing, extending or repairing an electrical installation in a building falls under this.

Typical examples are the electrics in a renovation or new build for a construction company, and replacing a consumer unit at a private home on behalf of an installation company. In both cases your client is the contractor, and you are the subcontractor.

It also works further along the chain. If you hire a colleague for part of such a job, you are the contractor towards that colleague, and they reverse charge the VAT to you (VAT Implementing Decree 1968, article 24b(2)). A business that builds for itself without a client, such as a property developer, also counts as a contractor (article 24b(3)).

If you work directly for the owner, such as a private customer, an owners' association or a business having its own building altered, you are not a subcontractor. You then simply charge VAT. So with every new business client, ask: did you take on this work from a customer, or are you having it done for your own building?

When do you not reverse charge VAT?

In two cases, even if you work for a contractor. You do not reverse charge if you do more than half of the work in your own workshop. And you do not reverse charge if the work is subordinate to the sale of an item, because the installation costs are small and included in the price (Belastingdienst, exceptions for subcontracting).

If, for example, you build a distribution board or switchboard mostly in your own workshop and then fit it for a contractor, you do not reverse charge and you charge 21% VAT. The same applies if you only sell materials to a colleague.

As an example of subordinate installation, the Belastingdienst mentions doors from stock that are hung. The installation is included in the price and is only a small part of it, so the VAT on the sale with installation is not reverse charged (Belastingdienst, exceptions for subcontracting).

What about solar panels, charging points and home batteries?

You do not reverse charge the solar panels themselves, but you do reverse charge the work on the meter cupboard. The Belastingdienst regards non-integrated solar panels as movable property, so not as part of the building. The reverse charge then only applies to physical work on the immovable property, such as adjusting the meter cupboard (Belastingdienst, installers and suppliers of solar panels).

If as a subcontractor you fit panels on a home for a solar company, you charge 0% or 21% VAT on the panels, as the Belastingdienst writes. For a home that is usually 0%. For the meter cupboard adjustment you add a separate line with "VAT reverse charged" on the same invoice.

For a charging point or home battery in subcontracting, the Belastingdienst gives no explanation of its own. A Belastingdienst knowledge group did write that a charging post becomes immovable property after installation, because it is attached to the ground, and that a wall box remains movable. That position concerns payroll taxes, not VAT (Payroll tax knowledge group, KG:204:2023:15).

So do not assume a rule of your own. If you often work as a subcontractor on charging points or batteries, ask the tax office of the main contractor for a position, and record the agreement. That way you and your client know who declares the VAT.

What must be on an invoice with reverse charged VAT?

The words "VAT reverse charged" and your client's VAT identification number. You show the amount per VAT rate on the invoice (Belastingdienst, invoice under the reverse charge scheme). The normal invoice requirements also apply, such as your own VAT number, an invoice number and a description of the work.

The wording "VAT reverse charged" is also in the law itself (VAT Implementing Decree 1968, article 24b(6)). Check the VAT number of a new client before you send the first invoice. A wrong number makes it difficult to show later that you were right to reverse charge.

What happens if you wrongly reverse charge?

Then you remain responsible for the VAT yourself. The Belastingdienst writes that the subcontractor remains responsible for the reverse charged VAT (Belastingdienst, reverse charge for subcontracting). If you reverse charge on a job where that is not allowed, the Belastingdienst can therefore collect the VAT from you.

If you discover such an error, correct it yourself. An error up to € 1,000 is processed in the next return. For a larger amount you send the correction form, as soon as possible and in any case within 8 weeks after you discovered the error. If you do not, you can receive a penalty for a serious offence (Belastingdienst, correcting a VAT return).

A common mistake among electricians is making a whole invoice for a solar company "VAT reverse charged". Only the work on the meter cupboard may be reverse charged. On the panels, the inverter and the mounting you charge 0% or 21% yourself.

Do you need a G account as a self-employed person without staff?

No. The Belastingdienst does not cooperate in opening a G account for a self-employed subcontractor, because you are not a withholding agent for payroll taxes. That also applies if your client demands a G account (Belastingdienst, G account).

The request for a G account comes from chain liability. If a business hires another business for part of a job, and that other business does not pay its payroll tax, the Belastingdienst can hold the client liable for it. It mainly arises in construction, for work with a tangible result (KVK, chain liability and a G account).

A G account is a blocked bank account. The contractor deposits the estimated payroll tax and VAT into it, and you can only pay that money to the Belastingdienst. If the contractor pays this way, the Belastingdienst cannot, under conditions, hold them liable for that amount (Belastingdienst, G account). For someone who does not pay payroll tax themselves, that makes no sense. The KVK writes that a self-employed person does not need a G account, unless they hire a business with staff or borrow someone from an employment agency (KVK, chain liability and a G account).

What you can do: request a payment behaviour statement for chain liability. A contractor can ask for one to limit their risk. If you are not a withholding agent, the Belastingdienst tells you in writing that you will not receive a statement, because you are not a withholding agent for payroll taxes (Belastingdienst, payment behaviour statement for chain liability). You show that letter to your contractor, together with your KVK extract and VAT number.

If you later take on staff yourself, or hire an electrical company with staff for a large project, this changes. You are then a withholding agent yourself or a client in the chain. A G account and statements from your own subcontractors then do become useful.

Sources

• VAT Act 1968 (Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968), article 12, in force from 1 January 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
• VAT Implementing Decree 1968 (Uitvoeringsbesluit omzetbelasting 1968), article 24b, in force from 1 January 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
• Belastingdienst, Installers and suppliers of solar panels, accessed 24 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Stiller, W. & Heinemann, M. (2024). Do more harm than good? The optional reverse charge mechanism against cross-border tax fraud. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 95, 61-84. doi.org
• Belastingdienst, Reverse charge for subcontracting and hiring out staff, accessed 24 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Exceptions for subcontracting and hiring out staff, accessed 24 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Payroll tax knowledge group, KG:204:2023:15, staff loan for home battery or wall box, 25 September 2023. kennisgroepen.belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, You use the reverse charge scheme (invoice requirements), accessed 24 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Correcting a VAT return, accessed 24 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, G account, accessed 24 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• KVK, Chain liability and a G account, updated 3 March 2026. kvk.nl
• Belastingdienst, Payment behaviour statement for chain liability, accessed 24 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl