Car dealing and used cars. Every car counts, on paper too.
You buy and sell used cars, with a few people or on your way there. Then every car counts on its own: purchase statement, margin, days in stock and warranty. Alvelion handles your figures, VAT and payroll.
Request an introductory meetingJust started? Read this firstWhat matters for a growing car dealership?
A car dealership with 1 to 15 people buys from private sellers, dealers and auctions, and sells mainly to consumers. Every car has its own paperwork for VAT, the RDW and the warranty.
At the Chamber of Commerce (KVK), you are usually registered under SBI code 47810, retail sale of motor vehicles (SBI 2025). If you mainly sell to other dealers, that may be 46710, wholesale of motor vehicles. The KVK chooses the code based on your description.
The biggest risk is rarely in the calculation. It is in the paperwork for each car. Without a signed purchase statement, you cannot prove the margin. That is where we help, just as with stock, staff and growth.
We work from our offices in The Hague, Amsterdam, Gouda and Rotterdam, for automotive businesses throughout the Netherlands. You can meet us at the office, at your premises or online.
Where things go wrong for car dealers
Do you recognise one of these situations? Then your accounting needs attention.
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A car without a purchase statement
If you buy a car for €500 or more from a private seller, a signed purchase statement with the registration number belongs with it. Without that statement, you cannot prove the margin.
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Money tied up in stock
Every day a car stands on the lot costs money: interest, storage and loss of value. Without days in stock per car, you see too late which cars are costing you money.
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Cash at the counter
Since 1 January 2026, a dealer may not accept or pay €3,000 or more in cash. Not in instalments either, and not when you buy a car yourself.
With your accounting in order, you know per car what it cost, what it brought in and how much VAT you pay.
Two types of car, two types of VAT
Margin scheme car
Bought from a private seller or under the margin scheme?
You pay VAT on your margin, not on the whole price. The VAT is 21/121 of the difference between purchase and sale. The invoice shows no VAT.
VAT car
Bought with VAT, or imported from outside the EU?
Then you charge 21% VAT on the selling price, less the remaining BPM. A car you import from outside the EU is never a margin scheme car.
We check per car which rule applies, so your invoices and your VAT return are right.
How Alvelion handles the figures of your car dealership
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Getting to know you and setting up
We look at how you buy and sell and who works for you. We set up your accounting, your stock register and your VAT codes accordingly.
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Keeping up to date
Purchases, sales and bank are processed continuously. For each car, the purchase statement, the costs and the margin are kept together.
Every month
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Payroll and tax returns
Payslips, payroll tax returns and VAT returns go out on time. We calculate the VAT on the margin per period, as the rules for cars require.
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Stock in view
Every month you see the days in stock per car and how much money is tied up in your stock. On 31 December the stock is correctly included in the annual accounts.
You work with one dedicated contact who knows your business, not a changing team or a general helpdesk.
Where Alvelion helps your car dealership
Margin and VAT per car
Your purchases and sales are processed continuously, under the margin scheme or with VAT per car. So your VAT return is right.
Go to online bookkeepingYour first people on the payroll
Payslips and payroll tax returns, with the collective agreement and pension fund that belong to your business processed correctly.
Go to payroll administrationStock and days in stock
A stock register per car shows how much money is tied up and which cars have been standing too long. So you can adjust before it becomes a loss.
Go to financial insightMoney for more cars
More cars at once needs more working capital. We work out what you can afford and prepare the documents your lender asks for.
Go to financingSales agreement and warranty
A sales agreement that lists every known defect separately, your general terms and conditions and a buyer who comes back with a complaint. Our own legal team helps you.
Go to legal adviceTax and your private car
One fixed car for private use instead of switching between stock cars, the tax pot and the choice between sole trader and private limited company. We work it out for you.
Go to tax adviceYou earn your margin when you buy. That is also where the proof begins.
Your car dealership and your figures with one team
Knows the rules in car dealing
Margin scheme, global accounting, purchase statements, BPM and the ban on cash from €3,000: we know the rules that apply to car dealers.
Every car in view
Bookkeeping and stock register run side by side. That way you see per car what it really earned.
One contact
Bookkeeping, payroll and advice with the same dedicated team.
Client reviews
9,0
Average score on Trustoo, from 5 reviews (as of 17 October 2026).
All reviews on Trustoo“A pleasant accounting firm, always helped in a friendly way and everything is arranged neatly.”
Mike M., 4 October 2026, via Trustoo (translated from Dutch)
“Up and running quickly, and clear replies.”
Erik, 4 October 2026, via Trustoo (translated from Dutch)
Frequently asked questions
If you buy a car from a private seller, or from a dealer who used the margin scheme himself, you pay VAT on your margin. That is 21/121 of the difference between purchase and sale. For cars, global accounting is compulsory: you add up the margins of a period. A negative margin is carried forward to the next period. Calculating per car is only allowed after a letter to the tax authorities, and then for at least 5 years.
If you buy for €500 or more from one seller, such as a private seller, you draw up a purchase statement. It shows the date, both names and addresses, the amount and the registration number, among other things. The seller signs it. With a trade-in, your invoice counts as the purchase statement, if it shows all the details of the car traded in.
Not for €3,000 or more. Since 1 January 2026, a dealer in goods may not accept or pay such an amount in cash. Not in instalments either, and not when you buy a car yourself. The fine is €10,000 in principle and is made public. From 10 July 2027, extra rules apply to car dealers for bank payments above certain amounts (as of October 2026).
For your own trade stock, you need the basic approval and the trade stock approval, and for test drives the trade number plate. You also need a certificate of conduct (VOG). In 2026, the three applications together with one company visit cost €681.55. After that, an invoice for the annual costs arrives every January. For a car in your trade stock, you pay no road tax and it does not need a valid MOT (APK). On the trade number plate you do pay road tax, up to around €148 per quarter, depending on your province.
If you sell to a consumer, the car must do what the buyer was entitled to expect. "No warranty" or "sold as seen" does not rule that out. If something goes wrong within a year of delivery, it is presumed that the defect was already there, unless you prove otherwise. If you want to exclude a known defect, name it separately in the sales agreement and have the buyer sign for it separately at the time of sale. A sentence in your general terms and conditions is not enough. Since 16 July 2026, you also point the buyer to the statutory warranty before the sale.
With an import, you file the BPM return yourself and pay the BPM before you can sell the car. You determine the depreciation with a price list, a valuation report or the fixed table of the tax authorities. A car you import from outside the EU is not a margin scheme car. Then you pay import VAT and sell with 21% VAT on the price.
At cost price: the purchase price plus the costs of getting the car ready for sale. A lower value is only allowed if you can show that you have to sell a car below cost price. Then keep proof, such as a valuation or comparable adverts with a date. That way you don't pay tax on profit that isn't there.
We mainly work for automotive businesses that are growing. Have you just started? Then Vakwerk Nº 03 is a good start: our guide for the self-employed used car dealer. You buy it as a PDF in our web shop, for €149 excl. VAT.
Further reading
All articlesReady to grow your car dealership further?
Tell us how your business runs now. We deliberately work with a limited number of clients. That is why we first look together at whether we are a good fit. You'll hear back within one working day.
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