{"id":17268,"date":"2026-09-30T00:01:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T22:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consultoriaehero.com\/?p=17268"},"modified":"2026-09-30T00:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T22:27:26","slug":"vat-on-food-in-the-netherlands-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consultoriaehero.com\/en\/vat-on-food-in-the-netherlands-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"VAT on food in the Netherlands in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The VAT on food in the Netherlands in 2026<\/strong> is the simplest in the EU: all food and all non-alcoholic drinks are taxed at 9%<\/strong>, in shops, takeaway, and restaurants. It does not matter whether it is bread, ham, chocolate, sweets, coffee, mineral water, or a sugary soft drink. Only alcohol \u2014 beer, wine, cider, and spirits with more than 0.5% \u2014 is taxed at 21%<\/strong>, the standard rate.<\/p>\n

The legal basis is Table I of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968<\/em>). Section a.1 applies 9% to food products for human consumption, including non-alcoholic drinks, and section b.12 extends that rate to food served in bars, caf\u00e9s, hotels, and restaurants. Anything not listed in the table is taxed at 21%. The standard rates are in our guide to VAT in the Netherlands in 2026<\/a>; here is the item-by-item breakdown.<\/p>\n

What VAT applies to each food item in the Netherlands<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Food or service<\/th>\nVAT<\/th>\nWet OB 1968<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Bread, flour, pasta, rice, and cereals<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Meat, ham, and cured meats<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fish and seafood, including lobster, oysters, and caviar<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, margarine, and eggs<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fruit, vegetables, legumes, and nuts<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Olive oil and other oils<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sugar, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, and ice cream<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coffee, tea, and cocoa<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mineral water, juices, and soft drinks, with or without sugar<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Non-alcoholic beer, wine, and cider, up to 0.5%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tap water<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.28<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Takeaway or delivery food<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Food and non-alcoholic drinks served in bars and restaurants<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nTable I, a.1 and b.12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beer, wine, cider, and spirits, in shops and bars<\/td>\n21%<\/strong><\/td>\noutside Table I<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Rates verified on 29 September 2026 against Table I of the Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968<\/a> and the European Commission\u2019s TEDB database, which reproduces it with its exclusions.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two questions to classify a food item in the Netherlands:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Does it contain more than 0.5% alcohol? Then it is taxed at 21%.<\/li>\n
  2. If not, and it is food or drink for people, it is taxed at 9%, wherever it is sold.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Bars and restaurants: 9%, except alcohol<\/h2>\n

    Food and non-alcoholic drinks served in a bar, caf\u00e9, or restaurant are taxed at the same 9%<\/strong> as in a supermarket. Beer, wine, and spirits served are taxed at 21%<\/strong>. A menu with wine therefore has two rates. In Spain, everything served is taxed at 10%, including alcohol.<\/p>\n

    Takeaway or delivery food is also taxed at 9%. For Dutch VAT, food prepared on the spot at a food stall, cinema caf\u00e9, or sports canteen is a sale of goods, unless the service element predominates. Since the rate is the same, the distinction hardly changes the bill.<\/p>\n

    The cases that cause the most doubt<\/h2>\n

    There are no luxury foods<\/h3>\n

    Unlike France or Belgium, the Netherlands does not increase VAT on any food because it is expensive or unhealthy. Lobster, oysters, caviar, margarine, milk chocolate, and sweets are taxed at 9%, just like bread.<\/p>\n

    Non-alcoholic drinks: VAT is 9%, but there is another tax<\/h3>\n

    Mineral water, juices, soft drinks, and plant-based drinks are taxed at 9%. In addition to VAT, they are subject to a special consumption tax on non-alcoholic drinks (verbruiksbelasting<\/em>), charged by volume. If you sell those drinks to Dutch consumers from Spain, check with an adviser whether that tax applies to you: it is not declared through the one-stop shop.<\/p>\n

    Alcohol-free beer and wine<\/h3>\n

    The limit is 0.5%. Beer, wine, and cider labeled \u201calcohol-free\u201d up to that level are taxed at 9%; \u201clow-alcohol\u201d versions above that threshold are taxed at 21%.<\/p>\n

    Selling food from Spain to customers in the Netherlands<\/h2>\n

    A Spanish store that ships food to Dutch consumers applies Spanish VAT<\/strong> while its distance sales to consumers in other EU countries \u2014 in total \u2014 do not exceed \u20ac10,000 per year<\/strong>. Above that, it applies Dutch VAT<\/strong> and reports it through the one-stop shop (OSS), as explained by the European Commission<\/a>. We explain this in the \u20ac10,000 threshold for distance sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    With a single rate for food, the calculation is simple, but it does not match Spain\u2019s:<\/p>\n

    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Product<\/th>\nVAT in Spain<\/th>\nVAT in the Netherlands<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Common bread, milk, cheese, and fruit<\/td>\n4%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Olive oil<\/td>\n4%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Cured ham, cured meats, and preserves<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Chocolate, nougat, and sweets<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Coffee<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Mineral water and juices with no added sugar<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Sugary soft drinks<\/td>\n21%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Wine and beer<\/td>\n21%<\/td>\n21%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Food served in a restaurant<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Wine served in a restaurant<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n21%<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

    Spanish rates verified on 17 September 2026 against Article 91 of Law 37\/1992 (boe.es<\/a>) and the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) document \u201cVAT tax rates 2026\u201d. Details in VAT on food in Spain<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Three more things before sending the first package:<\/p>\n