Invoicing a foreign client from Belgium: VAT and the right mentions

You've just landed a client in France, Germany or even outside Europe. The first question, before you even send the invoice: do you add 21% Belgian VAT? In most cases, no, but it depends on who the client is and where they are. Getting it wrong means a VAT correction or a bounced invoice. Here's the map, case by case.

First reflex: check the client's VAT number

Before deciding how to invoice, work out who you're selling to. A business client in the European Union should have a valid VAT number. Check it in VIES, the European Commission's official tool: if the number is valid, you're in intra-EU B2B and the rules below apply. If there's no valid number, treat the client as a consumer (B2C).

Selling to a business in the EU (B2B)

When you sell goods to a business in another member state and those goods leave Belgium, you do not charge VAT, provided the client has a valid VAT number. The buyer accounts for the VAT in their own country: this is the reverse charge mechanism.

For services between businesses, the general rule places taxation in the client's country: you invoice without VAT and the client self-accounts at the rate that applies to them. In both cases your invoice carries no Belgian VAT, but it must show the mention "Reverse charge" and include both VAT numbers. Depending on your activity, additional reporting obligations may apply: check your exact situation with the FPS Finance.

Selling to a consumer in the EU (B2C)

For sales to consumers in another EU country, an EU-wide threshold of €10,000 per year applies to distance sales. Below it, you apply Belgian VAT. Above it, you apply the VAT of the customer's country, and the One Stop Shop (OSS) lets you declare and pay that VAT from a single country, without registering everywhere.

Selling outside the European Union

If you sell goods to a client established outside the EU, you do not charge VAT: it's an export. Keep proof that the goods left the territory. For services to a client outside the EU there is usually no Belgian VAT either, but the rule depends on the nature of the service: something to confirm case by case.

What the 2026 e-invoicing obligation changes (or doesn't) across borders

Belgium's obligation for structured electronic invoicing between businesses, from 1 January 2026, targets domestic B2B transactions, between taxable persons established in Belgium. Intra-community supplies and services taxed in another EU country fall outside that scope. That said, the PEPPOL network remains usable in more than 30 European countries: if your foreign client is connected to it, you can send them a structured invoice the same way, which simplifies the exchange even where it isn't mandatory.

How Voilo makes cross-border invoicing simpler

Invoicing across the border is mostly about not getting the VAT treatment and the mentions wrong. In Voilo you issue invoices in several currencies (EUR, USD, GBP…) and several languages, with the right legal mentions. For a European business client connected to PEPPOL, sending goes through a certified PEPPOL Access Point, in the same structured format as in Belgium. Everything, clients, invoices, statuses, accounting export, stays in one place.

You start on the Free plan (€0), and paid plans run from PME at €25/month to Enterprise at €70/month (prices ex-VAT, no commitment). If you're unsure about a cross-border invoice, 24/7 human support answers, real people. See the pricing.

The information above is general and does not replace tax advice. For your specific situation (thresholds, mentions and reporting obligations), refer to the FPS Finance.