reclaim VAT parking Belgium

Parking in Belgium falls under the cost category means of transport

VAT on parking costs in Belgium during a business trip falls under the refund scheme of Directive 2008/9, as part of the cost category that covers means of transport. This cost category includes, in addition to parking, items such as fuel, tolls, maintenance and car rental, provided those expenses were incurred for business purposes during stay or transit in Belgium. Anyone who refuels, parks or pays tolls in Belgium for a business trip pays Belgian VAT that cannot be deducted in the Dutch return — and that is precisely what this refund scheme is designed for.

What a country actually allows within that cost category differs per member state: each EU country determines for itself which transport expenses qualify for refund and whether there are restrictions on them. For Belgium, this is set out in the Dutch Tax Authority's Requirements list and in the Taxes in Europe Database of the European Commission, which maintains the national rules on deductibility and exclusions for each country. Parking receipts are in practice usually simply included in the request, together with the other transport costs from the same trip, so that the whole is submitted to the refund country as one coherent file.

Basis: Directive 2008/9 and the Belgian requirements list

The right to reclaim foreign VAT on business expenses stems from Directive 2008/9/EC, which sets out the cost categories and the procedure via the portal of the member state of establishment. Which expenses within the cost category means of transport specifically count for Belgium, and whether there are exceptions to this, is described in the Dutch Tax Authority's Requirements list for refunds from other EU countries and in the Taxes in Europe Database of the European Commission, which explains the Belgian rules per cost category.