The mistake in brief
The most common mistake with VAT on fuel abroad is that entrepreneurs assume they can claim back the full VAT on every refill, regardless of vehicle type. For vans and lorries used exclusively for business purposes this is usually correct. But for a passenger car, a significant number of EU countries apply a limitation: the refund is there reduced by default to a percentage, because the legislator assumes that a passenger car is also used privately — even if that is not the case in practice.
The result is predictable. An entrepreneur submits fuel receipts for a passenger car as if it were a commercial vehicle without private use, receives a lower amount than expected, or has the request returned with a request for substantiation. This takes time, and it is precisely the kind of delay that causes small entrepreneurs to abandon the entire exercise after one attempt.
Why this mistake occurs so frequently
The limitation for passenger cars is not in Directive 2008/9 itself — which regulates the refund process, not its amount. Each refund country determines for itself what percentage of VAT on vehicle use is deductible, and that percentage varies by vehicle category and country. An entrepreneur familiar with Dutch rules for vehicle costs often assumes the same logic applies everywhere. This is not the case: what is fully deductible in one country is capped at a percentage in another, precisely because the legislator there systematically accounts for private use of a passenger car.
Moreover, the receipt itself says nothing about the vehicle type. A fuel receipt shows the amount and VAT rate, not whether the fuel went into a lorry or a passenger car. Those who process receipts by volume quickly classify them all in the same way — and that is exactly where the mistake occurs: not in collecting receipts, but in applying the correct percentage per vehicle category.
What it costs if you do not recognise this
The direct consequence is a lower approved amount than submitted, or a request that as a whole experiences delay because the refund country first asks questions about the vehicle type. The latter is awkward within the four-month window in which a country may respond: every additional question extends the process. The risk therefore does not lie in a penalty — that is not relevant here — but in wasted time and a disappointing lower amount than the estimate you had in advance.
There is a second effect, less visible but just as annoying: entrepreneurs who receive one rejection or correction often drop out for the rest of the year. Whereas the problem does not lie in the scheme itself, but in one wrong assumption about one cost category.
How to prevent this
The essence is simple: know before you submit which type of vehicle was refuelled, and do not automatically count on the full amount for a passenger car. A van or lorry used exclusively for business purposes usually falls outside the limitation; a passenger car almost never does. If you are unsure about the precise classification of a vehicle or a borderline case — for example a van with a single cab that is also used privately — you would do well to put that specific point to a VAT specialist, as that goes beyond a general assessment.
In practice, collecting fuel receipts works best if vehicle type is recorded from the start, so that classification does not have to happen on a per-receipt basis afterwards. This also brings you closer to a realistic estimate of what you can actually expect. With a few questions that immediately provide an estimate in euros You can see roughly where you stand, without having to collect receipts first.
On vatea.eu, each expense category, including fuel, is checked against what the refund country actually allows before a request is submitted — so that an over-claimed amount does not come to light only at the refund country. You can read more about how this process works per expense category on the page with all topics on VAT refunds. How we obtain the information we use for this is explained on the page about our working method and sources.
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