Mileage guide
Netherlands kilometre records: separate private-car and business-car questions
By FlatMile ·
General Netherlands sole-trader recordkeeping information. Vehicle ownership and tax treatment require a separate assessment.
At a glance
For a Dutch sole trader, first establish whether the vehicle is treated as private or business property for the relevant tax. Then keep the kilometre evidence needed for that treatment. A single “business” label can hide different income-tax and VAT questions, especially for commuting.
This is an English-language recordkeeping guide to Dutch concepts. It is not a decision about how your vehicle must be classified, a calculation of your return or a claim that a general mileage app provides a complete Dutch tax administration.
Begin with the vehicle decision
Write the vehicle's registration, acquisition or lease date, use period and current tax treatment on a cover sheet. Keep the purchase or lease documents with it. If the treatment is unclear, record the journeys now and ask your adviser to resolve classification before calculating a claim.
| Question | Record to assemble | Review outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Is the car private property for income tax? | Business journeys and applicable-year calculation | Private-vehicle business-use treatment |
| Is it a business car used privately? | Vehicle costs, use and private-driving evidence | Possible private-use adjustment, or bijtelling |
| Does VAT need a private-use adjustment? | VAT invoices and business/private use evidence | Separate btw calculation |
The Belastingdienst's private-car guidance describes a per-business-kilometre deduction for private vehicles. Use the official applicable-year amount when calculating; do not reuse a US mileage rate or an employee allowance table.
Build a complete rittenregistratie when needed
For a business car, the Belastingdienst describes a rittenregistratie as evidence that annual private driving does not exceed 500 km. It includes make, model, registration and use period. Per journey, record date, opening and closing odometer, departure and arrival addresses, business/private status, an unusual route and private detour kilometres where relevant. An outward journey and return are separate trips.
Those requirements are more specific than a list of business destinations. Check the actual fields in your record system. Add missing evidence to a controlled companion log; do not assume a PDF report automatically meets the whole standard.
Work through a fictional odometer sequence
A consultant leaves the office at 31,200.0 km, reaches client C-7 at 31,218.4 and returns to the office at 31,237.1. The outward leg is 18.4 km; the return is 18.7 km; together they account for 37.1 km. The small difference is something to explain from the actual route, not automatically “correct” by copying one distance.
Keep the actual addresses behind C-7 in the appropriate records. If a return detour was private, record it explicitly. The odometer sequence should still reconcile after the classification is reviewed; deleting the private distance from the vehicle's total would leave an unexplained gap.
Keep VAT review separate
The Belastingdienst says commuting is private use for VAT. Preserve a commuting category or equivalent note so the VAT calculation can be reviewed independently of an income-tax classification.
A useful adviser handoff includes the original log, a list of category decisions, vehicle invoices and an explanation of any missing periods. Label columns “income-tax review” and “VAT review” if both are needed. These can live in a companion spreadsheet; they are not claimed FlatMile features.
Use the free mileage-log template as a starting worksheet only after adapting the unit to kilometres and adding the Dutch fields above. The supporting records, treatment choices and final return still need to agree.
Sources
- Belastingdienst: private car used for business.
- Belastingdienst: rittenregistratie requirements.
- Belastingdienst: business-car private use for VAT.