What is the ICP declaration?
The ICP declaration lists everything you supplied to VAT-registered businesses in other EU countries. The Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) calls it the opgaaf intracommunautaire prestaties. You file it alongside your VAT return for every period in which you made such supplies. It covers business customers with a VAT number in another EU country. Moving your own stock to another EU country also goes in, as we show below. Sales to consumers in other EU countries follow different rules, which we flag below.
Take Marek, a furniture maker in Eindhoven. A German retailer orders his oak tables, €12,000 worth this quarter. Marek invoices at 0% Dutch VAT and the retailer pays the VAT in Germany. He sends his invoice in that same quarter. That deal is exactly what the ICP declaration reports. We follow his order through this guide.
New to Dutch VAT? Our guide to how VAT works covers the basics first.
In short
Business customers and own stock. The ICP declaration lists your supplies to VAT-registered businesses in other EU countries. Moving your own stock across an EU border goes in too.
0% VAT or reverse charge on your invoice. Goods go at 0% and you reverse-charge services. The buyer pays the VAT in their own country.
You file it alongside your VAT return. The ICP total must equal box 3b of that return. Box 3b holds your supplies to other EU countries.
The €50,000 quarterly threshold covers goods only. Above it you switch to monthly. Services can stay quarterly.
Fixed deadline. You file by the last day of the month after the period you report on. That is the same deadline as your VAT return.
Nothing supplied, nothing to file. A period without EU supplies needs no ICP declaration. Moving your own stock across the border still counts. You file that period.
What do you report in the ICP declaration?
You report three kinds of EU supplies: goods, services and own-goods transfers. For each business customer you list their EU VAT number and the amount you supplied. Ask every EU customer for a valid VAT number before you invoice. You check an EU VAT number on the Belastingdienst website. Goods go in the period of the invoice date. Services go in the period you delivered them.
Two things stay out. Services that are exempt or taxed at 0% in your customer's country do not belong in the declaration. And consumer sales never do. Moving your own stock to another EU country counts as a supply to yourself. You declare that transfer in the ICP declaration too. Stock you place with a known buyer in advance also goes in.
For Marek the entry is short: the German retailer's VAT number and €12,000.
How does the ICP declaration relate to your VAT return?
The ICP declaration is a specification of your VAT return, not a replacement. You keep filing the VAT return as normal. The total of your ICP declaration must equal box 3b of that return. That box holds your supplies to other EU countries. The Belastingdienst compares the two.
Spot a mistake later? You correct it by filling in the right figures in your next ICP declaration. A mistake in the VAT return itself follows its own route, which we explain in our guide to correcting a VAT return.
How often do you file the ICP declaration?
Monthly, quarterly or yearly. For goods, the €50,000 threshold decides. You may file quarterly while your goods stay at or under €50,000 per quarter. That must hold in the current quarter and in each of the four before it. Deliver more than €50,000 of goods in a quarter and monthly filing becomes mandatory from that moment.
The threshold applies to goods only. You may file services quarterly, whatever their value. Supply both? Then you may even file goods and services on different frequencies, in separate declarations. Include your own-stock transfers too when you total the €50,000 threshold.
Marek's €12,000 of tables sits comfortably under the threshold. His four earlier quarters also stayed under €50,000. So he files quarterly. The Belastingdienst page Tijdvak opgaaf ICP sets this threshold, accessed 5 August 2026.
| Frequency | Goods | Services |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Always allowed. Mandatory above €50,000 per quarter | Always allowed |
| Quarterly | Allowed up to €50,000 in this and the previous four quarters | Always allowed |
| Yearly | Only with Belastingdienst permission | Only with the same permission |
When can you file the ICP declaration once a year?
Only with written permission from the Belastingdienst, and the limits are strict. You qualify when you file your VAT return once a year. Your annual turnover stays at or under €200,000 excluding VAT. Your EU supplies of goods and services together stay at or under €15,000, also excluding VAT. The Belastingdienst must see no sign of VAT fraud. And you may not supply new vehicles to other EU countries.
Timing matters. Does your request arrive before 1 May? Then you may file yearly for the rest of that calendar year. After 1 May the yearly filing starts in the next calendar year. These limits come from Belastingdienst page Toestemming aanvragen voor jaaropgaaf ICP, accessed 5 August 2026.
When is the ICP declaration due?
You file by the last day of the month after your period. A March declaration is due by 30 April. Marek reports his third quarter, July to September, by 31 October. His €12,000 order is now invoiced at 0%, listed against the retailer's German VAT number and reported on time. That is the whole obligation.
No EU supplies in a period? Then you skip that period entirely. You file in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk, the business portal. You can also file through accounting software or a tax service provider. Moved your own stock to another EU country? You still file that period. File late and the Belastingdienst can impose a penalty.
Want us to file it for you? See how we handle your VAT return.
“The ICP declaration itself is a small form. The real work is making it match your VAT return and your invoices. When those three line up, the Belastingdienst has no reason to come back to you.”
belastingdienst.nl, Opgaaf ICP bij zakendoen met andere EU-landen · Accessed
belastingdienst.nl, Tijdvak opgaaf ICP · Accessed
belastingdienst.nl, Toestemming aanvragen voor jaaropgaaf ICP · Accessed
Common questions about the ICP declaration
Is the ICP declaration mandatory?
Yes, once you supply goods or services to business customers in other EU countries. The Belastingdienst expects a declaration for every period with such supplies. A service that is exempt in the buyer's country falls outside it. Without EU supplies in a period, the obligation lapses for that period. Own stock you move across an EU border also triggers the obligation.