VAT for personal trainers in the Netherlands — 21% or 9%?

The short answer: standalone personal training carries 21% Dutch VAT (btw). The reduced 9% sports rate does exist, but only applies when training is combined with providing a sports facility. And below €20,000 in annual revenue, the KOR scheme can take you out of VAT entirely.

Important: this article is informational, not tax advice. The criteria below come from the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst), as of August 2026; for your own situation, talk to your accountant or the Belastingdienst directly.

Which VAT rate applies to personal training?

The Belastingdienst's main rule is clear: sports lessons, instruction or coaching not given in combination with making a sports facility available fall under the 21% rate. That is the situation of most personal trainers: you sell your expertise and coaching as a service.

Concretely: training a client outdoors in the park, at their home, or in a gym where the client holds the membership — that is coaching without a facility, so you charge 21%. Example: at €60 per session excluding VAT you invoice €72.60, and pay the €12.60 to the tax office.

So when does the 9% rate apply?

The reduced rate belongs to “providing the opportunity to practise sport” — and the Belastingdienst attaches three conditions to your offer:

• You make a sports facility available, which the client can use for the duration of the session.
• You handle the maintenance, security or cleaning of that facility.
• You supply the equipment the sport requires (for strength training: the racks, weights and machines).

Only when the training and such a facility together form one service can the whole fall under 9%. Whether your specific setup — say, a rented private studio you offer to your client including use of the space — qualifies is exactly the kind of question you settle once with your accountant, then apply consistently.

Also worth knowing: the government planned to raise this 9% rate to 21% from 2026, but that increase was withdrawn after a parliamentary motion. The reduced sports rate stays.

Under €20,000 revenue: the KOR

The small business scheme (KOR) is the third route: stay under €20,000 revenue per year and you can opt for a full VAT exemption. No VAT on your invoices, no quarterly returns.

The flip side matters just as much: under the KOR you also cannot deduct VAT on your business costs — including VAT on studio rent, equipment or software. For a part-time trainer with private clients (who cannot deduct VAT anyway) the KOR is often favourable; for anyone planning to grow past €20,000 it is usually a stepping stone you plan deliberately.

Invoicing and returns in practice

• Put your KvK number and VAT ID on every invoice, and state the applied rate explicitly.
• VAT returns are filed quarterly via Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk.
• VAT you pay on business costs is deductible as input tax — except under the KOR.
• Set the VAT you owe aside immediately; it is the tax office's money that happens to sit in your account.