Bookkeeper at Kees de Boekhouder
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What is crowdfunding exactly? We asked someone who deals with it on a daily basis: Nick Waelbers, project employee at our partner voordekunst: “Crowdfunding is a way to raise funds for a project from a large group of people: the ‘crowd’. Rather than searching for one single major investor, you ask multiple people for a smaller contribution. For creative makers, crowdfunding can be used, for example, to produce a film, theatre performance, album, publication, exhibition, or other creative venture.”
But crowdfunding isn’t just about the money. You put your project out into the world, share why you want to create it, and invite people to become part of the journey. In doing so, a campaign also helps you build an audience, grow your professional network, and discover who is eager to support your work. That community can remain truly valuable for future projects long after the campaign wraps up.
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You’ve run a successful campaign and received some wonderful contributions. How do you actually process these donations in your bookkeeping? If you organised the campaign through your sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak), the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) treats these donations as business revenue. As a business owner, you almost never have to deal with gift tax for business initiatives; instead, you simply add the donations to your revenue just as you would with your regular sales invoices. Your total revenue is then taxed in your annual income tax return (aangifte inkomstenbelasting).
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Do you run a sole proprietorship, but is your crowdfunding completely unrelated to your business? In that scenario, gift tax (schenkbelasting) might come into play. For instance, if you set up a fundraiser for a local community initiative or to help cover medical expenses. However, if the campaign relates to your regular business activities, you don’t have to pay gift tax; the Belastingdienst will invariably classify the funds as income from your business.
Regarding gift tax: you may receive a maximum tax-free gift of €2,769 per donor in 2026 (fiscal partners are treated as a single donor). If you receive more than this threshold from a single person, gift tax is due on the amount exceeding the exemption limit. You can easily calculate whether you need to pay gift tax and how much it will be on the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration website.
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Whether you need to pay VAT (omzetbelasting) on received donations depends on whether you promised your backers a reward in return (tegenprestatie). Did you pledge to send them your debut EP, a ticket to the performance, or a special edition of your book? If so, the Belastingdienst considers this a reciprocal service or supply of goods. You must pay VAT on all donations for which you provided a reward (at the specific VAT rate applicable to the supplied goods or services).
You only pay VAT on the economic value of what is provided in return. If a donation is worth more, you do not have to pay VAT on the entire amount.
Donations where no reward was given don’t count as turnover for VAT purposes, which means you don’t have to charge or pay VAT on them.
Always check in with your personal bookkeeper about the specific campaign details you need to record and whether any VAT needs to be calculated and filed.
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Crowdfunding is far more than just a way to finance your project—it’s an opportunity to put your work in the spotlight, grow your audience, and build a dedicated community for the future. It can even be a way to get professional investors or cultural institutions on board. With the right approach, a crowdfunding campaign can be an invaluable boost to your business! Are you a client at Kees de Boekhouder and interested in starting a project with voordekunst? Just ask your personal bookkeeper to introduce you to our dedicated contact at voordekunst.
Bookkeeper at Kees de Boekhouder
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If you run the campaign via your sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) and the project aligns with your freelance activities, the Belastingdienst classifies the proceeds as business revenue. You simply add the contributions to your business income, which is then taxed via your annual income tax return (aangifte inkomstenbelasting).
It depends on whether you provide rewards (tegenprestatie):
With reward(such as merchandise, tickets, or books): you must pay VAT over the economic value of the reward, at the applicable rate for the supplied item or service.
Without reward: pure donations do not count as revenue for VAT purposes, so no VAT is due.
Only when the campaign is completely separate from your business activities (e.g. personal medical aid or a neighbourhood initiative) does gift tax (schenkbelasting) apply. In that case, gift tax only comes into play if an individual donor contributes more than the annual exemption threshold (€2,769 in 2026). If the project is linked to your business, it counts as regular business revenue.
Pick a platform tailored to your specific field (such as voordekunst for the creative sector) and verify whether the platform is officially licensed or supervised by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
Schedule a no-obligation, digital introductory meeting with us.
