Can you invoice in English and in another currency from the Netherlands?

Two questions almost every international asks in their first month: may my invoices be in English, and may I bill in dollars or pounds? The short answer to both is yes. The conditions are worth knowing.

Invoicing in English

There is no rule that a Dutch invoice must be in Dutch. You can invoice in English, and most Dutch clients are entirely comfortable with it.

One caveat: the Belastingdienst may ask you to provide a translation of an invoice during an audit. In practice this is rare for English, which tax inspectors read without difficulty, and more of a real consideration for other languages.

What does not change is which details must be there. The checklist in What must a Dutch invoice contain applies whatever language you write it in.

Wording that avoids confusion

• Label the document clearly: “Invoice”, or “Factuur” for Dutch clients.
• Use recognisable terms for the VAT line: “VAT 21%” is fine, and Dutch clients will also recognise “btw”.
• With the reverse charge, put both the Dutch and the English wording on it: “btw verlegd / VAT reverse-charged”. The Dutch phrase is the one a Dutch bookkeeper looks for.
• Under the small businesses scheme, state the exemption explicitly, see the KOR.
• Write the due date as a date, not as “net 30”. Date formats differ between countries, so “31 August 2026” beats “31/08/2026” for anything ambiguous.

Invoicing in another currency

You may issue an invoice in dollars, pounds or any other currency. There is one hard requirement: the VAT amount must also be stated in euros.

So an invoice in dollars showing 21% VAT needs the VAT amount in euros next to it, converted at an accepted exchange rate: the rate of the European Central Bank, or the rate published by the Belastingdienst, on the date the VAT becomes due. Record which rate you used, because your bookkeeping and your VAT return are in euros.

That requirement is exactly why invoicing in euros is simpler when it is an option. If you are invoicing a business abroad under the reverse charge, there is no Dutch VAT amount on the invoice at all, which removes the problem entirely, see Invoicing clients outside the Netherlands.

Do not forget the exchange risk and the costs

• The exchange rate on the invoice date is not the rate on the payment date. On large amounts that difference is real money.
• Foreign payments can arrive short because of conversion fees. Agree who bears them before you send.
• Give an IBAN, and a BIC for payments from outside the EU.

Practical setup

With factuurmaken you can work in English and issue invoices in English while your VAT is calculated according to the Dutch rules. Just remember the euro requirement for the VAT amount when you bill in a foreign currency, and ask your bookkeeper how they want the conversion recorded.