VAT rates in Belgian hospitality depend on what you sell and how it is consumed. Here are the main rules; check special cases with your accountant.
Meals consumed on site: 12%
Restaurant and catering services (food served at the table or counter for on-site consumption) are subject to the 12% rate.
Drinks served on site: 21%
All drinks served for on-site consumption, alcoholic or not, are at 21%. This is why a restaurant receipt always separates food from drinks.
Takeaway and delivery: 6% for food
Food sold to take away or delivered is a supply of goods at 6%. Non-alcoholic takeaway drinks are also at 6%; alcoholic drinks remain at 21%.
The "all-inclusive" menu
A fixed-price menu including dishes and drinks must be split: the food share at 12%, the drinks share at 21%. A POS that splits automatically avoids errors on every receipt.
Certified cash register: the 25,000 EUR threshold
If your annual turnover from restaurant and catering services (food consumed on site, excluding drinks and takeaway) reaches 25,000 EUR excluding VAT, you must use a certified cash register system (the "black box") and hand a VAT receipt to every customer. Below the threshold, a VAT note or receipt remains mandatory.
What your POS should do for you
- Apply the right rate automatically according to on-site / takeaway and food / drink.
- Split menus and deals.
- Produce a VAT report per rate for the return.
Novaresto applies these rules to every receipt, whether the order comes from the room, the table QR or online ordering, and provides the reports per rate for your accountant.
This information is general and may change. Check your situation with your accountant or the FPS Finance.