Dutch BPM refund when your car is registered in Belgium

If you live across the border and buy a car in the Netherlands, you may come across the term BPM. It is the Dutch registration tax on passenger cars, vans and motorcycles. When a used vehicle with a Dutch registration is exported and permanently registered in another EU country, the Belastingdienst (the Dutch Tax Administration) can refund part of it on request.

The BPM is a Dutch matter and separate from the Belgian registration tax: you still pay BIV in Flanders and Brussels, or TMC in Wallonia, when the car is registered on the Belgian side.

According to the Belastingdienst, the refund applies to a vehicle that:

• is a used passenger car, van or motorcycle;
• has had a Dutch registration on or after 16 October 2006;
• is not a damaged vehicle;
• has the status 'Export' at the RDW;
• is permanently registered in another EU country (or in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway) and has actually been taken there;
• was registered there within 13 weeks after the RDW gave the export status.

The order matters: first the deregistration for export, then the request form 'Verzoek teruggaaf bpm voor een motorrijtuig met status export bij de RDW', which is printed, signed and sent. The refund is paid into the bank account the Belastingdienst has on record. The Belastingdienst does not state a processing time. Read the conditions on the Belastingdienst's English page on the BPM refund, or see the request form (in Dutch).

Within those 13 weeks, the E705 vignette, the technical inspection and the DIV registration all have to be done. In practice the Belgian part usually takes a few days to a few weeks, and a validation at the inspection centre or a missing CoC can add more. So plan those steps straight after the deregistration, don't let them slip, and submit the refund request as soon as the Belgian registration is complete. Our page about registering a car in Belgium lists what each step needs.

Among other things, the request form asks for a copy of the registration in the other country's vehicle register, so keep a copy of the Belgian registration certificate. Also keep two or more proofs that the car was actually moved, such as the purchase invoice, proof of payment, transport insurance or a CMR consignment note. Keep them until the Belastingdienst has decided. Make sure the export documents from the Netherlands are complete too; see Dutch car export documents.

We check the conditions, make the calculation, fill in the form, submit it to the Belastingdienst, keep track of the deadlines and, if needed, lodge an objection. In practice it goes like this:

1. The car is deregistered for export.
2. You arrange the E705, the inspection and the DIV registration on the Belgian side.
3. You send us a copy of the Belgian registration and the proofs of the move.
4. We prepare and submit the request and follow it up.

The fee is a fixed €149 including VAT; the export document is not included. The Belastingdienst decides whether you receive a refund, how much and how quickly, so we promise none of these.

The exemption lists of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels contain no exemption from BIV or TMC for people moving house. In our reading, that means claiming back BPM does not cost you a Belgian exemption. Moving yourself? Read about moving to Belgium with a car.

The Belastingdienst names passenger cars, vans and motorcycles. Whether a motorhome qualifies is unclear, so we make no promises there: ask us to check your case before you count on a refund. Exporting a van? See our page on van and truck export. For all our prices, see the cost of importing a car to Belgium.