Hairdresser and hair salon annual accounts: till, stock and gift vouchers
Which figures a hairdresser with a sole proprietorship or a salon BV prepares, and how to keep treatments, product sales, chair rental and gift vouchers apart.
The short answer
A hairdresser usually works from a sole proprietorship or vof. Then annual figures for income tax suffice and nothing goes to the KVK; only a hair salon in a BV prepares annual accounts under Title 9 and files them. At closing, watch the daily till closing, the product stock, gift vouchers sold and the difference between 9% and 21% VAT.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Usual legal form | Sole proprietorship or vof; a salon with several branches sometimes a BV |
| VAT on hairdressing services | 9%: cutting, washing, blow-drying, colouring, perming, shaving |
| VAT on separate sales of products | 21% |
| Gift vouchers | Obligation until the customer spends the voucher |
Sole proprietorship, vof or BV: which figures does a hairdresser prepare?
The self-employed hairdresser, the mobile hairdresser and most salons with a few employees are a sole proprietorship or vof. Anyone working that way normally has nothing to do with the annual accounts rules of Title 9 of Book 2 DCC or with filing with the KVK. You are required to keep records and to prepare a balance sheet and a statement of income and expenditure every year (art. 3:15i DCC); the Belastingdienst asks for both in the income tax return. See the annual figures of a sole proprietorship.
If the salon is in a BV, you prepare annual accounts and file them. The example below assumes a BV. Which documents such a salon BV makes public follows from the size criteria; with the audit requirement check you can see whether an accountant is needed.
Splitting turnover: treatments, products and chair rental
A hair salon has four money flows, each of which belongs differently in the figures. Anyone who books them in one till group cannot substantiate the VAT return and cannot see what margin the product sales yield.
| Money flow | VAT | How you book it |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting, washing, colouring, perming, beard trimming | 9% | Treatment turnover; the shampoo and dye you use in the process fall under the same rate |
| Separate sale of shampoo, styling products and hair clips | 21% | Product turnover, with the purchase value set against it |
| Make-up, manicure, pedicure and beauty treatments | 21% | Own turnover group: not characteristic of the hairdressing business |
| Rental of a chair by a self-employed hairdresser | Not a hairdressing service; have the rate assessed | Rental income; the chair renter's turnover is not your turnover |
If you take part in the small business scheme (kleineondernemersregeling), you do not charge VAT to your customers; the scheme is open at a turnover of at most € 20.000 per calendar year. Your turnover is then the entire amount the customer pays.
Till, card payments and stock
Close the till every day and compare the till report with the card payments and the counted cash. A till difference that you only see at year-end closing can no longer be explained. Tips for an employee are not turnover of the salon (RJ 270, paragraph 105a).
You count products for sale on the balance sheet date and value them at purchase price, or lower if they are being phased out of the range and can only be sold with a discount (art. 2:387(2) DCC). The dye, perm liquid and shampoo that you use up in the salon are auxiliary materials. You may carry those at a fixed quantity and value if you replace them regularly, the total value is of minor importance and quantity and composition change little (art. 2:385(3) DCC).
Worked example: gift vouchers and product stock in December
A hair salon BV sells 50 gift vouchers of € 60 in December. Ten vouchers are spent before 31 December. On the shelf are 140 bottles of care product with a purchase price of € 9; of one line that is being phased out, 20 remain, which are expected to yield € 4 each. VAT is left out of consideration.
- Received for gift vouchers: 50 × € 60 = € 3.000.
- Turnover in December: 10 × € 60 = € 600.
- Obligation on 31 December: 40 × € 60 = € 2.400, under accruals and deferred income.
- Stock at purchase price: 140 × € 9 = € 1.260.
- Write-down of the line being phased out: 20 × (€ 9 − € 4) = € 100.
- Stock on the balance sheet: € 1.260 − € 100 = € 1.160.
Anyone who books the vouchers as turnover on sale shows € 2.400 too much turnover in December and treatments without income in the new year.
Common mistakes in salon records
- Booking treatments and product sales on one turnover account, so that 9% and 21% get mixed up.
- Reporting a chair renter's turnover as your own turnover.
- Booking a € 60 voucher as turnover on sale instead of as an obligation.
Jaarrekening.io for hair salons
If you have a sole proprietorship or vof, in Jaarrekening.io the bookkeeping and taxes are intended for you, not the annual accounts route. A salon BV does use the annual accounts route: you import the trial balance as an XAF audit file, Excel or CSV file, after you have closed the till and stock in your records. The software sends nothing to the KVK.
Sources
- Dutch Civil Code, Book 2, Title 9
- Dutch Civil Code Book 3, art. 3:15i: record-keeping obligation
- KVK: file annual accounts or not?
- Belastingdienst: VAT rate for hairdressers' services
- Belastingdienst: conditions of the small business scheme (KOR)
- Belastingdienst: which figures you need as an entrepreneur for the income tax return
- RJ 270 Revenue (RJ-Uiting 2020-15, appendix 2, final)
Frequently asked questions
I am a self-employed hairdresser. Do I need a bookkeeper for the annual figures?
That is not mandatory. You may prepare the balance sheet and the profit and loss account yourself, as long as your records are complete and you can substantiate the figures in the income tax return. The rules of Title 9 do not apply to your sole proprietorship and you file nothing with the KVK.
Is the turnover of a chair renter my turnover?
No. The chair renter is an independent entrepreneur with his own customers and his own records. Your income is the rent he pays you. If you settle the renter's treatments through your till, keep that amount separate: it is money you receive for him and pass on to him.
May I leave the dye stock at the same amount every year?
That is allowed for auxiliary materials that you replace regularly, if their combined value is of minor importance and quantity, composition and value change little (art. 2:385(3) DCC). It does not apply to the products you sell to customers: you count and value those on each balance sheet date.
Which VAT rate applies if I also do nails or make-up?
The rate of 21%. The reduced rate of 9% applies only to hairdressing services such as cutting, washing, blow-drying, colouring and perming. According to the Belastingdienst, beauty treatments, applying make-up, manicure and pedicure are not characteristic of the hairdressing business.
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
Your first set of annual accounts is free, for every size class. Create an account and prepare the annual accounts of your Dutch company under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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