Guide: How to properly pay taxes when trading
12 Jul 2025
🛠️ Introduction
Are you a used car dealer and don’t know exactly how to report your taxes? The confusion between VAT, REBU, personal income tax, or corporate tax is very common. This guide will help you understand which taxes you must declare, how to do it correctly, and which mistakes to avoid, whether you're self-employed or manage an SL.
1. Types of taxes affecting a dealer
📌 Main Taxes:
VAT or REBU (depending on how you buy and sell)
Personal Income Tax if you are self-employed
Corporate Tax if you are an SL
IAE (Economic Activities Tax), mandatory for high billings
Local Taxes (IVTM, municipal fees if you manage stock on public roads)
2. General VAT or REBU? How to choose and apply it correctly
Type of VAT | When it is applied | How it is calculated | What you must have |
|---|---|---|---|
General VAT (21%) | When you buy from companies, renting, or outside of the EU | On the total sales price | Invoice with broken down VAT |
REBU | When you buy from private individuals or other dealers under REBU | You only tax on the profit margin | Simplified invoice and REBU books |
Key advice: You must mark REBU when registering with the tax office. If you don’t do it, the tax office will assume you are taxing with regular VAT.
3. Personal Income Tax or Corporate Tax: depending on your legal form
If you are self-employed:
You tax on Personal Income Tax (income of individuals). The net profit taxes in brackets (from 19% to 47%).
You must file:
Model 130 (fractional payments every quarter)
Model 100 (annual income tax return)
If you are SL:
You tax on Corporate Tax: 25% flat on net profit.
You must file:
Model 200 (annual return)
Model 202 (quarterly prepayments)
Applicable deductions: management expenses, fuel, rent of premises, digital tools like Dealcar, etc.
4. Books and invoicing: what the tax office demands
Whether you are self-employed or SL, you must keep certain accounting books, especially if you apply REBU:
Mandatory book | When is it required? |
|---|---|
Book of income and expenses | Self-employed |
Book of issued and received invoices | Self-employed and SL |
REBU book of purchases and sales | If you tax under REBU |
Correct invoice under REBU:
It must not have broken down VAT.
Must include “Transaction covered by the special regime for used goods (REBU)”.
5. Common mistakes when reporting as a dealer
❌ Applying REBU without meeting conditions (for example, with cars purchased from companies with VAT)
❌ Not declaring the real margin or not keeping REBU books
❌ Not deducting usual expenses (insurance, fuel, tools)
❌ Not reviewing the models before sending them or filing them late
✅ Practical conclusion
Correctly reporting as a dealer is not just a matter of paying taxes: it is a matter of optimizing your profit legally.
Apply general VAT or REBU depending on the origin of the car.
Report under Personal Income Tax or Corporate Tax depending on whether you are self-employed or SL.
Keep updated books and invoice correctly.
Always deduct expenses when they are justified.
Do you want to control your margins and invoicing without hassle?
With Dealcar you can automate REBU books, manage profits, and organize your sales.
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