Fees by phase, advances and progress billing, work in progress at year-end, 17% VAT and projects abroad: what really drives an architecture practice's accounts, and how to keep them without losing your evenings.

In short. An architecture practice's accounting in Luxembourg plays out over the long life of projects. You charge VAT at the standard rate of 17%, your fees fall due by phase and by advance, and at year-end you have to attach to the period the work already done but not yet invoiced. At Advena, this project accounting is kept in real time, on a fixed fee, from €325 per month.

An architecture project stretches over months, sometimes years, from the first sketch to the handover of the site. Your turnover does not arrive evenly: it comes in advances, as the phases progress, and it almost never matches the work actually done within a given year. That is the whole accounting particularity of the trade, and it is where a true result is won or lost. Here is what sets an architecture practice's accounting apart in Luxembourg, and the points where a mistake distorts your result or your cash.

What sets an architect's accounting apart

An architect has no stock to value, but something subtler: projects in progress. Between two advances, part of the work is already done without being invoiced yet. Your turnover is made of fees, often calculated as a percentage of the cost of the works, and it is triggered by stages defined in the engagement contract. On top of that come some very particular charges: professional liability insurance, the fee to the professional order, design software, and often subcontracting to engineering firms. The accounts therefore have to follow each project as a unit, not just add up invoices.

VAT: 17%, and an eye on projects abroad

Architecture is a taxable liberal profession: you charge VAT at the standard rate of 17% on your fees, and in return you recover the VAT on your professional expenses. If you start out alone with modest turnover, you may fall under the exemption scheme, below the national threshold of €50,000, which we detail in our article on the VAT exemption in Luxembourg.

The real point of vigilance appears as soon as you work on a project located outside Luxembourg. The services of an architect that relate to a piece of real estate are, in principle, taxable where the property is located. Designing a house in France or Belgium does not necessarily follow Luxembourg VAT, and may involve obligations in the country of the site. This is not a detail to settle at invoicing: it is framed at the time of the contract, project by project. The general framework of VAT for liberal professions is in our guide on accounting for a liberal profession in Luxembourg.

Billing by phase and by advance

An architecture engagement is broken into phases, from the preliminary design to site supervision, and fees follow that rhythm. You rarely invoice everything at the end: you issue advances or progress bills as the project passes its milestones. This mechanism has two accounting consequences. First, the VAT on an advance becomes due at the moment set by the rule applying to your services, which calls for clean invoicing at each stage rather than one global note at the end of the engagement. Second, cashing an advance does not measure your performance: it has to be matched against the work actually done, the subject of the next section.

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Work in progress: the heart of the matter at year-end

This is the particularity that separates a well-kept architecture practice from an approximate file. At the year-end close, part of your work is done but not yet invoiced: the sketch is delivered, the permit filed, and the matching advance will only fall due next quarter. If the accounts keep only the invoices issued, your result understates the work done, and it will swell artificially next year when the advance arrives. Conversely, a project on which you have cashed a large advance ahead of time must not be counted as turnover already earned.

The accounting answer is to match income to actual progress: recognising work in progress and accrued income at the close, and neutralising the share of advances that covers services not yet delivered. This is not an expert's refinement, it is what makes the difference between a result that reflects your activity and a result that follows the luck of your invoicing dates. To do it properly, though, you need project-by-project tracking and accounts kept as you go, not reconstructed in March.

Insurance, the professional order and business expenses

The trade carries specific charges that need to be handled and deducted. Professional liability insurance first, which covers your responsibility for the works, and whose premium is a deductible charge to attach to the right period. The fee to the Order of Architects and Consulting Engineers next. Then the tools of the trade: design and modelling software, computer equipment, travel to sites, technical documentation. Finally subcontracting, very common, to structural or technical engineering firms, which calls for tracking supplier invoices project by project. The base of obligations common to any company is listed in our article on the accounting obligations of an SME in Luxembourg.

Sole trader or company?

Like any liberal profession, an architect can practise as a sole trader or through a company. As a sole trader, management is simple and the profit is your income, taxed in your name, but your personal assets are not protected, which weighs in a trade of long-lasting responsibility. Through a company, assets are separated, remuneration can be split between salary and distribution, at the cost of annual accounts to file and a tax of the company's own, whose calculation we explain in our article on corporate tax in Luxembourg. Practising through a company is possible and framed by the rules of the professional order: a choice to make coolly, with its tax and social consequences, not in the rush of a first big contract.

A concrete case

Example given for illustration; it does not correspond to a real client. A two-architect practice in Luxembourg City had cashed, at year-end, a €40,000 advance on a project of which only the sketch was delivered. Booked as it stood, that advance showed a flattering result and a tax calculated on a profit not yet earned. By neutralising the share of the advance covering phases not carried out and recognising the work in progress of the other projects, the year's result came back to the level of the work actually done, and the partner stopped paying tax in advance on a site barely started.

How we keep these books at Advena

We keep your books in the Odoo we set up for your practice: 17% VAT, analytic tracking by project, your advances attached to their engagement and your subcontracting supplier invoices allocated to the right site. You read the margin of each project, not just the year's total, and the close no longer holds surprises: work in progress and accrued income are tracked all year, not discovered in spring. All of it fits into a fixed fee from €325 per month, everything included: accounting, VAT and eCDF filing, annual accounts, payroll and a monthly review with a dedicated manager. No invoice falls outside the monthly fee, and a question is never charged as an extra. The detail of the market's pricing models is in our article on what an accounting firm costs in Luxembourg.

Who this model is not for

Let us be straight. Our support is aimed at the architecture practice that wants to track the margin of its projects and reach the close with no nasty surprise. If all you want is to have a return filed once a year, at the lowest price, without ever looking at how your projects are progressing, our real time will do nothing for you. And for questions that go beyond bookkeeping, such as setting up a complex practice company or a dispute, we inform you and point you to specialist advice, without ever claiming a regulated title we do not hold.

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Frequently asked questions

Does an architect charge VAT in Luxembourg?

Yes. Architecture is a taxable liberal profession: fees are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 17%, and the VAT on professional expenses is recoverable. A practice whose turnover stays below the national exemption threshold may, however, fall under the VAT exemption scheme.

How do you account for an architect's fee advance?

An advance received does not measure the work done. At the close, you have to match advances against the actual progress of each project, recognise work in progress and accrued income, and neutralise the share of advances covering phases not yet carried out. The result then reflects the work done, not the invoicing calendar.

What VAT applies to an architecture project located abroad?

The services of an architect that relate to a property are, in principle, taxable where the property is located. A project in France or Belgium may therefore fall under that country's VAT rather than Luxembourg VAT, with possible local obligations. This point is framed at the time of the contract, project by project.

Can an architect practise through a company in Luxembourg?

Yes. Practising through a company is possible and framed by the rules of the professional order. It separates the company's assets from the architect's and allows remuneration to be arbitrated, at the cost of annual accounts to file and a tax of the company's own. The choice between sole trader and company depends on the size of the practice and its growth.

How much does an accountant for an architecture practice cost?

The market often bills by time spent, without showing its prices. At Advena, an architecture practice's accounting starts from €325 per month, everything included: accounting, VAT, annual accounts, payroll, analytic tracking by project and real-time access, with no hourly billing.

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Why Advena?

We are the only Luxembourg accounting firm that keeps your books in the management tool it deploys itself at your premises, with analytic tracking by project. A fee announced in advance from €325 per month, a named account manager, the margin of each project readable at all times, and no surprise invoice. We inform you of the rule and apply it for you; on a cross-border VAT or a practice-company question, we rely on the official source rather than deciding in your place.

VAT rates in force in September 2026, based on the indirect taxation portal of the Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority. The place of taxation of a service relating to a property, and the treatment of an advance, depend on your situation: check the official source before any binding decision. This article is for information and does not replace an analysis of your situation.

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