Freelancing in the Netherlands: the KVK, VAT, tax breaks and the false self-employment crackdown

Going freelance as a ZZPer (zelfstandige zonder personeel, self-employed without staff) is one of the most common ways to work in the Netherlands, and signing up takes an afternoon. Staying on the right side of the Belastingdienst takes a bit more thought.

The short version

• Your right to freelance comes first. Brits living here legally since before 1 January 2021 have Withdrawal Agreement rights and can work freely [1]. Newcomers usually need the IND's residence permit for a self-employed person, which costs EUR 423 (about £352) [2].
• Register with the KVK (Chamber of Commerce) using your DigiD. The one-off fee is EUR 85.15 (about £71) [3].
• VAT (btw) is normally 21%, with quarterly returns, unless you join the small business scheme (KOR) for turnover under EUR 20,000 [4].
• Tax breaks have shrunk. The self-employed deduction is EUR 1,200 in 2026, down from EUR 2,470, and you need 1,225 hours a year to get it [4][5].
• False self-employment (schijnzelfstandigheid) is enforced again since 1 January 2025. A new Zelfstandigenwet is proposed for 1 January 2028 [6].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

Can you freelance at all?

This is the bit Brits most often get wrong after Brexit.

If you lived here before 2021. If you were living in the Netherlands legally before 1 January 2021 and have stayed, you and your family have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, and you don't need a work permit [1]. Your IND residence document (the one marked Article 50 TEU) lets you work for yourself.

If you're new. Since 2021, UK citizens moving here are third-country nationals. A highly skilled migrant permit ties you to a sponsoring employer, so it doesn't let you freelance on the side. To work for yourself you need the IND's residence permit for a self-employed person. Your business plan is scored on its value to the Dutch economy, and the IND's first application fee is EUR 423 in 2026, the same for an extension [2]. Some people come in on another route first, such as a partner's family permit or the orientation year for recent graduates, which can give freer access to work. Check the conditions on your own permit card before sending a single invoice. Our guide to the highly skilled migrant and self-employed routes goes through each one.

Setting up: KVK, VAT and a bank account

1. Register at the gemeente first. You need a BSN and a DigiD before anything else. See BSN, DigiD and registering at the gemeente.
2. Fill in the KVK form online. A one-person business is an eenmanszaak (sole trader). Only the owner can register, and you log in with DigiD [7].
3. Book an appointment at any KVK office to finish the registration, bringing valid ID. Some registrations can be done fully online [7].
4. Pay the fee: EUR 85.15, tax-deductible, invoiced by email [3]. You can order a certified extract from the trade register at the same time, which some banks ask for.
5. Get your VAT number. The KVK passes your details to the Belastingdienst, which sends you a VAT identification number to put on your invoices.
6. Open a business account. Not compulsory for a sole trader, but it keeps the books clean. Most Dutch banks offer one; see our guide to banking in the Netherlands.

Being on the KVK register doesn't automatically make you an "entrepreneur" for income tax. That depends on things like having several clients, carrying business risk and how independent you are, and the Belastingdienst decides it [4].

VAT: btw and the KOR

Most services are charged at the standard 21%. There's a 9% rate for basics such as food and some repairs, and 0% for things like exports. Some sectors, including healthcare and childcare, are exempt [4]. Returns are usually quarterly, due within a month of the quarter's end [4]:

If your turnover is under EUR 20,000 (about £16,660) a year, the small business scheme, the kleineondernemersregeling (KOR), lets you stop charging VAT and stop filing quarterly returns. The catch: you can't reclaim VAT on what you buy either [4]. For a writer or coach with few costs it's often worth it; for someone buying a new laptop and kit it may not be.

Income tax and the 2026 tax breaks

Freelance profit goes into Box 1 alongside any salary. For 2026, if you're under State Pension age, the rates are [8][4]:

The first band includes Dutch national insurance, so it isn't directly comparable with the UK's 20% basic rate. Before the rates apply, you can take off [4][5]:

• Zelfstandigenaftrek (self-employed deduction): EUR 1,200 (about £1,000) in 2026, down from EUR 2,470 in 2025. You must spend at least 1,225 hours a year on your business. That's roughly 24 hours a week, and admin and finding clients count.
• Startersaftrek (starter's deduction): an extra EUR 2,123 (about £1,770), up to three times in your first five years, if you qualify for the self-employed deduction.
• MKB-winstvrijstelling (small business profit exemption): 12.7% of your profit after the deductions above. No hours test, but you must count as an entrepreneur.

On top of income tax you pay the income-related Zvw contribution for healthcare: 4.85% of your profit in 2026, billed by the Belastingdienst after your return [4]. You also need your own private basisverzekering (basic health insurance) like everyone else who lives or works here. See healthcare in Amsterdam.

The tax year is the calendar year and returns are usually due by 1 May. Once you've filed a year as a freelancer, the Belastingdienst sends a provisional assessment so you pay monthly rather than in one painful lump [4]. Keep your records for seven years [4].

No safety net by default

Unlike an employee, a ZZPer has no automatic sick pay, disability cover or workplace pension. A compulsory disability insurance for the self-employed has been proposed, but it isn't in force; KVK says it has been put back to 2030 [5]. Until then, arranging cover is up to you.

False self-employment: the Wet DBA crackdown

This is the big one for 2026. Under the Wet DBA (Deregulering Beoordeling Arbeidsrelaties), you and your client are jointly responsible for checking that the work really is self-employed [6]. After years of a soft approach, the Belastingdienst resumed enforcement on 1 January 2025.

KVK lists the signs of genuine independence [6]:

• you set your own working hours;
• you use your own tools and equipment;
• you decide how the work is done;
• you don't manage the client's staff.

The warning signs are doing the same job as the client's own employees, under their manager, at their desk, week in, week out. A cook on the same restaurant's rota every week is KVK's own example [6].

If the Belastingdienst decides you were falsely self-employed, you lose the entrepreneur's breaks such as the self-employed deduction and profit exemption and can face an additional assessment. Your client has to pay payroll tax and pension contributions, back to 1 January 2025 if it was a mistake and further back if it was deliberate, plus possible fines [6]. In practice, many Amsterdam firms now ask freelancers to go through an agency or payroll company, or have stopped hiring ZZPers for long roles altogether. Model contracts from the Belastingdienst can still be used until the end of 2029, but they give a false sense of security: the tax office looks at how you actually work, not what the paper says [6].

What's coming

The Ministry of Social Affairs has proposed a Zelfstandigenwet to replace the Wet DBA from 1 January 2028, with two tests: one looking at you as a self-employed person (business risk, several clients, your own cover for disability and pension) and one at how independent each job is. Both houses of parliament still have to vote on it [6].

The UK end

• National Insurance. If you live and work here, you normally pay into the Dutch system, not the UK one. Paying voluntary UK contributions can still protect your State Pension record; see voluntary National Insurance from abroad.
• UK clients. Working for British clients from Amsterdam is usually still Dutch-taxed self-employment, and VAT on services to UK businesses follows special rules. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your situation.
• Leaving HMRC properly. Tell HMRC you've gone and close your UK self-employment if you had one. Our guide to the P85 and your last UK tax year explains how.

Freelancers swap client tips and accountant war stories in our community group for Brits in the Netherlands.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in the Netherlands (last updated 23 December 2025)
2. IND: Fees, costs of an application
3. KVK: Inschrijfvergoeding (updated 11 June 2026)
4. KVK: Starten als ondernemer? Alles over belastingen en btw (updated 27 October 2026)
5. KVK: Nieuwe wetten en regels voor ondernemers vanaf 1 januari 2026
6. KVK: Wet DBA, voorkom schijnzelfstandigheid (updated 5 November 2026)
7. KVK: Inschrijven en afspraak maken eenmanszaak
8. Belastingdienst: Belastingschijven en tarieven 2026 (checked 11 November 2026)

Keep reading

• Dutch residence for Brits: highly skilled migrant and self-employed routes
• Dutch taxes for Brits: the UK link and your State Pension
• Box 3: how the Dutch tax savings and investments
• Working abroad for a UK employer: PAYE, National Insurance and posting certificates