Freelancer / ZZP Tax & BTW
Income tax on self-employed profit, plus how much BTW (VAT) collected should be set aside for the quarterly return.
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Open a step for the sum with your figures, what the step does, and what the Dutch terms mean.
Profit€ 65.000
What this step does: Your profit is what the business earned after its costs. This is the starting point for every tax a freelancer pays.
Entrepreneur deductions€ 55.697
What this step does: Entrepreneurs who are in business for themselves get deductions that ordinary employees don't. They are taken off the profit before income tax is worked out, so they lower the tax, not your revenue.
Income tax (Box 1)€ 14.341
What this step does: Box 1 is the tax on income from work and your home. The income is cut into brackets and each slice is taxed at its own rate, so a raise never lowers your net pay through the brackets alone. Then the tax credits (heffingskortingen) are taken off the tax itself.
The labour tax credit is based on the profit before the deductions.
BTW to set aside€ 16.800
What this step does: Keep the BTW on your invoices apart from day one: you pay it over every quarter, minus the BTW on your own business costs.
BTW is not your money: you charge it to clients and pay it to the tax office every quarter.
Net profit€ 47.507
What this step does: What you actually keep: the profit minus income tax and the income-related health-care contribution (Zvw), which freelancers pay themselves.
- Two separate systems: income tax and BTWAs a ZZP'er (sole trader), you pay income tax on your profit once a year, and separately collect and remit BTW (VAT) to the Belastingdienst every quarter (or year). The two run on different schedules and are easy to mix up.
- Zelfstandigenaftrek and startersaftrekIf you meet the urencriterium (at least 1,225 hours worked in your business that year), you can deduct a fixed amount from your profit before tax. This deduction has been shrinking sharply each year as part of a multi-year phase-down. New businesses (in their first 5 years, up to 3 times) get an extra startersaftrek on top of it.
- MKB-winstvrijstellingAfter those deductions, a further percentage of your remaining profit is exempt from tax entirely. Unlike zelfstandigenaftrek/startersaftrek, this applies to every self-employed person, not just those meeting the hours test.
- Zvw: a cost separate from income taxAs a self-employed person, you pay the Zvw (health-insurance) contribution yourself directly on your profit up to a cap. Employees have this covered by their employer instead, which is why it often surprises first-time freelancers when it isn't.
- BTW: two very different regimesBy default you charge BTW to clients and remit it quarterly (what you invoiced in BTW is shown here; in your real return you can subtract BTW you paid on business purchases, voorbelasting, before remitting the difference). If your revenue stays under the KOR threshold, you can instead opt into the kleineondernemersregeling and skip charging/remitting BTW entirely, at the cost of losing the right to reclaim input VAT.
Frequently asked questions
What if I don't meet the 1,225-hour urencriterium?
You still pay income tax and Zvw on your profit as normal, but you lose access to zelfstandigenaftrek and startersaftrek. The MKB-winstvrijstelling still applies regardless.
Do I need to register for BTW separately?
No, registering as a business with the KVK automatically registers you for BTW; the Belastingdienst sends your BTW-nummer shortly after (unless you opt into KOR).
Is KOR always worth it under the threshold?
Not necessarily. If you buy a lot of BTW-taxed equipment or services for your business, reclaiming that input VAT (only possible outside KOR) can outweigh the simplicity of not charging BTW at all.
Is this the same as corporate tax?
No, this models a sole trader (eenmanszaak/ZZP) taxed through personal income tax (Box 1), not a BV, which pays separate corporate income tax (vennootschapsbelasting).
Sources: belastingdienst.nl (zelfstandigenaftrek, startersaftrek, MKB-winstvrijstelling, ondernemersaftrek, Zvw-bijdrage, KOR) | kvk.nl
Ignores any BTW paid on business purchases when KOR isn't used (the set-aside figure is gross output VAT, not the net amount owed after input-VAT deduction). For a precise number, consult your bookkeeper or the Belastingdienst ondernemersportaal.