← All calculators
All calculators
Stone arched bridge over an Amsterdam canal
Tax year 2026

ZZP vs. Employee vs. Contractor: Take-Home Compared

Compares net take-home pay across three ways of working in the Netherlands - direct employee, contractor via a payroll/umbrella company, and ZZP/freelancer - including what each side pays: employer costs, pension, health insurance, and a company car.

Private: everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you enter here is sent to us or stored.

Inputs

Employer profile & car (shared)

Employee

Contractor (payroll/umbrella)

ZZP / freelancer

Result

Employee

Gross wage (incl. holiday allowance)€ 70.200
Employer pension contribution€ 2.282
Employer social premiums (AWf + Aof + Whk)€ 8.354
Employer health insurance contribution (Zvw)€ 4.282
Total cost to employer€ 85.117
Employee pension contribution€ 1.229
Income tax & national insurance€ 20.434
Net take-home (year)€ 48.537
Net take-home (month)€ 4.045

Contractor (payroll/umbrella)

Annual contract value€ 110.000
Umbrella/payroll company fee€ 3.300
Budget after fee (funds salary + employer costs)€ 106.700
Implied base gross salary€ 81.885
Gross wage (incl. holiday allowance)€ 88.436
Employer social premiums (AWf + Aof + Whk)€ 13.420
Employer health insurance contribution (Zvw)€ 4.844
Total cost to employer€ 106.700
Income tax & national insurance€ 30.812
Net take-home (year)€ 57.624
Net take-home (month)€ 4.802

ZZP / freelancer

Profit before insurance/pension/car€ 70.000
Disability insurance (AOV) premium€ 2.000
Zelfstandigenaftrek€ 1.200
MKB-winstvrijstelling€ 8.484
Taxable profit€ 58.316
Income tax & national insurance€ 15.687
Zvw contribution (health insurance)€ 3.298
BTW to set aside (not yours to keep)€ 17.850
Net profit (year)€ 49.015
Net profit (month)€ 4.085
Employee net (year)€ 48.537
Contractor net (year)€ 57.624
ZZP net (year)€ 49.015
Employee: What it costs the employer€ 85.117

Employer premiums are a percentage of the wage up to € 79.409.

Gross wage incl. holiday allowance
€ 70.200
+
Employer pension contribution
€ 2.282
+
Unemployment premium (AWf)
2.74% × € 70.200
€ 1.923
+
Disability premium (Aof)
7.64% × € 70.200
€ 5.363
+
Return-to-work premium (Whk)
1.52% × € 70.200
€ 1.067
+
Employer Zvw contribution
6.1% × € 70.200
€ 4.282
=
Total cost to the employer
€ 85.117
Employee: From gross to taxable salary€ 68.972
Gross salary a year
€ 65.000
+
Holiday allowance (vakantiegeld)
8% × € 65.000
€ 5.200
=
Gross pay
€ 70.200
-
Your pension contribution
deducted before tax
€ 1.229
=
Taxable salary
€ 68.972
Employee: Income tax (Box 1)€ 20.434
Tax per bracket
Bracket 1: € 0 – € 38.883
35.75% × € 38.883
€ 13.901
+
Bracket 2: € 38.883 – € 78.426
37.56% × € 30.089
€ 11.301
=
Income tax before credits
€ 25.202
Tax credits
-
General tax credit (algemene heffingskorting)
€ 3.115 − 6.398% × (€ 68.972 − € 29.736)
€ 605
-
Labour tax credit (arbeidskorting)
€ 5.685 − 6.51% × (€ 68.972 − € 45.592)
€ 4.163
=
Income tax after credits
€ 20.434
Employee: Net pay€ 4.045
Gross pay
€ 70.200
-
Your pension contribution
€ 1.229
-
Income tax after credits
€ 20.434
=
Net pay a year
€ 48.537
Effective tax rate
€ 20.434 / € 70.200
29.1%
=
Net pay a month
€ 48.537 / 12
€ 4.045
Contractor: salary the umbrella company can pay€ 81.885

After its fee, the umbrella company has to pay the salary and every employer cost out of the contract value, so the salary is found where those costs use up exactly what is left.

Contract value
€ 110.000
-
Umbrella fee
3% × € 110.000
€ 3.300
=
Budget for salary and employer costs
€ 106.700
=
Gross salary that fits (excl. holiday allowance)
€ 81.885
Contractor: What it costs the employer€ 106.700

Employer premiums are a percentage of the wage up to € 79.409.

Gross wage incl. holiday allowance
€ 88.436
+
Unemployment premium (AWf)
7.74% × € 79.409
€ 6.146
+
Disability premium (Aof)
7.64% × € 79.409
€ 6.067
+
Return-to-work premium (Whk)
1.52% × € 79.409
€ 1.207
+
Employer Zvw contribution
6.1% × € 79.409
€ 4.844
=
Total cost to the employer
€ 106.700
Contractor: From gross to taxable salary€ 88.436
Gross salary a year
€ 81.885
+
Holiday allowance (vakantiegeld)
8% × € 81.885
€ 6.551
=
Gross pay
€ 88.436
=
Taxable salary
€ 88.436
Contractor: Income tax (Box 1)€ 30.812
Tax per bracket
Bracket 1: € 0 – € 38.883
35.75% × € 38.883
€ 13.901
+
Bracket 2: € 38.883 – € 78.426
37.56% × € 39.543
€ 14.852
+
Bracket 3: above € 78.426
49.5% × € 10.010
€ 4.955
=
Income tax before credits
€ 33.708
Tax credits
-
Labour tax credit (arbeidskorting)
€ 5.685 − 6.51% × (€ 88.436 − € 45.592)
€ 2.896
=
Income tax after credits
€ 30.812
Contractor: Net pay€ 4.802
Gross pay
€ 88.436
-
Income tax after credits
€ 30.812
=
Net pay a year
€ 57.624
Effective tax rate
€ 30.812 / € 88.436
34.8%
=
Net pay a month
€ 57.624 / 12
€ 4.802
ZZP: costs counted as business costs€ 17.000
Business costs
€ 15.000
+
Disability insurance (AOV)
€ 2.000
=
Costs
€ 17.000
ZZP: Profit€ 68.000
Revenue (excl. BTW)
€ 85.000
-
Business costs
€ 17.000
=
Profit
€ 68.000
ZZP: Entrepreneur deductions€ 58.316
Profit
€ 68.000
-
Self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek)
€ 1.200 in 2026, at most the profit
€ 1.200
=
Profit after deductions
€ 66.800
-
SME profit exemption (MKB-winstvrijstelling)
12.7% × € 66.800
€ 8.484
=
Taxable profit
€ 58.316
ZZP: Income tax (Box 1)€ 15.687

The labour tax credit is based on the profit before the deductions.

Tax per bracket
Bracket 1: € 0 – € 38.883
35.75% × € 38.883
€ 13.901
+
Bracket 2: € 38.883 – € 78.426
37.56% × € 19.433
€ 7.299
=
Income tax before credits
€ 21.200
Tax credits
-
General tax credit (algemene heffingskorting)
€ 3.115 − 6.398% × (€ 58.316 − € 29.736)
€ 1.286
-
Labour tax credit (arbeidskorting)
€ 5.685 − 6.51% × (€ 68.000 − € 45.592)
€ 4.226
=
Income tax after credits
€ 15.687
ZZP: Net profit€ 49.015
Profit
€ 68.000
-
Income tax after credits
€ 15.687
-
Zvw health insurance contribution
4.85% × € 68.000
€ 3.298
=
Net profit a year
€ 49.015
Side by side€ 57.624
Employee: net a year
€ 48.537
Contractor: net a year
€ 57.624
ZZP: net a year
€ 49.015
=
Highest net a year
€ 57.624

A genuinely fair comparison needs numbers you can't get from a calculator: your own pension fund's contribution rates, your umbrella provider's exact fee structure, and your sector's real Whk premium. Every rate here is either the current national default or a clearly labeled editable assumption - adjust anything you know more precisely, and treat the result as a starting point, not a filed return.

Was this calculator useful?