The Netherlands is one of the easiest places in Europe to start as a freelancer, and one of the places where the law has been moving. A zzp'er (zelfstandige zonder personeel, self-employed without staff) is a familiar figure in every sector. This guide explains how to start as a freelance in the Netherlands, what it costs and the risk that has made the news: false self-employment.
Can an EU citizen freelance in the Netherlands?
Yes. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland need neither a residence permit nor a work permit, according to the IND, and can register with the KVK using a DigiD or a European eID. Your right to stay rests on your activity: the IND treats entrepreneurs as economically active, meaning genuine work that earns at least 50% of the applicable social assistance benefit or takes at least 40% of a normal working week. See residence in the Netherlands for EU citizens.
British citizens need a residence right first; see moving to the Netherlands from the UK.
How do you register a freelance business?
- Get your BSN and DigiD. You cannot fill in the KVK form without a DigiD; see DigiD in the Netherlands.
- Fill in the online registration form of the KVK. Only the owner of the sole proprietorship can do it.
- Book an appointment at a KVK office (up to eight weeks ahead) and bring your ID; in some cases the registration is completed online, without an appointment. Register in the week before or after you start, or up to three months in advance.
- Receive your KVK number. It comes immediately if you register around your start date, otherwise by post in the week you start.
- Wait for the tax office's letter, within about two weeks of your start. You do not register with the tax administration yourself, because the KVK sends your details automatically. If nothing comes after two weeks, call the Belastingdienst on 0800 0543.
You need a business address in the Netherlands. If you live abroad, you must provide an original paper extract from your country's population register less than two months old and a rental, purchase or use contract for the Dutch address signed by both parties. A foreign business address is accepted only for residents of a border area who show real physical activity in the Netherlands.
The registration fee is €85.15, one-off, in 2026.
If you want to know whether you will be treated as an employee by your main client, whether a sole proprietorship or a company fits your plan, or which documents the KVK will ask you for, Moovy can set out the official rules and point you to the tax office's assessment tool.
How is a freelancer taxed?
Your profit is taxed under box 1 of income tax, in the same brackets as an employee's pay; see taxes in the Netherlands for new residents. Three deductions matter in 2026:
- Self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek): €1,200 in 2026, if you work at least 1,225 hours a year for your business (the hours criterion) and had not reached AOW pension age on 1 January (otherwise half the amount).
- Starter's deduction (startersaftrek): €2,123 in 2026, at most three times in your first five years of business.
- SME profit exemption (mkb-winstvrijstelling): 12.7% of your profit in 2026, calculated after the self-employed deduction.
The 2027 budget presented in September 2026 proposes to cut the self-employed deduction to €900, to reduce the starter's deduction to €10 in 2027 and to abolish it in 2028, according to the KVK. These are proposals that parliament still has to vote on, so if you start late in 2026 or in 2027, check what will apply to you.
VAT is charged on your invoices at the standard rates, but if your turnover does not exceed €20,000 you can opt for the small business scheme (kleineondernemersregeling, KOR): you then neither charge nor reclaim VAT. Keep your accounting records for seven years (the tax requirement), and longer for certain property and one-stop-shop VAT data.
What is false self-employment?
It is working in practice as an employee while invoicing as a freelancer: fixed hours, integrated into the client's team, under instructions. Since 1 January 2025 the tax administration enforces the rules again. A client who uses a false freelancer risks a correction, in principle without going back before that date, and in 2026 fines are limited to intent or gross negligence. A new law on the self-employed (Zelfstandigenwet) was put to public consultation on 1 October 2026, with entry into force aimed at January 2028; what it will contain is not yet settled, so check its status before you sign long contracts.
To protect yourself, use the official assessment tool for working relationships, work for several clients, use your own tools, and keep your contracts clear about outcomes rather than hours.
What about insurance and pensions?
A freelancer does not have an employee's protections for sickness or lack of work. Disability insurance (AOV) is something you arrange yourself. A compulsory basic disability insurance for the self-employed is a 2026 bill (Wet BAZ) that the House can still amend and the Senate must still approve, and the KVK writes that the minister does not plan it as compulsory before 2030. You also still need basic health insurance; see health insurance in the Netherlands.
Sole proprietorship or BV?
A sole proprietorship is the simplest, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A besloten vennootschap (BV, private limited company) is created only before a notary, needs no starting capital according to Business.gov.nl, pays corporate income tax (19% up to €200,000 of profit, 25.8% above, in 2026), and requires a market-level salary for the director-major shareholder. It costs more in accounting. Many freelancers start with a sole proprietorship and move later.
Before you choose between the two, or sign a first long contract, have a Dutch accountant or tax adviser look at your expected income and your clients: the deductions, the hours criterion and the false self-employment rules all depend on your own situation.
What does it take to freelance in the Netherlands as a foreigner?
Three practical conditions. First, a right to stay that rests on your activity, which for EU citizens means genuine work. Second, a BSN and a DigiD, because the KVK form needs both. Third, a Dutch business address, with a narrow exception for residents of border areas who show real activity in the Netherlands. If you live abroad, you must give the KVK an original extract of your country's population register that is less than two months old, plus a contract for the Dutch address signed by both parties.
The KVK says an appointment can be booked up to eight weeks ahead, so book early if you have a start date in mind.
What should you check before choosing a client?
False self-employment is a risk for the client as much as for you, so a careful client will ask about it. Before you sign, ask yourself questions of the kind the assessment looks at; the exact criteria are on the official page.
- Can you decide how, when and where you do the work, or are you given fixed hours and instructions?
- Can you send someone else in your place?
- Do you carry your own entrepreneurial risk, with your own tools and several clients?
- Is the contract about a result or a service, rather than about your presence?
The official government site has an assessment tool for working relationships. Use it before you start, keep the result, and revisit it if the work changes.
What records and deadlines should a freelancer keep in the Netherlands?
Keep your accounting records for seven years, which is the tax requirement, and ten years for certain data on real estate and for the VAT one-stop shop. File your VAT returns at the frequency the tax office's letter sets, and declare your profit in your yearly income tax return. In the year you arrive, remember the special return for people who moved in during the year; see taxes in the Netherlands for new residents.
A last point on costs: the hours criterion of 1,225 hours a year is easy to miss when you build a plan. If you start part-way through the year or combine freelance work with a job, check whether you can still meet it, since the self-employed deduction depends on it.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Starting without a DigiD: the KVK form needs it.
- Registering from abroad with the wrong address documents.
- Ignoring the hours criterion: below 1,225 hours you lose the deductions that depend on it.
- Dependence on one client who controls your schedule: the false self-employment risk.
- Forgetting personal liability. In a sole proprietorship your own assets answer for the business debts.