Your books, in your own language
EN
NederlandsnlEnglishenPolskiplMagyarhuRomânăro
Try it free
Menu
FeaturesWho it's forPricingCompareGuides
LanguageNederlandsnlEnglishenPolskiplMagyarhuRomânăro
Log inTry it free

Calculator

What do you keep as a freelancer?

Turnover and costs in, tax and net per month out — at 2026 rates and with the same calculation as in the software.

Result of the calculator
Profit (turnover minus costs)€45,000
Self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek)− €1,200
SME profit exemption (12.7%)− €5,563
Taxable profit€38,237
Income tax before tax credits€13,670
General tax credit and labour tax credit− €8,113
Income tax€5,557
Zvw contribution (4.85%)€1,855
Tax and Zvw together€7,412
Net left per year€37,588
Net left per month€3,132
Set aside per month€618
2026 rates, rounded to whole euros. Assumptions: you are below the Dutch state pension age, live in the Netherlands all year and have no income besides your business, no fiscal partner, no owner-occupied home and no box 3. It is an estimate, not a tax return. The same calculation as the IB & Zvw reservation screen in booxx.

Try free for 90 daysIn the software this screen keeps the numbers up to date all year from your own books · no payment method needed

In short

As a freelancer in the Netherlands you pay income tax and a Zvw contribution on your profit in 2026, after the self-employed deduction (€1,200, if you meet the hours criterion of 1,225 hours) and the 12.7% SME profit exemption. With €50,000 turnover and €5,000 costs your profit is €45,000; on that you pay about €5,557 income tax (after the general tax credit and the labour tax credit) and €1,855 Zvw contribution. You keep about €37,588, or €3,132 a month, and set aside about €618 a month. That is before your health insurance premium, pension and disability insurance, and VAT is not included: it is never yours.

Dutch tax rates 2026 for freelancers in one table

These are the rates and deductions the calculator above uses: the box 1 brackets, the entrepreneur's deduction, the SME profit exemption, the two tax credits and the Zvw contribution, as the Dutch Belastingdienst sets them for 2026.

Dutch tax rates 2026 for freelancers in one table
Box 1, first bracket: taxable income up to €38,88335.75%
Box 1, second bracket: €38,883 to €78,42637.56%
Box 1, third bracket: above €78,42649.5%
Zelfstandigenaftrek, self-employed deduction (only with the urencriterium: 1,225 hours)€1,200
Startersaftrek, starter's deduction (on top of the zelfstandigenaftrek, at most three times in the first five years)€2,123
Mkb-winstvrijstelling, SME profit exemption (of the profit after the entrepreneur's deduction)12.7%
Algemene heffingskorting (general tax credit)at most €3,115; above €29,736 it drops by 6.398% of every extra euro of income
Arbeidskorting (labour tax credit)at most €5,685; above €45,592 it drops by 6.51% of every extra euro of income
Income-related Zvw contribution4.85% of your income, up to a contribution income of €79,409
Rates for 2026 for people below the Dutch state pension (AOW) age. The first bracket includes the national insurance contributions. Checked against the Dutch Belastingdienst; the software booxx uses the same rates in its IB & Zvw reserve screen.

How the calculator works

It follows the order of the tax return. First the self-employed deduction and, if you are a starter, the €2,123 starter's deduction come off your profit — both only if you meet the hours criterion. Of what remains, 12.7% is exempt as the SME profit exemption. The rest is your taxable profit, taxed in the box 1 brackets: 35.75% up to €38,883, 37.56% up to €78,426 and 49.50% above that.

The general tax credit (at most €3,115) and the labour tax credit (at most €5,685) are deducted from that tax; both shrink as you earn more. The 4.85% Zvw contribution comes on top, on your taxable profit up to €79,409. What you keep of your profit after tax and Zvw is what the calculator calls net.

What is not included

VAT is not included: you collect it for the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst) and pay it over, usually per quarter. Nor are your health insurance premium, your pension or disability insurance — you pay those out of your net. If you also have a salary, a fiscal partner, an owner-occupied home or assets in box 3, your real assessment will differ; the calculator assumes profit is your only income.

Because the tax credits phase out, the tax grows faster than your profit. So don't set aside a fixed percentage of your turnover; recalculate now and then with your actual numbers.

Kept up to date all year in the software

In booxx the same calculation sits under Reports, as the IB & Zvw reservation screen. The difference: there the profit comes from your own books, so all you fill in is whether you meet the hours criterion and whether you are a starter. If you pick part of the year, the screen projects the profit to a full year and shows the share that belongs to the months that have passed.

The software works in Dutch, English, Polish, Hungarian and Romanian, and you can try it for 90 days without a payment method.

Updated October 2, 2026. General explanation of the Dutch rules, not tax advice — for your own situation, decide together with your accountant or the Dutch Tax Administration.

Frequently asked questions

How much net do I keep from €45,000 profit as a freelancer in the Netherlands?

In 2026 about €37,588 a year, €3,132 a month, if you meet the hours criterion, are not a starter and have no other income. You then pay about €5,557 income tax and €1,855 Zvw contribution. Health insurance premium, pension and disability insurance still come off that.

What if I don't meet the hours criterion?

Then you get neither the self-employed deduction nor the starter's deduction. You do keep the 12.7% SME profit exemption. At €45,000 profit you then pay about €479 more in tax and Zvw together in 2026.

Is this net the same as a salary?

No. An employee receives net pay after pension contributions and with disability cover through the employer. As a freelancer you arrange and pay those yourself out of this net amount, as well as the nominal premium of your health insurance.

Does the calculator use the 2026 rates?

Yes: the box 1 brackets, the €1,200 self-employed deduction, the €2,123 starter's deduction, the 12.7% SME profit exemption, the general tax credit, the labour tax credit and the 4.85% Zvw contribution up to €79,409 — the same table as in the software, updated as soon as the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst) publishes the rates for a new year.

GuidesAccounting software that speaks your language

booxx.nlYour books, in your own language

Start with the quarter you're in right now

Create a set of books, send your first invoice and see whether it works for you. The first 90 days are free and no payment method is asked for, so there is nothing to cancel later.

Try free for 90 daysSee the pricing first

90 days free · no payment method needed · cancel monthly afterwards

The subjects

Calculators for freelancers

All five free calculators in one place: net income, hourly rate, hours criterion, VAT and KIA, at 2026 rates.

Read on

Freelancer hourly rate calculator

From the net you want to keep each month to the profit, the turnover and the minimum hourly rate you need to charge, with 2026 Dutch tax included.

Read on

Glossary

Voorlopige aanslag, naheffingsaanslag, btw-id, suppletie: twenty-seven Dutch tax and KvK terms, each explained in two or three sentences.

Read on

What is a zzp'er?

Zzp means self-employed without staff. Not a legal form, but you are an entrepreneur: what that means for registration, tax and bookkeeping.

Read on

Starting a sole proprietorship

Registering with the KvK, your VAT numbers from the Dutch Belastingdienst, and records that are right from your first invoice.

Read on

Becoming a zzp'er from abroad

Registering with the KvK if you do not (yet) live in the Netherlands: when you need a Dutch home address, when the RNI is enough, and what to bring.

Read on

Getting DigiD as a freelancer

With DigiD you register your sole proprietorship with the KvK and log in to Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk. How to apply, with a Dutch home address or from abroad.

Read on

Business bank account: required?

Do you need a business bank account as a freelancer in the Netherlands? When it is required, when you may use your personal account, what the bank asks for and whether a foreign account is allowed.

Read on

Insurance for freelancers

Which insurance is compulsory for a zzp'er and which is not: health insurance, disability insurance (compulsory from probably 2030), business and professional liability.

Read on

Bookkeeping yourself or an accountant?

An accountant is not mandatory. When doing it yourself works, when help is wise, and what to do if you don't read Dutch yet.

Read on

VAT in the Netherlands

The 21%, 9% and 0% rates, what is exempt, your two VAT numbers, the quarterly return and the three exceptions: KOR, reverse charge and the EU.

Read on

VAT number and turnover tax number

Your two numbers from the Dutch tax office: the VAT ID for your invoices and the turnover tax number for the Belastingdienst only. What they look like, where to find them and how to check a number.

Read on

VAT return

How often you file, what boxes 1a through 5b mean, and the three mistakes that get made most often.

Read on

Invoice requirements

What must be on your invoice, the deadline for sending it and how long you keep it — the rules of the Dutch Belastingdienst in one place.

Read on

Client does not pay

Payment term, reminder, formal notice, collection costs and statutory interest: what you may charge when an invoice stays open, for businesses and for consumers.

Read on

Small businesses scheme

The € 20,000 threshold, what changes if you join, and the exception that gets missed most often.

Read on

Keeping records

What you must keep for seven years, why digital is allowed, and which file the Belastingdienst asks for during an audit.

Read on

Selling within the EU

Business or consumer is the first question: it decides whether you end up at box 3b and the EC Sales List or at the € 10,000 threshold.

Read on

Reverse charge (btw verlegd)

A subcontractor in construction? You put no VAT on your invoice but 'btw verlegd' — and you get the VAT on your own purchases back.

Read on

Deductible costs for freelancers

Which costs a zzp'er deducts from profit: business costs 100%, mixed costs only the business part, € 0.25 per kilometre, and food, drink and entertainment above the threshold or 80%.

Read on

Tax breaks for freelancers

Self-employed deduction, starter's deduction, SME profit exemption and the KIA: what they are worth in 2026, in which order, with a worked example.

Read on

The hours criterion

The 1,225 hours that decide whether you get the self-employed deduction: which hours count, and why half a year in business does not mean half the hours will do.

Read on

How much tax to set aside

Three pots: VAT, income tax and the Zvw contribution. What goes in each, the 2026 rates, and how to pay monthly instead of all at once.

Read on

Voorlopige aanslag (provisional assessment)

What a voorlopige aanslag is, how to check and change it, until when you can, and why starters should request one themselves.

Read on

Toeslagen (benefits) as a freelancer

Healthcare or rent benefit as a zzp'er: which income you report (not your profit), how to estimate it, and why you check it again with every VAT return.

Read on

Letter from the Belastingdienst

Tax return letter, provisional or final assessment, additional assessment or fine: which letter is which, what to do, and by when.

Read on

Income tax return

When you have to file, when it is merely wise to, and the M-form for the year you moved to the Netherlands.

Read on

Investment deduction (KIA)

28% of what you invest off your profit — but only above €2,901, not under €450 per item, and not on your passenger car.

Read on

Closing your sole proprietorship

Stopping as a zzp'er: deregistering with the KvK, your last VAT return, the cessation profit in your income tax and what you keep for seven years.

Read on