Income tax

The investment deduction

Invest more than €2,901 in one year and you may deduct 28% of it from your profit. Below that, nothing — which turns the timing of a purchase into a decision.

In short

The kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek (KIA), the Dutch small-scale investment deduction, is an extra deduction from your profit for anyone investing in business assets during a financial year. In 2026 an investment total of €2,901 to €71,683 gives you a deduction of 28% of that amount; from €71,684 to €132,746 it is a fixed €20,072, and above that it tapers to zero at €398,236. Below €2,901 you get nothing. A business asset costing less than €450 does not count towards the total, and a number of assets are excluded altogether — among them the passenger car, unless it is intended for professional transport. The deduction is separate from depreciation: you still write the asset down over its life and you also get the KIA.

The essentials

The 2026 bands
€2,901 to €71,683: 28% of the investment total. €71,684 to €132,746: a fixed €20,072. Above that it tapers to €0 at €398,236.
Per business asset
An asset costing less than €450 does not count towards the total.
Your passenger car
Excluded, unless it is intended for professional transport — a taxi or a courier vehicle.

How much KIA do I get?

Enter what you invest in business assets in total this year and roughly what your profit is. You see the deduction under the 2026 table and what it saves in income tax and Zvw contribution.

How much KIA do I get?
Small-scale investment deduction (KIA)€2,800
Profit after KIA€42,200
Tax and Zvw without KIA€7,412
Tax and Zvw with KIA€6,311
What the KIA saves€1,101
2026 table of the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst). Tax with the same assumptions as the net income calculator: below the state pension age, no other income, no fiscal partner, no starter's deduction. An estimate, not a tax return.

How the deduction works

The KIA is calculated on the total you invest in business assets in one financial year, not per purchase. In the first band — €2,901 to €71,683 — the deduction is 28% of that total. Invest €10,000 and you may take another €2,800 off your profit. Above that it becomes a fixed €20,072, and from €132,747 it decreases again to zero at €398,236.

It is a deduction, not a grant: the amount is not paid out to you, it comes off your profit. What it nets you therefore depends on your rate. And it comes on top of depreciation — you still write the asset down over its life and you get the KIA in the year you invest.

The floor turns timing into a decision

This is where most money is left on the table. Below €2,901 in a financial year you get nothing. Buy a laptop and a desk for €2,000 together this year, and a camera and a monitor for €2,000 next year, and you clear the threshold in neither: nothing twice.

Put those same purchases in one financial year and you are at €4,000, which yields €1,120 of deduction. Same money, same equipment, only a different moment of purchase. So anyone sitting close to €2,901 towards the end of the year has one more reason to pull a purchase forward — or to push it into January if this year is out of reach anyway.

What falls outside it

Two kinds of exclusion. The first is the amount: an asset costing less than €450 does not count, not even towards the total. A €40 mouse and a €60 keyboard therefore do not add up to something that qualifies.

The second is the nature of the asset. The passenger car is the best known: it is excluded unless intended for professional transport, such as a taxi or a courier vehicle. Also outside the scheme are residential buildings, land, animals, vessels for representative purposes, securities, receivables, goodwill and public-law permits, as well as assets you use abroad or make available to a third party.

What it asks of your bookkeeping

An investment is not an expense. Book a €1,200 purchase as a cost and it drops out of your investment total and no longer counts towards the €2,901 threshold — when it should have. Business assets belong on the balance sheet, with a depreciation term underneath.

So track your investments as investments throughout the year, not only at year-end close. Then you can see in November whether you land above or below the threshold, which is exactly the moment you can still do something about it.

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

I bought a €400 laptop. Does it count?

No. A business asset costing less than €450 does not count towards the KIA, not even added together with other small purchases. You can of course still record it as an asset or as a cost in your books.

I bought a car or a van for my business. Do I get KIA on it?

It depends on the type of vehicle. The exclusion is written literally for passenger cars that are not intended for professional transport — a taxi or a courier car therefore falls outside it and does count. A van is not on the list of excluded business assets. The usual conditions still apply: the asset must cost at least €450 and must not be intended for 70% or more rental or for use abroad. Whether your vehicle counts as a passenger car or a van for tax purposes is a separate question — put that to your accountant before you count on a deduction.

Is the KIA amount paid out to me?

No. It is a deduction from your profit, not a grant that lands in your account. What it nets you depends on the rate at which your profit is taxed, and therefore on your total income that year.

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The subjects

Calculators for freelancers

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

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Freelancer net income calculator

Enter your turnover and costs and see what you keep after Dutch income tax and the Zvw contribution, per year and per month, at 2026 rates.

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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.

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Glossary

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

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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.

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Starting a sole proprietorship

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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VAT return

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

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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.

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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.

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Small businesses scheme

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

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Keeping records

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

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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.

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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.

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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%.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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