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Tax Benefits for Dutch Freelancers: Zelfstandigenaftrek, Startersaftrek, MKB-Winstvrijstelling and KOR Explained

2026-07-14 · 7 min leestijd

If you work as a zzp'er (self-employed professional) in the Netherlands, the tax system offers several deductions and exemptions designed specifically for small business owners. Used correctly, they can significantly reduce the amount of income tax you pay on your profit. The catch is that each scheme has its own conditions, and some require a deliberate choice rather than happening automatically. This article walks through the four benefits every Dutch freelancer should know: the zelfstandigenaftrek (self-employed deduction), startersaftrek (starter deduction), mkb-winstvrijstelling (SME profit exemption) and the kleineondernemersregeling or KOR (small business VAT scheme). We also cover which everyday business costs are deductible, and how slimzaak helps you capture them without the year-end scramble.

Zelfstandigenaftrek: the self-employed deduction explained

The zelfstandigenaftrek is the best-known tax benefit for Dutch freelancers. It's a fixed amount you may deduct from your business profit before calculating how much income tax you owe. To qualify, you need to meet the urencriterium (hour criterion):

• you spend a minimum of 1,225 hours per year working on your business
• you spend more time on your business than on any other activity, such as employment elsewhere (this second condition doesn't apply if you only recently started as a freelancer)

Both conditions matter, and the Tax Authorities can ask you to prove the hours you logged — not just billable client hours, but also time spent on quotes, admin, marketing and travel for the business. Keeping a simple, consistent hour log throughout the year saves you from reconstructing it under pressure later; our administration checklist for freelancers walks through what else to track alongside your hours.

The deduction amount itself changes every year and has been gradually reduced by the government in recent years, so rather than quoting a figure that will be outdated by the time you read this, check the current amount directly on belastingdienst.nl. If your profit is lower than the deduction, you generally can't create a negative result beyond a certain point — but any unused amount can typically be carried forward, again subject to the rules published by the Tax Authorities.

Startersaftrek: an extra deduction in your first years

On top of the zelfstandigenaftrek, new freelancers can usually claim the startersaftrek (starter deduction) — an additional fixed amount that further reduces your taxable profit. It exists to soften the financial pressure in the early years of a business, when revenue is often still building up.

In broad terms, you can claim the startersaftrek in up to three of the first five years you're self-employed, provided you:

• meet the same urencriterium (1,225 hours) as for the zelfstandigenaftrek
• have not claimed the zelfstandigenaftrek in more than a limited number of the preceding years
• meet a few other eligibility conditions the Tax Authorities set out

Because the exact conditions and the deduction amount are subject to change, and because edge cases (for example, if you previously ran a different business or worked as a director-shareholder) can affect eligibility, it's worth confirming your specific situation on belastingdienst.nl rather than assuming. When you do qualify, the zelfstandigenaftrek and startersaftrek combined can meaningfully lower your tax bill in exactly the years your cash flow needs it most.

Mkb-winstvrijstelling: the SME profit exemption

After the zelfstandigenaftrek and startersaftrek have been applied, there's still one more benefit in play: the mkb-winstvrijstelling (SME profit exemption). This exempts a fixed percentage of your remaining profit from income tax entirely.

A few things make this scheme different from the deductions above:

• it applies automatically — there's no application or opt-in required
• it applies to any profit from your business, even if you don't meet the urencriterium
• it's calculated as a percentage, so the exact euro benefit scales with your profit

Because it doesn't depend on hours worked, the mkb-winstvrijstelling still applies even if you run your business alongside a full-time job and never qualify for the zelfstandigenaftrek. The percentage itself is set by the government and adjusted periodically, so again, treat the current rate on the Tax Authorities' website as the source of truth rather than a number you saw last year.

Kleineondernemersregeling (KOR): an opt-in choice, not an automatic deduction

The kleineondernemersregeling, or KOR, works differently from the three schemes above: it's not an income tax deduction at all, but a VAT scheme, and it's something you actively choose rather than something applied for you.

If your annual turnover stays under the KOR threshold, you can opt in and:

• stop charging VAT on your invoices
• stop filing periodic VAT returns for your KOR-registered activities
• but also lose the right to reclaim VAT on your business purchases and investments

Whether that trade-off makes sense depends heavily on your situation. If most of your customers are private individuals (B2C) and your costs are low, not charging VAT can make your prices more competitive and simplify your admin. If you mostly invoice VAT-registered businesses (B2B) — who reclaim the VAT you charge anyway — or you're about to make a large VAT-bearing investment, staying in the regular VAT system and reclaiming input VAT is often more favourable.

The KOR is also a multi-year commitment in practice: once you opt in, switching back isn't instant. If you decide against the KOR, your VAT filing rhythm still matters for planning — see our article on choosing your VAT filing frequency for quarterly versus annual filing. Either way, confirm the current turnover threshold and application process on belastingdienst.nl before deciding.

Which business costs are deductible — and how slimzaak records them for you

All four schemes above reduce your tax bill on the profit side. The other lever is keeping your deductible costs complete, so your profit — and therefore your tax base — is calculated correctly in the first place. Common deductible costs for Dutch freelancers include:

• office supplies, software subscriptions and business tools
• professional insurance and liability cover
• travel and transport for business purposes
• marketing, website and advertising costs
• courses, training and professional development related to your work
• a business-use share of phone, internet and (partial) home office costs
• bookkeeping and accountancy fees

The common thread: the cost has to be genuinely business-related, and you need a proper invoice or receipt to substantiate it. Costs you use partly privately, such as a phone plan, are only deductible for the business-use portion.

In practice, the hard part isn't knowing what's deductible — it's not losing the receipt between the till and your bookkeeping. That's exactly what slimzaak's costs and receipts feature is built for: photograph or upload a receipt, and AI-scan reads the amount, VAT and supplier straight into your administration, ready for your VAT summaries and reports. Note that slimzaak records and organises your costs — it never files your VAT or income tax return itself; that final step is always yours or your accountant's. For a broader view of what else belongs in a freelancer's bookkeeping routine, see our administration checklist for freelancers. And since slimzaak's ZZP plan starts at €0 per month, there's no cost barrier to getting your receipts organised from day one.