Registered at the KVK. Now what?
A btw number in the post, a letter about your first return and a client waiting for an invoice. Bilio’s five-step setup gets your first invoice out in minutes, and then keeps your first year in order, so the first returns are not a surprise.
Free plan, no card · In English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Bulgarian · Data stored in the EU
- 30 AprBtw return Q1
- 1 MayIncome tax return 2025
- 31 JulBtw return Q2
- 31 OctBtw return Q3Next
- 31 JanBtw return Q4
- 1 MayIncome tax return 2026
What should a new zzp’er do in the first year?
Send invoices that meet Dutch rules from day one, keep every receipt, file a btw return each quarter (even a zero one) unless you joined the KOR, and track your hours: at 1,225 hours a year you get the zelfstandigenaftrek, and as a starter the startersaftrek on top. Your first income tax return is due by 1 May the year after.
Checked by Stefka Ivanova, founder of Bilio and a freelancer in Amsterdam, on .
- First invoice
- KvK and btw number, date, number, btw
- Btw return
- Quarterly, a zero return if nothing happened
- Startersaftrek 2026
- €2,123, up to 3 times in your first 5 years
- Zelfstandigenaftrek 2026
- €1,200, with 1,225 hours
- Keep records
- 7 years
What changes when Bilio does the admin.
You just registered at the KVK and want to get the first invoice and the first return right.
- 01
Five steps to your first invoice
Business details, btw and KvK numbers, IBAN, first client, first invoice. Bilio checks the invoice before you send it for what a Dutch invoice must show.
- 02
No surprise deadlines
Reports show each quarter’s btw with its deadline, and the return box by box. A quiet quarter? File a zero return; the numbers are right there.
- 03
Starter deductions, estimated
Tick that you’re a starter and that you work 1,225 hours, and the income tax worksheet applies the startersaftrek and zelfstandigenaftrek to your profit.
- 04
Your hours, from day one
The startersaftrek and zelfstandigenaftrek need 1,225 hours a year. Log every hour as you go, billable or not, with the timer or afterwards, and bill the billable ones in one click. Free on every plan.
- 05
Good habits from day one
Sequential invoice numbers, every receipt with its btw, every cost in a category. When you hire an adviser later, your books are ready.
- 06
Ask, don’t google
What’s a suppletie? Do I charge btw to a client in Belgium? Ask the AI advisor or your own assistant, with your own numbers to hand.
Ask about your own numbers, in plain English.
Bilio’s AI financial advisor answers from your invoices and expenses (Pro). Or connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor to Bilio and ask there (Pro and Business); nothing is sent or changed without your OK.
Read receipts, suggest categories, add up the quarter, explain the btw boxes and the income tax lines, draft invoices.
Check the figures and file them. Bilio doesn’t file for you and doesn’t give tax advice; for a complex situation, see an adviser.
- What do I need on my first invoice?
- Do I charge btw to a client in Belgium?
- What’s my btw for my first quarter?
- Log 2 hours of admin this morning, not billable.
- Turn the quote I sent Studio Halvar into an invoice.
Four btw returns and one income tax return.
The btw return is due by the last day of the month after each quarter; the income tax return by 1 May the year after. Registered mid-quarter? Your first btw return covers the part of the quarter you were registered. The first income tax return with business profit is the one for your first calendar year, due by 1 May the year after.
- €1,200zelfstandigenaftrek 2026, with 1,225 hours
- €2,123startersaftrek, up to 3 times in your first 5 years
- 12.7%MKB-winstvrijstelling on profit after deductions
- €20,000turnover limit for the KOR
Figures for 2026 from the Belastingdienst and business.gov.nl. Check them before you file.
- 30 AprBtw return Q1
- 1 MayIncome tax return 2025
- 31 JulBtw return Q2
- 31 OctBtw return Q3Next
- 31 JanBtw return Q4
- 1 MayIncome tax return 2026
The tax office’s Dutch, in plain English.
- KVK
- The Dutch Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel), where you register your business. You get a KvK number to put on every invoice, and the Belastingdienst sends your btw number.
- Btw
- Dutch VAT (belasting toegevoegde waarde). Usually 21%, 9% for some goods and services. You charge it on your invoices and pay it to the Belastingdienst every quarter, minus the btw on your business costs.
- Startersaftrek
- An extra €2,123 deduction for starters, on top of the zelfstandigenaftrek, up to three times in your first five years. Also needs the hours criterion.
- Zelfstandigenaftrek
- The self-employed deduction: €1,200 off your profit in 2026, if you meet the hours criterion (urencriterium).
- Urencriterium
- The hours criterion: at least 1,225 hours a year on your business, and more than half your working time (that second test does not apply in your first five years). Admin and finding clients count.
- MKB-winstvrijstelling
- The SME profit exemption: 12.7% of your profit after the self-employed deductions is tax-free in 2026. No hours criterion needed.
- Suppletie
- A correction to a btw return you already filed, for example after a forgotten invoice.
Common questions.
What do I need on an invoice in the Netherlands?
When is my first btw return due?
What is the startersaftrek?
Do I need a separate bank account?
Does Bilio file my taxes?
Your first invoice takes four minutes.
Create an account with your email and follow the five-step setup: business details, VAT and KvK, IBAN, first client, first invoice. No card, no setup fee, no downloads. Cancel any time and take your data with you.