Freelance in the Netherlands: btw, KOR and invoicing, explained in English

If you freelance in the Netherlands you are a zzp’er (zelfstandige zonder personeel). You register once at the KvK, you charge and file btw (VAT) every quarter unless you opt into the small-business scheme, and you pay income tax once a year. Here is the whole cycle in one page, with the official pages linked.

Registering

You register your eenmanszaak (sole proprietorship) at the Kamer van Koophandel. You get a KvK number for your invoices and, from the Belastingdienst, two VAT numbers: a btw-id (the one you print on invoices and give to clients) and an omzetbelastingnummer (the one you use to file). The registration is one appointment and a fee; you can invoice the same week.

Btw: charge it, file it, pay it

Dutch btw is 21% on most services. You add it to every invoice to a Dutch client. To a business client elsewhere in the EU with a valid VAT number you charge 0% and write “btw verlegd” with both VAT numbers; you check the number first on VIES. To a client outside the EU, most services fall outside Dutch btw.

You file a btw-aangifte every quarter and pay what you collected minus what you paid on business purchases. The return and payment are due at the end of the month after the quarter: 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January. If you invoiced EU business clients with reverse charge, you also file an ICP listing (opgaaf intracommunautaire prestaties) for that quarter. Late filing brings a fine, and the Belastingdienst can move you to monthly filing after repeated lateness.

You must issue an invoice by the 15th of the month after the month you delivered the work. Invoice numbers run in sequence.

KOR: the small-business scheme

If your turnover stays under EUR 20,000 a year you can join the kleineondernemersregeling. You then charge no btw, file no btw returns, and cannot reclaim btw on your purchases. You commit for at least three years, and you leave the scheme automatically the moment you cross EUR 20,000 in a calendar year.

It is worth it for people with mostly consumer clients and few expenses; for a freelancer with business clients who reclaim btw anyway, staying in the normal scheme usually costs nothing and lets you deduct btw on your laptop and software. A worked example is in De KOR-regeling in 2027 (Dutch).

Income tax

Once a year you file an inkomstenbelasting return on your profit. Sole traders get deductions (the zelfstandigenaftrek, which is being reduced year by year, and the mkb-winstvrijstelling); the amounts change annually, so check the Belastingdienst’s current page rather than a blog. You need to meet the 1,225-hours criterion for the self-employed deduction. Set aside money each quarter; a common rule of thumb is 30 to 40% of profit, but your actual rate depends on your total income.

The DBA question

Since 1 January 2025 the tax office actively enforces the rules on false self-employment. If you work for one client, on their hours, under their direction, you may be treated as an employee. Multiple clients, your own tools and your own rates are what keep you a zzp’er. CBS counted 62,000 fewer zzp’ers in 2025, largely for this reason.

What Bilio does with this

Bilio prints your KvK number and btw-id on every invoice, writes the reverse-charge line for EU clients, keeps the quarterly btw position with the deadline shown, and from December exports the btw-aangifte and ICP figures. Invoices are numbered in sequence and cannot be edited after sending.

Sources: Belastingdienst on btw-aangifte periods and the KOR; KvK on registration; CBS on zzp numbers, 12 February 2026. Deadlines checked 30 September 2026.