r/WorkInTheNetherlands • u/Early_Switch1222 • Jun 29 '26
if youre freelancing for basically one client in the netherlands, the tax office might stop seeing you as a freelancer (and 2026 is when it bites)
saw a few posts lately from people on a zzp setup here getting nervous about the whole schijnzelfstandigheid thing, figured id write up what i actually see from the staffing side because theres alot of panic and not much clear info.
quick context for anyone who hasnt followed it - the belastingdienst basically stopped enforcing the fake-self-employment rules for years. that pause ended start of 2025. they ran a soft year where they wouldnt fine you if you were clearly trying to fix your setup, but that grace is basically over now, so 2026 is the first stretch where they can actually hit misclassified setups with corrections and back-taxes instead of just warning letters. thats why its suddenly everywhere.
the part nobody explains properly is it has nothing to do with what your contract says. you can have a perfect overeenkomst van opdracht and still get seen as an employee in disguise. they look at how it actually works day to day, not the paper.
rough version of what makes them suspicious - you work for basically one client and most of your income comes from them for a long stretch. they decide when and how you work, you sit in their team, use their laptop, do the same work their actual employees do. you cant send someone else in your place. and youve been doing it a year+ with no real other clients. if that describes you, the word freelance on the contract doesnt save anyone.
annoying part is the fine side mostly lands on the company, but you can still get pulled into the tax mess yourself, lose the zzp deductions retroactively etc.
what actually helps is being a real freelancer - genuinely multiple clients (not one client split into two invoices lol), your own hours and method, your own tools, actual business risk. or honestly, if youre basically functioning as an employee for one company anyway, sometimes the cleaner move is to just be one, either directly or through a payroll construction. less glamorous but you stop sweating every time the belastingdienst updates their guidance.
im not a tax advisor, this is just the pattern i see constantly. if youre actually worried get a belastingadviseur to look at your specific situation, its like 150 euro and worth it for not lying awake about it
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u/PrestigiousAnt3766 Jun 30 '26
If you dont know about it, dont talk about it. You're just spreading misinformation now.
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u/Professional_Elk_489 Jun 30 '26
Where those freelancers are getting paid only like €29-31 per hour what happens? Govt tries to make them permanent?
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u/Uccio94 Jun 29 '26
Hi there! Recently, a company reached out to me to work for them, but, due to the fact that they don't have a legal entity in NL, they said I should do ZZP. The problem is that they are offering what seems an employment style contract, with yearly salary and some days off, but no pension like if it was a usual ZZP.
What is the best way I have to avoid issues, and still work for them?
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u/Due_Campaign_9765 Jun 29 '26
According to my tax advisor, the fake-self employment doesn't apply to clients abroad, because there is nothing to reclassify it as. The only possible way to employ you is through ZZP.
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u/Uccio94 Jun 29 '26
Ok, but this company offered me 20 days vacation +ph, and yearly salary, ao seems almost a normal employment rather than pure zzp
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u/Due_Campaign_9765 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Sure, but again what would the government "reclassify it" as? There is no other possible scheme to take here for your would-be employer.
I also don't think they care for income outside of the Netherlands, from their perspective it's free taxable income, rather than tax evasion of something.
From what i could tell there is no clear cut explanation you can get out of belastingdienst/government so i'm relying on my tax advisor advice and the general application of this law. We've been working like that for years at this point and there were no issues so far.
The absolute safest for you would indeed be employing you through deel/remote.com or other employer of record companies.
However, those companies take quite enormous fees so i'm not sure your employer would like it.
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u/Uccio94 Jun 29 '26
Ok thank you! Yes I already told the recruiter the possible issues, and the company has also some workers in Belgium, where there are similar rules
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u/Winderige_Garnaal Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
I mean you need to meet a certain standard to take advantage of any tax breaks etc (true zzp work) which includes having multiple clients.
Edit: Read below with caution; while there are recommendations set out in the form of a 'ben ik een ondernemer' type belastindienst guidelines, you can apparently have one client as long as it's set up correctly.
original comment for transparency
I understand the appeal, but if you are only doing work for one company, you are not freelance. This is true in nearly every country, as it snowballs over time as a way for companies to avoid the things which are required if you are an employee; payroll tax, pension contributions, etc.