ALWAYS USE THIS SKILL when a user asks for help preparing their Netherlands tax returns AND mentions freelancing, self-employment, ZZP, eenmanszaak, or sole proprietorship.
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General reference only
This Guide is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for your personal facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.
Source-cited draft. This Guide is source-cited but has not been reviewed by a licensed practitioner. It may be incomplete, outdated, or wrong.
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Every figure is drawn from this Tax Guide and cited to its source. See something that looks off?
Zelfstandigenaftrek (self-employed deduction) 2025
EUR 2,470Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.76
Startersaftrek (starters deduction) 2025
EUR 2,123Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.76
MKB-winstvrijstelling (SME profit exemption) rate 2025
13.31%Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.79a
Urencriterium (hours threshold) for zelfstandigenaftrek, startersaftrek, FOR
1,225 hours per calendar yearWet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.6
Startersaftrek -- maximum number of times claimable
3 times within first 5 years of self-employmentWet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.76
Startersaftrek -- eligibility window
First 5 years of self-employment (from first year of claiming zelfstandigenaftrek)Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.76
FOR (Fiscale Oudedagsreserve) dotation rate 2025
9.44% of winstWet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.67
FOR (Fiscale Oudedagsreserve) maximum dotation 2025
EUR 9,632Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.68
Standard BTW rate
21%Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968, art. 9 lid 1
Reduced BTW rate (laag tarief)
9%Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968, art. 9 lid 2
BTW rate for export / intracommunautaire levering
0%Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968, art. 9 lid 2 jo. Tabel II
KOR (Kleineondernemersregeling) annual turnover threshold
EUR 20,000 per calendar yearWet op de omzetbelasting 1968, art. 25
KOR -- consequence of exceeding turnover threshold
KOR exemption is automatically revokedWet op de omzetbelasting 1968, art. 25
Eigenwoningforfait rate 2025 (for WOZ-waarde calculation)
0.55% of WOZ-waardeWet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.112
Eigenwoningforfait example (WOZ EUR 320,000 × 0.55%)
EUR 1,760Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.112
Representatiekosten (entertainment costs) deduction limitation
80% deductible (20% blocked)Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.15
Laptop afschrijving (depreciation) rate
20% per yearWet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.30
Forfaitaire autokosten (deemed business travel reimbursement rate)
EUR 0.23/kmUitvoeringsregeling inkomstenbelasting 2001
Werkruimte (home office) income test -- minimum % of total income earned in workspace
>70% of income earned in workspace AND >30% of total income from that workspaceWet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.16
Box 3 peildatum (reference date for asset valuation) -- first
1 January 2025Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 5.2
Box 3 peildatum (reference date for asset valuation) -- second
1 January 2026Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 5.2
Part-year residents filing form
M-biljet (migratieaangifte)Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 / Belastingdienst M-biljet
Non-resident filing form
C-biljet (buitenlandse belastingplicht)Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 / Belastingdienst C-biljet
Without KvK registration -- income classification
Resultaat uit overige werkzaamheden (ROW) rather than winst uit onderneming; zelfstandigenaftrek, startersaftrek, and MKB-winstvrijstelling disqualifiedWet inkomstenbelasting 2001, art. 3.94
The intake orchestrator for Netherlands-resident self-employed individuals. Every downstream Netherlands content skill (nl-btw-return, nl-income-tax, nl-zvw) and the assembly orchestrator (nl-return-assembly) depend on this skill running first to produce a structured intake package.
This skill does not compute any tax figures. Its job is to collect all the facts, parse all the documents, confirm everything with the user, and hand off a clean intake package to nl-return-assembly.
v1.0 follows the upload-first, inference-then-confirm pattern:
ask_user_input_v0 -- 3 interactive questions, ~30 seconds.Target: intake completes in 5 minutes for a prepared user, 15 minutes for a user who has to go fetch documents.
Do not narrate the workflow. Do not say "Phase 1," "Phase 2," "Now I'll ask you about deductions." Just do the work.
Do not ask questions that have already been answered. If the refusal check established the user is a ZZP'er with BTW registration, do not later ask about VAT registration type. Track what is known.
Do not ask about things visible in uploaded documents. If the bank statement shows quarterly BTW payments to Belastingdienst, do not ask "did you pay BTW." Confirm what you see, do not re-ask.
Use ask_user_input_v0 for any multiple-choice question. Text input is only for genuinely open-ended data (names, addresses, specific amounts when they cannot be inferred).
Prefer batching. Ask 3 related questions in a single message when they do not depend on each other's answers.
Be terse but complete. No hedging, no "let me know if you have questions," no "I hope this helps."
Exception for blocking decisions. If a single question determines whether the user is in-scope or out-of-scope, ask it standalone.
When triggered, respond with ONE message that:
ask_user_input_v0Example first message:
Let's get your 2025 Netherlands returns ready. Quick scope check, then you upload your documents, then I fill in the gaps. Target time: 10 minutes.
Reminder: everything I produce needs to be reviewed and signed off by a qualified belastingadviseur before you file anything with the Belastingdienst. I'm not a substitute for review.
Scope check:
Then immediately call ask_user_input_v0 with the refusal questions.
Do NOT:
Present the refusal sweep as a single ask_user_input_v0 call with 3 questions, all single-select.
The 3 questions to ask first:
Q1: "Netherlands residency in 2025?"
Options: ["Full year", "Part year (immigrated/emigrated)", "Did not live in the Netherlands"]
Q2: "Business structure?"
Options: ["ZZP / eenmanszaak (sole proprietor)", "VOF (vennootschap onder firma)", "BV (besloten vennootschap)", "Not sure"]
Q3: "Employment status in 2025?"
Options: ["Fully self-employed (no employer)", "Employed + side self-employment", "Employed only (no self-employment income)"]
After Q1-Q3 pass, ask the second batch of scope questions (also batched):
Q4: "BTW (omzetbelasting) status?"
Options: ["Regular BTW registration (quarterly/monthly filing)", "Kleineondernemersregeling (KOR) -- BTW exempt", "Not BTW registered", "Not sure"]
Q5: "Marital status / fiscal partner?"
Options: ["Single (no fiscal partner)", "Married / registered partner", "Living together with fiscal partner (notarial cohabitation contract or joint ownership)", "Living together without fiscal partner status"]
Q6: "KvK registration?"
Options: ["Yes, registered at KvK", "No, not registered", "Not sure"]
Total time: ~45 seconds if the user taps through.
Once the refusal sweep passes, immediately ask for the document dump. Single message. No preamble.
Example:
Scope is good. Now upload everything you have for 2025 -- drop it all in at once:
- Business bank statement(s) for all of 2025 (CSV or PDF)
- Sales invoices (verkoopfacturen) issued in 2025
- Purchase invoices / receipts (inkoopfacturen) for business expenses
- Prior year aangifte inkomstenbelasting (IB-aangifte) or voorlopige aanslag
- Prior BTW-aangiften for 2025 (if regular BTW registration)
- Jaaropgave(n) from any employment income
- KvK uittreksel (extract)
- WOZ-beschikking (property valuation, if claiming eigen woning aftrek)
- Mortgage annual statement (jaaroverzicht hypotheek) if applicable
- Capital asset purchase receipts (computers, equipment)
- Health insurance (zorgverzekering) statements
- Any Belastingdienst correspondence or voorlopige aanslagen
- Anything else tax-related you have
Don't worry about labeling or organizing -- I'll figure out what each file is. Drag and drop when ready.
Then wait. Do not ask any other questions while waiting.
If the user uploads a partial dump and says "that's what I have": move to inference. Do not demand more. Request specific missing items during gap-filling.
If the user says "I don't know what I have": Switch to guided mode:
Check these places:
- Business bank: download 2025 statements as PDF or CSV
- MijnBelastingdienst portal: download prior IB-aangifte and voorlopige aanslagen
- Email: search for "factuur", "BTW", "Belastingdienst", "KvK", "jaaropgave"
- Your boekhouder from last year, if you had one
- Dropbox / Google Drive for saved invoices
- Hypotheekverstrekker portal for jaaroverzicht
Come back when you have something to upload. I'll work with whatever you bring.
Bank statement:
Sales invoices (verkoopfacturen):
Purchase invoices (inkoopfacturen):
Prior year IB-aangifte:
Prior BTW-aangiften:
Jaaropgave (employment income):
WOZ-beschikking and hypotheek jaaroverzicht:
After parsing everything, build an internal inference object. Do not show the raw inference yet -- transform it into a compact summary for the user in Section 5.
After inference, present a single compact summary message. Use a structured format that is fast to scan. Invite the user to correct anything wrong.
Example summary message:
Here's what I pulled from your documents. Skim and tell me what's wrong.
Identity
- Jan de Vries, single (no fiscal partner)
- Full-year Netherlands resident (Amsterdam)
- ZZP / eenmanszaak, KvK 12345678
- BTW: Regular registration (NL123456789B01), quarterly filing
Income -- Winst uit onderneming (from bank statement + invoices)
- Omzet (turnover ex-BTW): ~EUR 68,000
- TechCorp BV: EUR 36,000 (monthly retainer)
- DesignStudio: EUR 22,000 (project work)
- Various smaller clients: EUR 10,000
- BTW collected (21%): ~EUR 14,280
Expenses -- Bedrijfskosten (from bank statement + purchase invoices)
- Kantoorhuur (office rent): EUR 6,000
- Software / SaaS: EUR 2,400
- Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering (PI insurance): EUR 600
- Boekhouder (accountancy fees): EUR 1,200
- Telefoon / internet: EUR 840 (TBD -- need zakelijk gebruik %)
- Auto: EUR 3,600 fuel + EUR 800 onderhoud (TBD -- need zakelijk gebruik % or km-registratie)
- Laptop: EUR 1,800 (April 2025) -- bedrijfsmiddel, afschrijving 20% per jaar
- Voorbelasting (input BTW): ~EUR 3,200 (reclaimable)
Ondernemersaftrek
- Zelfstandigenaftrek: EUR 2,470 (2025 rate) -- need to confirm urencriterium (1,225+ hours)
- Startersaftrek: TBD -- need to confirm if within first 5 years and not claimed 3x
- MKB-winstvrijstelling: 13.31% of remaining winst after zelfstandigenaftrek
Eigen woning (from WOZ + hypotheek)
- WOZ-waarde: EUR 320,000
- Eigenwoningforfait: EUR 1,760 (0.55% x EUR 320,000 -- 2025 rate)
- Hypotheekrente betaald: EUR 8,400
- Eigen woning aftrek: EUR 6,640 (aftrek)
Voorlopige aanslag / voorheffingen (from bank statement)
- Voorlopige aanslag IB 2025 paid: EUR 4,200
- Voorlopige aanslag ZVW 2025 paid: EUR 1,800
Prior year (from 2024 IB-aangifte)
- 2024 winst uit onderneming: EUR 52,000
- 2024 belastbaar inkomen Box 1: EUR 38,000
- Capital allowances continuing: laptop EUR 1,440 WDV
BTW (from prior BTW-aangiften)
- Q1-Q3 2025 filed
- Q4 outstanding
- No suppletie required based on current data
Flags I already see:
- Telefoon/internet -- need zakelijk gebruik percentage
- Auto -- need zakelijk gebruik percentage and km-registratie (or consider forfaitaire autokosten EUR 0.23/km)
- Urencriterium -- need confirmation of 1,225+ hours for zelfstandigenaftrek
- Startersaftrek eligibility -- need to confirm year count
- Q4 2025 BTW-aangifte not yet filed -- will prepare as part of this workflow
- Box 3 vermogensrendementsheffing -- need to check bank/beleggingen saldi on 1 January 2025 and 2026
Is any of this wrong? Reply "looks good" or tell me what to fix.
After the user confirms the summary (or corrects it), ask about things that cannot be inferred from documents. Use ask_user_input_v0 where possible.
Things that usually cannot be inferred:
Call ask_user_input_v0 with:
Q: "Did you work at least 1,225 hours on your business in 2025?"
Options: [
"Yes, comfortably above 1,225 hours (full-time self-employed)",
"Yes, but it's close (part-time self-employed, around 1,225)",
"No, under 1,225 hours",
"Not sure"
]
If option 1 -> zelfstandigenaftrek qualifies. Note T2: reviewer should confirm urenadministratie exists. If option 2 -> flag T2: marginal case, urenadministratie is critical. Reviewer must verify. If option 3 -> no zelfstandigenaftrek, no startersaftrek, no FOR. MKB-winstvrijstelling still applies. Income is still winst uit onderneming if KvK-registered. If option 4 -> "The urencriterium requires you to have spent at least 1,225 hours on your business. Full-time freelancers almost always meet it. If you also had employment, count only the hours on your business. Do you think you're above or below?"
Call ask_user_input_v0 with:
Q: "Startersaftrek eligibility?"
Options: [
"Started in 2025 (first year)",
"2nd or 3rd year, have not claimed startersaftrek 3 times yet",
"Started more than 5 years ago",
"Already claimed startersaftrek 3 times",
"Not sure"
]
If option 1 or 2 -> EUR 2,123 startersaftrek on top of zelfstandigenaftrek (2025). If option 3 or 4 -> no startersaftrek. If not sure -> "When did you register at KvK? The 5-year window starts from your first year of claiming zelfstandigenaftrek."
Call ask_user_input_v0 with:
Q: "Home office (werkruimte)?"
Options: [
"Separate room with own entrance -- qualifies as zelfstandige werkruimte",
"Dedicated room, no separate entrance, but I earn >70% of income there",
"Dedicated room, but I earn <70% of income there or also use it privately",
"Separate business premises (not at home)",
"No fixed workspace"
]
If option 1 -> qualifies as zelfstandige werkruimte. Ask for percentage of home floor area. Deduction for proportional huur/hypotheekrente/eigenwoningforfait/gas/elektra/water. If option 2 -> qualifies if >70% income earned there AND >30% total income comes from this workspace. Ask for floor area percentage. T2 flag for reviewer. If option 3 -> does not qualify as zelfstandige werkruimte. No home office deduction under Dutch rules. If option 4 -> rent already captured in business expenses. No home office calculation needed. If option 5 -> skip werkruimte entirely.
Call ask_user_input_v0 with:
Q: "Do you want to reserve FOR (fiscale oudedagsreserve) for 2025?"
Options: [
"Yes, maximum allowed",
"Yes, specific amount (I'll tell you)",
"No",
"What is FOR?"
]
If "What is FOR?" -> "FOR lets you reserve up to 9.44% of your winst (max EUR 9,632 in 2025) as a tax-deductible pension reserve. It defers tax, not eliminates it -- you pay tax when you convert it to a lijfrente or at age 67. The maximum applies only if you meet the urencriterium and are under AOW age."
Flag all private-use percentages as T2 -- belastingadviseur must confirm the percentage is reasonable and documented.
Once gap-filling is done, produce a final handoff message and hand off to nl-return-assembly.
Example handoff message:
Intake complete. Here's what's going to the return assembly:
ZZP/eenmanszaak, single, regular BTW registration, full-year Netherlands resident. Omzet EUR 68,000, estimated winst ~EUR 52,000 before ondernemersaftrek.
I'm now going to run the full Netherlands return preparation. This covers:
- BTW-aangifte (Q4 2025 or suppletie)
- Aangifte inkomstenbelasting (IB) -- Box 1 (winst, eigen woning), Box 3 (vermogen)
- ZVW (zorgverzekeringswet) bijdrage reconciliation
- Voorlopige aanslag 2026 recommendation
You'll get back:
- An Excel working paper with all forms and live formulas
- A reviewer brief with positions, citations, and flags for your belastingadviseur
- A filing calendar with all upcoming deadlines
Starting now.
Then internally invoke nl-return-assembly with the structured intake package.
The downstream skill (nl-return-assembly) consumes a JSON structure. It is internal and not shown to the user unless they ask. Key fields:
{
"jurisdiction": "NL",
"tax_year": 2025,
"taxpayer": {
"name": "",
"bsn": "",
"birth_year": 0,
"marital_status": "single | married | registered_partner | fiscal_partner",
"residency": "full_year",
"kvk_nummer": "",
"btw_nummer": "",
"btw_registration_type": "regular | kor | unregistered",
"employment_status": "self_employed | employed_plus_side",
"industry": "",
"entity_type": "eenmanszaak"
},
"income": {
"omzet_ex_btw": 0,
"btw_collected": 0,
"employment_income": 0,
"loonheffing_withheld": 0,
"other_income": 0,
"client_breakdown": []
},
"expenses": {
"fully_deductible": [],
"mixed_use": [],
"blocked": [],
"capital_items": [],
"representatiekosten": 0
},
"ondernemersaftrek": {
"urencriterium_met": true,
"zelfstandigenaftrek": 0,
"startersaftrek_eligible": false,
"startersaftrek": 0,
"mkb_winstvrijstelling_pct": 13.31,
"for_dotatie": 0
},
"btw": {
"filing_frequency": "quarterly | monthly",
"returns_filed": [],
"voorbelasting_reclaimable": 0,
"icp_leveringen": 0,
"icp_diensten": 0,
"suppletie_required": false
},
"eigen_woning": {
"woz_waarde": 0,
"eigenwoningforfait": 0,
"hypotheekrente": 0,
"eigen_woning_aftrek": 0
},
"box3": {
"peildatum_1jan_2025": {
"bank_en_spaartegoeden": 0,
"beleggingen": 0,
"overige_bezittingen": 0,
"schulden": 0
},
"peildatum_1jan_2026": {
"bank_en_spaartegoeden": 0,
"beleggingen": 0,
"overige_bezittingen": 0,
"schulden": 0
},
"heffingsvrij_vermogen": 0
},
"voorlopige_aanslag": {
"ib_paid": 0,
"zvw_paid": 0
},
"prior_year": {
"winst_uit_onderneming": 0,
"belastbaar_inkomen_box1": 0,
"capital_allowances_schedule": []
},
"werkruimte": {
"qualifies": false,
"type": "zelfstandige_werkruimte | none",
"percentage": 0
},
"private_use": {
"auto_zakelijk_pct": 0,
"telefoon_zakelijk_pct": 0,
"internet_zakelijk_pct": 0
},
"fiscal_partner": {
"has_partner": false,
"partner_income": 0,
"allocation_preferences": {}
},
"open_flags": [],
"refusals_triggered": [],
"documents_received": []
}
Refusals fire from either the refusal sweep (Section 2) or during inference (e.g., BV structure discovered in documents).
When a refusal fires:
Do not:
Apologize profusely
Try to work around the refusal
Suggest the user "might be able to" fit into scope if they answer differently
Continue silently
R-NL-1 -- BV with employees > 5 — Stop -- you have a BV with more than 5 employees. I'm set up for ZZP/eenmanszaak sole proprietors only. BVs with employees involve vennootschapsbelasting, loonbelasting, and werknemersverzekeringen. You need a belastingadviseur familiar with BV/werkgever returns. (Section 9 -- Refusal handling)
R-NL-2 -- Holding structures — Stop -- you have a holding/werkmaatschappij structure. Multi-entity structures involve intercompany transactions, fiscal unity (fiscale eenheid), and participation exemption (deelnemingsvrijstelling). You need a belastingadviseur who specialises in holding structures. (Section 9 -- Refusal handling)
R-NL-3 -- International payroll — Stop -- you have international payroll obligations. Cross-border employment involves 30% ruling, social security coordination (A1 detachering), and tax treaties. You need a belastingadviseur with international expertise. (Section 9 -- Refusal handling)
Stop -- you have a registered BV. I'm set up for ZZP/eenmanszaak sole proprietors only. BVs file vennootschapsbelasting returns with different rules for DGA-salaris, dividendbelasting, and Box 2 income. You need a belastingadviseur familiar with BV returns.
I can't help with this one.
Check IN1 -- No one-question-at-a-time prose in the refusal sweep. If the skill asked "Question 1 of 10" or walked through questions as separate messages, check fails.
Check IN2 -- Refusal sweep used ask_user_input_v0. The first substantive interaction used the interactive tool, not prose questions.
Check IN3 -- Upload-first flow honoured. After refusal sweep, the skill asked for a document dump before asking any content questions.
Check IN4 -- Documents were parsed and inferred before asking questions. The inference summary (Section 5) was shown before gap-filling questions (Section 6).
Check IN5 -- Gap-filling only asked about things NOT visible in documents. If the skill asked "did you pay BTW" after the bank statement showed Belastingdienst payments, check fails.
Check IN6 -- Open flags captured. Anything ambiguous, risky, or attention-worthy during inference is in the open_flags list in the handoff package.
Check IN7 -- Handoff to nl-return-assembly is explicit. The user was told "I'm now going to run the return preparation," and the downstream orchestrator was explicitly invoked with the intake package.
Check IN8 -- Reviewer step was stated upfront and reiterated before handoff. The opening message mentioned belastingadviseur signoff.
Check IN9 -- Refusals were clean. No hedging. Stop means stop.
Check IN10 -- No meta-commentary about workflow phases. The skill did not say "Phase 1," "Phase 2," etc.
Check IN11 -- Total user-facing turn count is low. Target: 8 turns or fewer from start to handoff for a prepared user (1 refusal batch + 1 upload + 1 confirmation + 1-3 gap fills + 1 handoff). More than 12 turns for a normal intake is a check failure.
Check IN12 -- BTW registration type was established. Regular vs KOR was confirmed before inference, as it changes how every transaction is classified.
For a prepared user (documents in a folder, ready to upload):
For an unprepared user (has to go fetch documents):
Inputs: User-provided documents and answers.
Outputs: Structured intake package consumed by nl-return-assembly.
Downstream skills triggered (via nl-return-assembly):
nl-btw-return -- BTW-aangifte (quarterly/monthly or KOR annual)nl-income-tax -- Aangifte inkomstenbelasting (Box 1/2/3)nl-zvw -- Zorgverzekeringswet bijdrage reconciliationThis skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional (such as a CPA, EA, tax attorney, or equivalent licensed practitioner in your jurisdiction) before filing or acting upon.
The most up-to-date, verified version of this skill is maintained at openaccountants.com. Log in to access the latest version, request a professional review from a licensed accountant, and track updates as tax law changes.
This skill is a tool, not an engagement. Every taxpayer's situation is different, and the rules in the skill may not match your specific facts.
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Other Netherlands computations in the OpenAccountants Tax Library.
Rendered from the facts database. General reference only — confirm with a qualified professional before acting.
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