Invoice € 90.000 in revenue with € 6.000 in business costs, and after zelfstandigenaftrek, the MKB-winstvrijstelling, Box 1 tax, and Zvw, a ZZP'er clearing the urencriterium nets roughly € 4.802/month (€ 57.625/year). Enter your own annual revenue and costs below to see your real net profit.
Rates verified How we check rates
Zelfstandigenaftrek
€ 1.200
2026, needs urencriterium
Startersaftrek
€ 2.123
max 3 of first 5 years
MKB-winstvrijstelling
12.70%
on profit after aftrek
Urencriterium
1,225 hrs
per year, required
Required to claim zelfstandigenaftrek and startersaftrek.
Adds startersaftrek on top of zelfstandigenaftrek.
Common revenue levels:
Net profit after Box 1 tax
€50,502
Per month
€4,209
Effective tax rate on revenue
24.4%
Profit before costs deducted
€70,000
How your €70,000 profit is split
€50,502
72.1%
€16,585
23.7%
€2,913
4.2%
| Revenue (omzet) | €80,000 |
| Business costs | -€10,000 |
| Profit before deductions (winst) | €70,000 |
| Zelfstandigenaftrek | -€1,200 |
| Profit after ondernemersaftrek | €68,800 |
| MKB-winstvrijstelling (12.7%) | -€8,738 |
| Taxable profit (Box 1) | €60,062 |
| Income tax payable | -€16,585 |
| Zvw contribution (4.9%, capped at €79,409) | -€2,913 |
| Net profit | €50,502 |
Uses 2026 zelfstandigenaftrek (€1,200), startersaftrek (€2,123, max 3 of 5 years), MKB-winstvrijstelling (12.7%), 2026 Box 1 bands (35.75% / 37.56% / 49.50%), and the 2026 self-employed Zvw rate (4.9%, capped at €79,409 of contribution income). Zvw is approximated on taxable profit after all three deductions, the same base Box 1 tax uses; actual assessed bijdrage-inkomen can differ slightly in edge cases. Includes the 2026 general tax credit and labour tax credit (arbeidskorting, based on profit before deductions). Does not model retirement reserves (oudedagsreserve), VAT/BTW, or KVK registration costs. Business costs are assumed fully deductible; not all costs qualify at 100%. For precise advice consult a Dutch tax adviser, your boekhouder, or the Belastingdienst.
Each row assumes € 6.000 of business costs, the urencriterium met, and no startersaftrek. "Tax + Zvw" is Box 1 income tax plus the self-employed Zvw contribution; the last column is that total as a share of revenue.
| Revenue | Taxable profit | Tax + Zvw | Net per month | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| € 40.000 | € 28.634 | € 3.052 | € 2.579 | 7.6% |
| € 60.000 | € 46.094 | € 11.639 | € 3.530 | 19.4% |
| € 90.000 | € 72.284 | € 26.375 | € 4.802 | 29.3% |
| € 120.000 | € 98.474 | € 41.297 | € 6.059 | 34.4% |
| € 160.000 | € 133.394 | € 59.814 | € 7.849 | 37.4% |
The urencriterium used to be the single most valuable box a ZZP'er could tick. Clear 1,225 hours in your business and you qualified for a zelfstandigenaftrek worth several thousand euros of deduction. In 2026 that deduction is just € 1.200, so for an established freelancer the hours test is now worth a few hundred euros a year, not thousands.
Starters are different. In your first years the urencriterium also qualifies you for the € 2.123 startersaftrek, which roughly triples what the hours are worth. That's the case where logging your hours carefully still pays.
| Revenue | Net/month, hours met | Net/month, hours missed | Hours worth / year | Worth as a starter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| € 40.000 | € 2.579 | € 2.544 | € 425 | € 1.178 |
| € 60.000 | € 3.530 | € 3.487 | € 511 | € 1.416 |
| € 90.000 | € 4.802 | € 4.760 | € 511 | € 1.416 |
| € 120.000 | € 6.059 | € 6.015 | € 519 | € 1.436 |
| € 160.000 | € 7.849 | € 7.806 | € 519 | € 1.436 |
A ZZP'er's tax bill starts from a completely different base than an employee's. Revenue minus real business costs gives you profit, and only then does the Belastingdienst's stack of self-employment deductions kick in, each one applied in a specific order before Box 1 tax ever touches the remainder.
First comes the zelfstandigenaftrek, a flat deduction available only if you clear the urencriterium, at least 1,225 hours a year genuinely working in your business. It has been shrinking hard by design for several years running, from well over €7,000 earlier in the decade down to just €1,200 for 2026, part of a deliberate policy push to narrow the tax gap between employees and the self-employed. If you're within your first 5 years as an entrepreneur, the startersaftrek adds a further fixed amount on top, for up to 3 of those years, though it disappears entirely from 2027.
After both aftrek amounts are subtracted, the MKB-winstvrijstelling applies automatically, a flat percentage exemption on whatever profit remains, available to every qualifying entrepreneur regardless of whether they clear the urencriterium. Only what's left after all three steps counts as taxable profit, run through the same Box 1 bands an employee's salary would face.
On top of Box 1 tax, this calculator also applies Zvw, the health insurance contribution self-employed people pay as a percentage of profit via their tax return rather than through payroll withholding: 4.85% for 2026, capped at €79,409 of contribution income. It's a real, mandatory annual cost, separate from your own private zorgverzekering premium, which you still need to budget for on top.
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Less than an employee on the same gross, but more than most people expect once Zvw is added. With € 6.000 of costs and the urencriterium met, about 19.4% of € 60.000 revenue goes to Box 1 tax and Zvw, rising to 34.4% at € 120.000. That leaves roughly € 3.530 and € 6.059 a month respectively. The table above shows five revenue levels.
€ 1.200 for 2026, provided you clear the 1,225-hour urencriterium. This has been shrinking sharply for several years by legislative design, part of a multi-year phase-down intended to narrow the tax gap between employees and the self-employed. It was €2,470 in 2025 and well over €7,000 earlier in the decade, so if you're using an older article or spreadsheet, it's almost certainly out of date.
An extra € 2.123 on top of the zelfstandigenaftrek, available for at most 3 of your first 5 years as a self-employed entrepreneur, provided you also clear the urencriterium. It's worth noting the startersaftrek itself is scheduled for abolition from 1 January 2027 with no transitional arrangement, so 2026 is the last full year new and existing starters can claim it.
The urencriterium requires at least 1,225 hours a year working in your business (roughly 24 hours a week averaged across the year), and that has to be the majority of your total working time if you also do other paid work. Miss it, and you lose both the zelfstandigenaftrek and startersaftrek entirely, no partial credit. With the zelfstandigenaftrek down to € 1.200, that now costs a non-starter only about € 511 a year at € 90.000 revenue; for a starter it's € 1.416. The MKB-winstvrijstelling still applies regardless, since it doesn't require the hours test.
It's a flat 12.70% reduction applied to your profit after the zelfstandigenaftrek and startersaftrek have already been subtracted, not to your raw revenue or gross profit. On € 90.000 revenue and € 6.000 costs, that leaves a taxable profit of roughly € 72.284, netting about € 4.802/month (€ 57.625/year). Every qualifying entrepreneur gets it automatically via the tax return, regardless of whether they clear the urencriterium.
The Box 1 income tax bands are identical (35.75% up to €38,883, 37.56% up to €78,426, 49.50% above), but the path to taxable income is completely different. Employees are taxed on gross salary directly; ZZP'ers first deduct business costs, then the zelfstandigenaftrek/startersaftrek, then the MKB-winstvrijstelling, and only the remainder is taxed. On modest profit levels those deductions can meaningfully lower your effective tax rate compared to an employee earning the same gross figure.
No. Through an umbrella or payroll company you're employed by that company, so wage tax is withheld through payroll like any employee's, and the self-employed deductions (zelfstandigenaftrek, startersaftrek and MKB-winstvrijstelling) don't apply. You also pay the umbrella's fee out of your rate. To compare the two routes, run the same money through this calculator and through our Netherlands salary calculator.
Yes. Self-employed people pay Zvw (Zorgverzekeringswet) contributions as a percentage of profit up to a cap, settled via the tax return rather than withheld automatically. This calculator applies the confirmed 2026 self-employed rate, 4.85%, capped at €79,409 of contribution income (a maximum Zvw bill of €3,851.34/year), calculated on your taxable profit after the zelfstandigenaftrek, startersaftrek, and MKB-winstvrijstelling have already been applied. It doesn't cover your separate, private zorgverzekering premium, which is a different cost you still need to budget for.
It uses the confirmed 2026 zelfstandigenaftrek (€1,200), startersaftrek (€2,123), MKB-winstvrijstelling (12.70%), Box 1 tax bands, and the self-employed Zvw rate (4.85%, capped at €79,409). It includes the 2026 general tax credit and the labour tax credit (arbeidskorting, based on profit before deductions). It doesn't model VAT/BTW, KVK registration costs, or the oudedagsreserve (retirement reserve). For your exact filing figures, use your boekhouder or the Belastingdienst's own tools.
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