Dutch enforcement of employment relationships resumed on 1 January 2025. Since 1 January 2026, false self-employment can also lead to vergrijpboetes. From 31 December 2026, rates below €38 per hour can trigger a rebuttable employment presumption when the freelancer invokes it. This is not a general minimum freelance rate.
Why this matters
A KVK registration does not settle whether an assignment is independent. Your agreement, daily work and business around it all count. A project can slip into fixed hours and daily instructions. A tight rate leaves little room for admin, finding clients, illness or a late payment. Keep offers, changes, hours, invoices and payment dates. They show how the job really runs. Business records generally stay for at least seven years.
Example
Your proposal covers one clear project. Two months later, the client expects fixed hours, daily approval and ongoing availability. Your invoice still shows your business name. Yet your week starts to look like an internal role. Then payment arrives late. Your bank app shows a healthy balance, but part belongs in your VAT pocket. A low rate leaves little buffer. No single detail decides the legal position. The whole pattern matters.
XTROVERSO tips
- Put the proposal beside this week. Compare the original scope with your actual week. Save fixed hours, new approval steps, required methods and requests for extra availability.
- Price the work nobody sees. Your rate needs room for admin, finding clients, preparation, holidays, illness and late payment. It must support your business, not only billed hours.
- Keep one file per assignment. Keep the offer, scope, changes, key messages, hours, invoices and payment status together. You should not need memory to explain the job.
- Do not treat turnover as cash. An invoice sent is not money in the bank. Keep VAT and income-tax reserves apart from cash for tools, software and everyday costs.
- Make one-client risk visible. Track revenue and unpaid invoices by client. One client is not automatically false self-employment. One late payer can still take over your month.
- Check KOR against your plans. KOR can simplify VAT for qualifying businesses. You cannot reclaim VAT on costs or investments, so factor in planned purchases and growth.
Want a clean view of your assignment, rate and tax pockets before a small shift becomes expensive?
The data, sourcing, and analysis behind this article were conducted by Paolo Maria Pavan. AI was not used to identify sources, build the factual basis, or produce the analytical judgment contained here. AI was used only as a drafting aid. The final English text was personally reviewed, edited, and approved by Paolo Maria Pavan before publication.
References
- KVK — Zzp’er worden: 7 belangrijke stappen
- KVK — Moet ik mijn bedrijf inschrijven bij KVK?
- Belastingdienst — Handhaving arbeidsrelaties
- Rechtspraak — ECLI:NL:HR:2025:319
- Ondernemersplein — Laag uurtarief kan leiden tot arbeidsovereenkomst
- Belastingdienst — Ondernemer voor de inkomstenbelasting
- Belastingdienst — Administratie bijhouden
- Belastingdienst — Voorwaarden voor de KOR
