The Dutch 2027 Tax Plan: what changes for freelancers
Updated on 21 October 2026 · 7 min read
On Budget Day the Dutch government submitted the 2027 Tax Plan. For freelancers with a sole proprietorship a lot changes: the self-employed deduction drops, the starter deduction almost disappears and the rates in the first two brackets go up. What is settled, what is still a proposal and roughly what it costs, as of 19 October 2026. Note up front: this is a general explanation, not personal tax advice.
Where the Tax Plan stands
The 2027 Tax Plan (Belastingplan 2027, parliamentary file 37022) was submitted to the House of Representatives on Budget Day, 15 September 2026. It is part of a package of four bills. None of it has been passed yet.
- House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer): according to the schedule of the Finance committee, the House votes on the package on Thursday 12 November 2026. Until then, MPs can still change the bill with amendments.
- Senate (Eerste Kamer): after that, in December.
The plans are only final once both houses have agreed. The government has already amended the bill itself: a second memorandum of amendment on 9 October raised, among other things, the threshold for the top rate compared with Budget Day.
Not everything in this article comes from the Tax Plan itself. The lower self-employed deduction is already law, the discontinuation relief and co-working partner deduction are in a separate bill from the same package, and the healthcare contribution is set separately.
The overview
| Item | 2026 | 2027 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed deduction | € 1,200 | € 900 | Already law |
| Hours criterion | 1,225 hours | 1,225 hours | Unchanged |
| Starter deduction | € 2,123 | € 10, abolished in 2028 | Proposal |
| Discontinuation relief | € 3,630 | € 908 | Proposal |
| Co-working partner deduction | 1.25% to 4% of profit | 0.313% to 1% | Proposal |
| First bracket | 35.75% up to € 38,883 | 36.23% up to € 39,247 | Proposal |
| Second bracket | 37.56% up to € 78,426 | 38.16% up to € 80,578 | Proposal |
| Top rate | 49.50% | 49.50% | Unchanged |
| SME profit exemption | 12.70% | 12.70% | Unchanged |
| Healthcare contribution, self-employed | 4.85% | 5.02% | Estimate, not yet set |
| Mileage deduction, own vehicle | € 0.25 | € 0.25 | Already applies, becomes law |
The rates apply if you have not yet reached state pension (AOW) age.
Self-employed deduction: from € 1,200 to € 900
The self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek) has been cut step by step for years. That it is € 900 in 2027 is already written into the Income Tax Act; the Tax Plan does not change it. You qualify if you meet the hours criterion (urencriterium): at least 1,225 hours a year on your business. That requirement stays the same.
What does € 300 less deduction cost? The deduction comes off your profit before the SME profit exemption. So your taxable profit rises by € 300 × 87.3% = € 262. In the second bracket (38.16% in 2027) that is roughly € 100 a year.
Starter deduction: almost gone
The government proposes to cut the starter deduction (startersaftrek) from € 2,123 to € 10 on 1 January 2027 and to abolish it entirely on 1 January 2028. There is no transitional arrangement: if you started in 2025 or 2026, you also get only € 10 in 2027. You can still use it in full for 2026. If you have just started, this has a big impact: according to the government's own calculation, a starter pays up to just over € 900 more in tax and Zvw contribution in 2027, depending on profit.
Discontinuation relief and co-working partner deduction
These two are in a separate bill, the Start-up and Scale-up Tax Incentive Act (Wet fiscale stimulering start-ups en scale-ups, file 37024). The revenue pays for a new scheme for employee stock options at start-ups.
- Discontinuation relief (stakingsaftrek): when you stop your business, this comes off your profit on cessation. Proposal: from € 3,630 to € 908.
- Co-working partner deduction (meewerkaftrek): if your partner works in the business unpaid for at least 525 hours a year, you currently deduct 1.25% to 4% of your profit. Proposal: those percentages drop by 75%, to 0.313% to 1%.
The government wants the cut to start on 1 January 2027 and to abolish both schemes three years later, in 2030. The exact date will be set by royal decree.
Box 1 rates in 2027
The proposal:
- first bracket: 36.23% up to € 39,247 (2026: 35.75% up to € 38,883);
- second bracket: 38.16% up to € 80,578 (2026: 37.56% up to € 78,426);
- third bracket: 49.50% above that, unchanged.
The first two rates go up to pay for compensating healthcare premiums announced in the spring budget. On Budget Day the government wanted to freeze the top rate threshold at € 78,426. The second memorandum of amendment of 9 October reversed that: the threshold becomes € 80,578. In return the employed person's tax credit (arbeidskorting) rises less than planned, by € 133 instead of € 173. The maximum credit becomes € 5,889 (2026: € 5,685).
SME profit exemption stays at 12.70%
After the entrepreneur deductions, 12.70% of your profit comes off your taxable profit. This SME profit exemption (mkb-winstvrijstelling) does not change in 2027.
Healthcare contribution: 5.02%
As a freelancer you pay the income-related healthcare contribution (inkomensafhankelijke bijdrage Zvw) yourself, through an assessment from the Tax Administration. The 2027 budget of the Ministry of Health uses 5.02% (2026: 4.85%). The rate is set separately from the Tax Plan and is not final yet. Per € 10,000 of contribution income, 0.17 percentage points is € 17 a year extra. How the contribution works is explained in health insurance as a freelancer.
Mileage deduction: € 0.25, already for 2026
If you use your own car, motorbike or bicycle for business, you deduct a fixed amount per business kilometre from your profit. According to the Tax Administration this is already € 0.25 for 2026 (2025: € 0.23). The increase came through a policy decree of 17 May 2026, backdated to 1 January 2026, after fuel prices rose. The Tax Plan writes the amount into law permanently, so it stays € 0.25 in 2027. You do not deduct fuel, insurance or parking separately on top of it. You do need to be able to prove your business kilometres with a trip log.
Box 3: nothing settled yet
If you have private savings or investments, the tax-free allowance (heffingsvrij vermogen) in 2026 is € 59,357 per person. On 29 September the government proposed lowering it to € 30,846 in 2027 and raising the deemed return on investments. That would go into a separate amendment to the Box 3 Actual Return Act (Wet werkelijk rendement box 3), which is still with the Council of State. A motion to scrap the cut got 71 votes on 6 October, just short of a majority. Whether it goes ahead in this form is still uncertain. Taxing actual returns remains the goal for 2028, but that bill is also still with the Senate.
Worked example: € 50,000 profit
A freelancer without the starter deduction makes € 50,000 profit in 2026 and in 2027. This example looks only at the lower self-employed deduction and the new rates.
| Step | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Profit | € 50,000 | € 50,000 |
| Minus self-employed deduction | € 1,200 | € 900 |
| Profit after deduction | € 48,800 | € 49,100 |
| Minus SME profit exemption (12.7%) | € 6,198 | € 6,236 |
| Taxable profit | € 42,602 | € 42,864 |
| First bracket | 35.75% × € 38,883 = € 13,901 | 36.23% × € 39,247 = € 14,219 |
| Second bracket | 37.56% × € 3,719 = € 1,397 | 38.16% × € 3,617 = € 1,380 |
| Tax before tax credits | € 15,298 | € 15,599 |
The difference is roughly € 300 a year. About € 100 of that comes from the lower self-employed deduction, about € 200 from the higher rates.
Two things are not in this sum. The tax credits also rise in 2027, so the net difference is smaller. Exactly how much depends on amounts that are only fixed once the 2027 minimum wage is known in November. And the healthcare contribution goes up: at this profit by roughly € 85 a year.
What you can do now
- Have your 2027 provisional assessment adjusted (voorlopige aanslag) once you have it and your profit turns out different from the Tax Administration's estimate. That way you pay in instalments what you actually owe. How that works is in the provisional assessment for freelancers.
- Set aside a little more. At € 50,000 profit it is roughly € 30 a month extra before tax credits. A rule of thumb for the total is in how much tax to set aside.
- Started in 2025 or 2026? Plan 2027 without the starter deduction.
- Use the € 0.25 for your business kilometres in your 2026 tax return.
Finq's calculators use the 2026 figures. The tax reserve calculator shows what to set aside on your profit so far.
This article will be updated once both houses of parliament have voted on the 2027 Tax Plan.
This article describes bills as they stood before the House of Representatives on 19 October 2026. Their content can still change. It is a general explanation, not personal tax advice.
Sources: House of Representatives, 2027 Tax Plan (file 37022: explanatory memorandum, second memorandum of amendment and memorandum in response to the report of 9 October 2026) and decision list of the Finance committee of 24 September 2026; Start-up and Scale-up Tax Incentive Act bill (37024); Dutch government, news release on the 2027 Tax Plan (15 September 2026); Ministry of Health budget 2027, table 77; Dutch Tax Administration, business use of a private vehicle 2026 and tax-free allowance; wetten.overheid.nl, Income Tax Act 2001 article 3.76 (2027 version). Checked on 19 October 2026.