Year-end closing for freelancers: the December checklist

December is the busiest month to also sort out your records, and yet this is the moment. A few hours before New Year's Eve saves you days of searching when you file in spring. Here is the checklist, from invoices to odometer reading.

1. Invoice everything that is finished

Send out finished work in December. It avoids discussion about which year the revenue belongs to, and your client can still pay this year.

2. Chase outstanding invoices

Check what is still unpaid and send a reminder before the holidays; in January everyone has forgotten. For invoices that have been open for months, step it up; see the guide on unpaid invoices.

3. Complete your expenses

Collect the receipts still floating around your inbox and download folder, and remember the easily forgotten ones: phone, software, insurance, business kilometres in your private car. See the guide on deductible business expenses. Every missing receipt is profit you pay tax on unnecessarily.

4. Note your odometer reading on 31 December

One photo of your dashboard on New Year's Eve. You need the year-end reading for your mileage log, and you cannot reconstruct it afterwards.

5. Stock and work in progress

If you sell products, count your stock on 31 December; it counts towards your profit. On long-running projects, note what is done but not yet invoiced. For most service providers this takes five minutes or does not apply.

6. Plan your investments

About to buy a laptop or machine? Check whether December or January works out better. If your investments in one year exceed the threshold, the small-scale investment deduction (KIA) gives extra relief; moving a planned purchase forward or back can get you over that threshold. Current figures are on belastingdienst.nl.

7. Hours administration in order

For the self-employed deduction you must plausibly show you meet the 1,225-hour criterion, counting all hours for your business, including admin and acquisition. Update your log now, while you still remember. A year reconstructed in March convinces no one.

8. Reserve for income tax

The assessment arrives after you file, but the money has to be there. A rule of thumb is to set aside about a third of your profit for income tax and the healthcare contribution combined. The full calculation is in the guide on the income tax return, and the tax reserve calculator runs it for your numbers.

In Finq

Most of it is already there: outstanding invoices on your dashboard, receipts scanned with your phone, hours and mileage collected all year, and reports showing your profit so far. Year-end closing becomes a check, not a search.