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If you work as a freelancer (zzp’er) in the Netherlands, your main tax deduction shrinks again on 1 January 2027. The self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek) goes from €1,200 to €900, the government business portal Ondernemersplein (Business.gov.nl in English) reports. This is already law: it is the last step of a reduction that was passed earlier, so it no longer depends on a vote.
The deduction was €2,470 in 2025 and €1,200 in 2026. The rules for getting it stay the same: you must count as an entrepreneur for income tax and spend at least 1,225 hours a year on your business (the urencriterium).
A second cut is on the way for people who recently started. The starters deduction (startersaftrek), which you get on top of the self-employed deduction in your first years, is set to fall from €2,123 to €10 on 1 January 2027 and to disappear on 1 January 2028. That one is still a proposal in the Belastingplan 2027: both houses of parliament still have to vote, and it can change. According to Ondernemersplein there is no transitional rule for people who already started their business.
What does this mean for you?
An established freelancer who meets the hours test deducts €300 less in 2027, so taxable profit goes up by €300.
For a starter the difference is bigger. In 2026 you deduct €3,323 in total (€1,200 plus €2,123). In 2027 that becomes €910 (€900 plus €10) if the proposal passes, so your taxable profit can be up to €2,413 higher. What that costs in euros depends on your profit and tax bracket; the SME profit exemption (mkb-winstvrijstelling) takes off part of it.
Ondernemersplein also warns about benefits: lower deductions raise your aggregate income (verzamelinkomen). If you receive healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag) or another benefit, your advance may be too high.
What can you do now?
- Check how the deductions work for you in our freelancer tax guide and keep a record of your hours, so you can show you meet the 1,225-hour test.
- Put money aside for the higher 2027 tax bill. A separate business bank account makes it easier to keep tax money apart from what you can spend.
- Receive a benefit? Update your expected 2027 income in Mijn toeslagen on time to avoid paying back later.
- Also check the other change for freelancers: the €38 hourly rate rule from 31 December.