False self-employment (schijnzelfstandigheid) among entrepreneurs has been getting more attention for quite a while now, and the government has decided to enforce the rules more strictly again in 2025. Maybe you have been working as a freelancer (self-employed professional) for years, or you run a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) with a handful of regular clients. But what if the Tax Authority (Belastingdienst) suddenly decides that you are not really self-employed? That can have major consequences for you and your clients. So it is worth looking into this before the new year starts, but the guidelines are rather vague, which leaves many self-employed people feeling uncertain. Where exactly is the line between being an employee and being a freelancer?
False self-employment: what is it exactly?
Many people may not give it much thought, but being self-employed means more than just having your own business. False self-employment occurs when someone officially works as a self-employed person but in reality functions as an ‘ordinary’ employee. Say you have been working full-time for one client for a long time, with fixed hours, under direct supervision, and doing basically everything an employee would do. In that situation, the Tax Authority can classify you as falsely self-employed.
With this, the government wants to stop companies from replacing employees with self-employed workers to cut costs. As a self-employed person you can benefit from tax advantages, but you also have less security and no social protection, and the government wants to level that out using the DBA Act (Wet DBA).
The DBA Act (Deregulering Beoordeling Arbeidsrelaties, or Deregulation of the Assessment of Employment Relationships) was introduced in 2016 to clearly establish the relationship between clients and self-employed workers. The act offers model agreements you can use to record how you work together. The aim is that these guidelines let you show that you genuinely work as a self-employed person. If you do not meet them, there is an employment relationship. The Tax Authority always checked for this, but from 2025 it may also impose fines and additional tax assessments.
Tip: Make sure you draw up your agreements carefully and, if possible, have several clients. This helps you show the Tax Authority that you really are self-employed.
Assessing employment relationships: what does the Tax Authority look at?
To determine the relationship, the main things considered are the relationship of authority between you and your client, the way you work within the organisation and your entrepreneurship in general. For example, are you managed by a supervisor? Are you a permanent part of the team? Do you have several clients, do you bear risk and do you decide for yourself how you carry out your work? In other words: do you function as an employee or as a self-employed person?
From 2025, the Tax Authority will check this on the basis of the work actually carried out. This means it is assessed afterwards whether the assignment was really carried out on a self-employed basis. So use the DBA Act model agreements as a guideline and make sure the work you do is also in line with that agreement.
The Clarification of the Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption Act
In theory, the DBA Act looks like a good guideline, but in practice things go less smoothly. Many entrepreneurs and clients still find the dividing line between employment and self-employment unclear. That is why a new bill has been put forward: the Clarification of the Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption Act (Wet ter Verduidelijking Beoordeling Arbeidsrelaties en Rechtsvermoeden, or VBAR). This act should bring more clarity when determining employment relationships. However, its content has not been finalised yet and it will be a while before it is implemented.
The future of entrepreneurship
The upcoming changes give self-employed people the chance to run their business on a stronger and more secure footing. With clear guidelines, you will soon know exactly where you stand. The government also has plans to introduce mandatory disability insurance (AOV) and a pension scheme, so that as a self-employed person you build up more financial resilience for the future. In the long run, this should bring more peace of mind and stability. The ultimate goal is to protect entrepreneurs and offer more security in as many areas as possible.