Reduce your taxes through deductibles

Deductions and legal structure

The schemes you can use depend on the legal structure of your business. Do you own an eenmanszaak (sole proprietorship), vennootschap onder firma (general partnership, VOF), or commanditaire vennootschap (limited partnership, CV)? Then you can use the entrepreneur allowance (ondernemersaftrek) and the SME profit exemption (mkb-winstvrijstelling).

Some other schemes, such as the investment credit (investeringsaftrek), also apply to businesses that pay corporate income tax, such as a private limited company (BV).

Tax schemes do not all work in the same way. You deduct costs from your turnover to work out your profit. You apply other schemes after you have worked out your profit, such as the entrepreneur allowance and the SME profit exemption.
If you are unsure whether you are eligible to use a scheme, seek advice from a tax adviser.

Things to consider in advance:

• If anything has changed in your personal situation, you should check the pre-completed tax return and complete this where necessary. 

• If you filed a loss last year, you may be eligible for a tax refund. The Netherlands Tax Administration deduct (in Dutch) your loss from your profits for the 3 previous years, starting with the oldest year. 

• Averaging (middeling, in Dutch, might save you money. The averaging scheme has been abolished. The final period for which you can submit a request covers the years 2022 to 2024 inclusive. Once the final tax assessment for the last averaging year has been determined, you still have 36 months to submit a request.
• How much tax you ultimately pay also depends on the tax rates that apply to you. View the current 2026 tax rates. Use the income tax calculator to work out the figures for your situation.

Income Tax Return checklist 

Prepare to submit your efficiently. You will be ready to do so after conducting 6 checks. 

Using the entrepreneur allowance 

The entrepreneur allowance is an amount that you deduct from your profit. This means you pay tax on a lower amount. Check whether you are eligible for the entrepreneur allowance.

The entrepreneur allowance may consist of: 

• Private business ownership allowance (zelfstandigenaftrek): annual deduction of a fixed amount 

• Working partner's abatement (meewerkaftrek): deduction for unpaid co-working performed by tax partner 

• Tax relief for new companies (startersaftrek): additional deduction of a fixed amount in 3 of the first 5 years of the business 

• Tax relief for new companies in case of occupational disability (startersaftrek bij arbeidsongeschiktheid): fixed amount for reduced hours criterion 

• Discontinuation relief (stakingsaftrek): deduction of a fixed amount if you are disbanding your business 

• R&D tax credit (WBSO): deduction for investigative and developmental work in innovation 

For most business owners, the zelfstandigenaftrek, startersaftrek and the meewerkaftrek are relevant. Which parts of the entrepreneur's allowance you can claim depend on your circumstances and whether you meet the conditions set by the Netherlands Tax Administration.

To be eligible for the entrepreneur allowance:

• You must be considered a business for the purpose of income tax. Use the Ondernemerscheck (Belastingdienst, in Dutch) to check this.
• You have to meet the hours criterion of at least 1,225 hours per year spent working on your business.  

SME profit exemption  

Thanks to to the SME profit exemption, a percentage of your profit is exempt from income tax. In 2026, this is 12.7%. You must first subtract the entrepreneur allowance from your profit.

As an SME or self-employed professional, you are automatically entitled to the SME profit allowance if you are registered as an entrepreneur for income tax purposes and submit a tax return. You do not need to meet the hours criterium to qualify for the SME profit exemption.

Deducting business expenses 

Operating costs reduce your profit and, as a result, often the tax you pay. You are permitted to deduct the expenses you incur for your business as business expenses or professional expenses. There are some expenses you are permitted to deduct over the course of one year, including rent. In some cases, you will need to spread them out over several years, such as the purchase price of a car. That is called amortistion, or depreciation.

Do you have deductible expenses that are both business and personal in nature? In that case, you may only deduct the business portion of the expenses.

Are you following a study or training for your business? Then you may deduct the costs as business expenses if the study, course, or training is closely linked to your business. If you are unsure, check the Netherlands Tax Administration’s rules or ask your adviser.

Applying deductions 

Are you investing in business assets that you will use for more than 1 year? And is the cost higher than €450 per business asset? For example, a car, new computers or machines. Then you must deduct the costs over several years. This is called depreciation, also known as amortisation (afschrijven in Dutch). You divide the costs of the investment over the number of years in which you use the business asset. If you are a starter, you may be eligible for the scheme for random deduction. If you meet the terms and conditions (in Dutch), you can determine when, and how, you depreciate. 

Please note: you cannot depreciate land. If, for example, you purchase commercial premises, you must distinguish between the value of the building and the value of the land.

Tax-friendly investments 

Some investments qualify as tax-friendly because an additional deduction is possibe on top of the depreciation. Please note: these schemes only apply if you are a business owner for the purpose of paying income tax, or if your BV or NV qualifies as a business for the purpose of corporate tax. 

Some investment schemes can be combined. This can increase the tax benefit. Check in advance whether your investment meets the conditions of the various schemes.

• Small projects investment allowance (KIA): use this if you invest more than €2,900 in 2026 and at least €450 per business asset.

• Energy investment allowance (EIA): this applies if you invest at least £2,500 in energy-saving business assets. In 2026, you may deduct 40% of the investment costs. Notify Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO of any investment for which you wish to make use of the EIA within 3 months of entering into the investment commitment.

• Environmental investment allowance (MIA): use this if you purchase environmentally friendly business assets for at least £2,500. The maximum credit is 45%. A 3-month notification period to RVO usually applies to the MIA as well.

• Random depreciation of environmental investments (Vamil): this allows you to choose yourself how to write off environmentally friendly business assets. You can combine the MIA and VAMIlL schemes. In the Milieulijst (environmental list , in Dutch) you see the business assets classified under the MIA and Vamil. In 2026, a minimum investment amount of €2,500 will apply, with a maximum deduction percentage of 75%.

Small Businesses Scheme (KOR) for VAT 

You can opt for the Small Businesses Scheme (Kleine Ondernemersregeling, KOR) if your revenue is below €20,000 per calendar year. If you participate in this scheme, you will not be required to charge VAT to your clients or customers. This means you will also not pay any VAT to the Tax Administration. This is offset by the fact that you cannot deduct VAT on business expenses and investments. With a few exceptions, you will no longer be required to file a VAT return. Whether this is worth your while depends on your specific business situation.   

Applying the margin scheme 

If you trade in used goods, you may be eligible to apply the margin scheme (margeregeling). This scheme applies to the majority of used goods you bought without VAT. And in some cases also to art, antiques, or collector’s items.

You do not calculate VAT on your turnover, but on the difference between the selling price and the purchase price of the goods. That is the profit margin. If you sell at a profit, your profit margin is positive and you must pay VAT. Are you selling at a loss? Then you have a negative profit margin. In that case, you do not have to pay VAT, but you will not receive a VAT refund either.

Deducting expenses associated with commercial space 

Which tax deductions apply to you depends on your business premises. For the Tax Administration, it makes a difference whether you work in premises that you rent or have bought, or whether you use part of your own home as a workspace.

Renting a business premises 

If you rent business premises, you may deduct all costs incurred in relation to these premises from your income tax return. If you perform the deduction of VAT on these costs in your VAT return, you must declare the costs excluding VAT in your income tax return. If you do not perform the deduction of VAT in your VAT return, you must declare the costs including VAT in your income tax return.

Business premises as property 

Do you own the business premises? If so, for income tax purposes you must decide whether the property is business assets or private assets. If you use your own premises exclusively for your business, you must classify the property as business assets. The choice of whether the commercial space is included in your personal assets or business assets (Belastingdienst, in Dutch) determines which expenses you can deduct from your income tax return. 

Buying a business premises 

If you intend to buy a commercial space, this qualifies as an investment. You may be entitled to an investment deduction. When buying a property, you often need a business mortgage. You can arrange this through your bank or via alternative lenders.

Commercial premises in your home 

You live and work in the same building. You can use the (Dutch only) Belastingdienst calculation tool  to see if you can deduct the expenses related to your home workspace. 

Deducting car-related expenses 

If you need a car for work, you can either get a company car or use your personal vehicle for business purposes. Business mileage has an impact on income tax and VAT. Find out how it works.  

Help with taxes 

A bookkeeper, administrative expert, or tax expert (NOAB, in Dutch), an accountant through NBA or SRA, or a tax adviser (in Dutch) will be able to help you with taxes and schemes for your business and filing your tax returns.