The DBA Act: avoid false self-employment

The Employment Relationships Deregulation Act (DBA Act) states that the client and contractor are jointly responsible for the employment relationship. That is the way in which you and your client work together. 

What is false self-employment?

If you work as a zzp'er (self-employed professional without personnel) but do not meet the conditions for entrepreneurship, this is called false self-employment.

The Tax Administration is increasingly strict in combating false self-employment. You may receive a post-assessment. You may also receive a fine.

What are the conditions for entrepreneurship?

As a zzp'er, you do an assignment on your own. How independent you are, depends on these conditions for entrepreneurship (in Dutch), amongst others: 

• You decide your working hours;
• You use your own equipment;
• You decide how to do the job;
• You are not in charge of employees of your client.

For example: a writer produces copy for their clients' websites from home, on their own laptop.

Not self-employed

Do you do work that is also done by employees of the client? That may indicate salaried or temp agency work. Think of a writer typing an article for a magazine at their client's editorial office, behind a desk, and under the supervision of a chief editor. Or a chef who spends week after week in the kitchen at the same restaurant. 

Consequences of false self-employment

If you, as a zzp’er, have accepted an assignment while not fulfilling the conditions for entrepreneurship, you have false self-employment.

Consequences for you

If the Tax Administration decides you are not self-employed, the consequences can be serious for you. For example, you are no longer entitled to tax benefits such as the private business ownership allowance (zelfstandigenaftrek) or SME profit exemption. If you have received unjustified tax benefits for entrepreneurs, you must pay them back. You may be entitled to an employment contract from your client. Plus the right to build up a pension.

Consequences for your client

There are also consquences for your client. They will have to pay payroll tax and pension. And they may also receive a fine. Was het false self-employment unintentional? Then the Tax Administration calculates the post-assessment back to 1 January 2025. If your client knowingly let you work in false self-employment, the period before 1 January 2025 is also taken into account.

Preventing false self-employment

Are you taking on an assignment? The DBA Act states that a self-employed professional and a client must assess their working relationship to check whether there is false self-employment. 

There are tools for this check:

• You can do a check (in Dutch) on the website of the Tax Administration.
• The Business.gov.nl website has an employment relationship evaluation tool.
• Rijksoverheid.nl offers this explanation (in Dutch).

Your client may also request a meeting (in Dutch) with the Tax Administration to assess the employment relationship.

Is the outcome that you are not self-employed? Then you cannot take on the assignment as a zzp'er. Changing the legal structure of your business to a BV or VOF does not change this. See what your options are. 

Model agreement

The Tax Administration used to work with model agreements. In a model agreement, you can put your working relationship with your client down on paper. To the Tax Administration, it does not matter what is put down on paper; it matters how you work in practice. A model agreement may give you a false sense of security.

Do you and your client want to use a model agreement anyway? You can. The model agreements are valid until the end of 2029. Find more information on model agreements.

New Vbar Act proposal

In July 2025, Minister Van Hijum submitted the Clarification of the Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (Vbar) Act. This proposal aims to clarify the rules on false self-employment. 

It is not yet clear whether and when the new law will be introduced.