From VAR to DBA to the Self-Employment Act: what's changing for Dutch freelancers?

When are you genuinely self-employed, and when are you really just working as an employee? The Netherlands has been wrestling with that question for a quarter of a century. First came the VAR, then the DBA Act. Now there's a new proposal on the table: the Self-Employment Act (Zelfstandigenwet), due to take effect in January 2028.

To understand what's about to change, it helps to know how we got here. Below, we walk through all three systems and explain what you can already do today.

VAR stands for Verklaring arbeidsrelatie, or employment relationship declaration. It was introduced on 1 January 2001, alongside the new Income Tax Act 2001. As a contractor, you applied for a VAR yourself, and the Dutch Tax Administration gave an advance ruling on how your income would be taxed. There were four types:

From 2005, the VAR carried more weight. If you held a VAR-wuo or VAR-dga, your client was indemnified against payroll taxes, provided they kept a copy of the declaration and your ID and the work matched what the VAR described. This is set out in the explanatory memorandum to the act extending the VAR's legal effects (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch).

The catch: the Tax Administration based its ruling on what the contractor filled in, and the client carried no risk at all. How the work was done in practice hardly mattered. Critics called it false certainty. On 1 May 2016, the VAR was abolished.

The VAR was replaced by the Wet deregulering beoordeling arbeidsrelaties, or DBA Act. The key difference: since 1 May 2016, client and contractor have been jointly responsible for determining whether their relationship amounts to employment. You can read the reasoning in the explanatory memorandum to the DBA Act (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch).

There was no longer any advance declaration. Instead, there were model agreements: template contracts reviewed by the Tax Administration. If you worked under such an agreement, and actually worked that way in practice, your client didn't have to withhold payroll taxes.

The DBA Act caused unrest from day one. Clients weren't sure where they stood, and the model agreements offered less certainty than the VAR. So in November 2016, an enforcement moratorium was introduced: the Tax Administration kept monitoring, but in principle made no retroactive corrections. It only stepped in when someone acted in bad faith or ignored instructions they had been given. The moratorium was extended time and again.

It ended on 1 January 2025. Since then, the Tax Administration has returned to full enforcement (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch), with a soft landing: additional assessments can't go back further than 1 January 2025, and anyone who demonstrably took steps in 2025 to prevent false self-employment was spared penalties for intent or gross negligence. You can read more about the approach on the Tax Administration's website (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch).

Part of that soft landing still applies in 2026. According to a letter to parliament on enforcement (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch), the Tax Administration won't impose penalties for administrative failures (verzuimboetes) this year, and an audit will in principle start with a company visit. Penalties for intent or gross negligence have been possible again since 2026. From 1 January 2027, the last remaining concessions will lapse too.

In March 2026, the government decided (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch) to largely drop its earlier bill clarifying how employment relationships are assessed, known as VBAR, in favour of the Self-Employment Act. One part did go ahead: a legal presumption of employment for freelancers earning less than €38 an hour (reference date 1 January 2026). If you earn less, it's easier to claim an employment contract. It's then up to the client to show that you're not an employee.

The act has been passed (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch) and takes effect on 31 December 2026 (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch).

On 1 October 2026, the government put the Self-Employment Act out for public consultation (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch), open for responses until 29 October. The act starts from the idea of genuine entrepreneurship and uses two tests.

The self-employment test looks at you as a business owner. According to Dutch trade publication TPO (opens in a new tab), it covers:

The working relationship test looks at the job itself. Do you, in principle, decide where, when and how you work? And do you work for your own account and at your own risk? Work tied to a fixed place or time, such as on a building site, may be an exception.

Pass both tests, and work that way in practice, and you're in a safe harbour: you know in advance that you can work as a self-employed professional. Fail them, and you're not automatically an employee. You simply fall back on the rules and case law that apply today.

The Self-Employment Act isn't law yet. After the consultation, the Council of State will give its advice, and both houses of parliament still have to debate it. The target date is January 2028. Minister Aartsen has already told ZiPconomy (opens in a new tab) (in Dutch) that the proposal will be amended, so details such as the minimum spend on cover may still change.

Until then, nothing changes: the DBA Act, the case-by-case assessment and enforcement by the Tax Administration all remain in place.

The VAR offered certainty on paper; the DBA Act mostly brought uncertainty. The Self-Employment Act promises clarity up front, but only for those who can show they genuinely run a business. If you get your affairs in order now, you'll be in the strongest position when it arrives.

That's where xFreelance comes in. Keep your CV, clients and projects in one place, have your hours approved online by your client, and see jobs from different platforms on a single board. That makes it easy to show you work as a business, for more than one client.