Your numbers
What you invoice in a year, before VAT.
Software, insurance, workspace, bookkeeper.
The premium as it leaves your account each month.
What you put aside monthly for later.
An employee keeps being paid through 25 holiday days and 8 sick days: 12.7% of the year. You are not.
Set aside per month
That's tax, buffer, AOV and pension combined — 34.8% of your revenue. What remains is your income room: €2,839 per month to live on.
Indicative — not tax advice. The tax reserve is your income tax, national insurance and ZVW contribution on your profit, with the 2026 rates and the same calculation core as the Peil app. VAT falls outside this: set it apart and remit it quarterly. AOV and pension are your own choices — adjust them to your situation.
How is this calculated?
Most advice stops at "set aside 30%". That ignores your income level and everything besides the tax. So we split your revenue (after business costs) into five parts, with the 2026 rates and the same calculation core as the Peil app.
- Tax reserve. Your Dutch income tax, national insurance and ZVW contribution on your profit — after the zelfstandigenaftrek (self-employment deduction), the MKB-winstvrijstelling (small-business profit exemption) and the tax credits. This part moves with your income.
- Business buffer. A reserve for fluctuations and quiet months — by default around 15% of your net, adjustable to your own risk.
- AOV reserve. The monthly premium for your disability insurance (arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering).
- Pension contribution. What you set aside for later within your annual allowance (jaarruimte).
- Income room. What remains to live on — your personal income after all reserves, before your personal fixed costs.
Together those five are exactly your revenue minus your costs. VAT falls outside: it is not income, but a separate obligation you remit quarterly.
Reserving is not a snapshot. Your position shifts every month.
Peil tracks your reserves continuously from your real revenue and costs, and shows your runway: how many months you can go on what you have reserved. So you know not only how much you set aside, but how far it takes you.
Calculate your runway in PeilFrequently asked questions
How much should a freelancer in the Netherlands set aside?
There is no fixed percentage. What you set aside depends on your profit, your structural costs and your choices around AOV (disability insurance) and pension. Instead of a flat 30%, this tool splits your revenue into five parts: tax reserve, business buffer, AOV reserve, pension contribution and income room — what remains to live on. At a low income the tax share is small; at a high income it grows considerably.
Is setting aside 30% enough?
The 30% rule of thumb ignores two things: your income level and your structural costs. At a low profit you effectively pay much less than 30% Dutch tax; at a high profit, more. And 30% only covers the tax — your AOV premium, pension contribution and business buffer come on top. Reserve only that 30% and you fall short on the other buckets.
What is income room?
Income room is what you can pay yourself as personal income after tax, business buffer, AOV and pension — but before your personal fixed costs and groceries. It is the honest answer to "what do I really keep", because every business reserve has already been taken out.
Should VAT be part of your reserve?
No. The VAT (btw) you charge on your invoices is not income: you collect it on behalf of the Belastingdienst and remit it quarterly. Keep it apart, outside these five reserves. This tool works with your revenue excluding VAT and with your income tax, national insurance and ZVW contribution — not with VAT.
Want to go deeper? Dutch freelance tax calculator · Net effective hourly rate calculator · Tax reserve in Peil · Runway in Peil