You’re thinking about starting a part-time business.
But can you combine a part-time business with your study, job or pension?
And what do you do about registration and taxes?
If you are staying or living in the Netherlands
with a valid residence permit,
there are several options for starting a part-time business.
Take Laura.
She holds a 30 hours-per-week job,
and occasionally caters food for friends and acquaintances for a small fee.
Because she only receives a compensation for her expenses,
she doesn’t need to register as an entrepreneur:
her catering activities qualify as a hobby.
After a while, Laura decides to borrow a food truck,
to cater at five festivals per year.
She discusses her plans with her employer,
and is given the green light.
She registers with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
and the Dutch Tax Administration.
Laura has become a part-time entrepreneur!
From now on, Laura will file a VAT return every three months,
as she has calculated that applying for the small businesses scheme
isn’t to her advantage.
After checking the Business.gov.nl website,
she finds out that she doesn’t qualify as an entrepreneur for income tax.
Her activities are still too few and far between.
So, for now she files her income from the food truck business as an ‘income from other activities’.
But she does take a further look into the risks of being an entrepreneur.
Laura’s confidence is growing,
and she decides to dedicate two days a week to her catering business.
She invests in a food truck of her own,
professional equipment and a website.
Spending a total of 800 hours per year on her business.
She now qualifies as an entrepreneur for income tax.
And although 800 hourse is not enough to qualify for the private business ownership allowance,
she finds out there may be other tax schemes available to her
when once again consulting Business.gov.nl
Business is going well.
Laura spends even less time working in the restaurant, and expands her catering business.
She meets the hours criterion to qualify for the private business ownership allowance,
and can probably also claim tax relief for new companies.
Is it possible to start a real business while holding down a job?
Laura ’s example proves that you can!
Find all the information on Business.gov.nl:
Dutch government information for entrepreneurs.