The KOR in 2026: Should You Join the Small Business Scheme?

The KOR (kleineondernemersregeling, the small business scheme) lets you stop charging VAT (BTW) if your turnover in the Netherlands stays at or below €20,000 a calendar year. You send invoices without VAT and file no quarterly returns, but you can no longer reclaim the VAT you pay on your costs. Whether that leaves you better off depends mostly on who your clients are. To start on 1 January 2027, the Belastingdienst must receive your application by 3 December 2026.

Limit	€20,000 turnover in the Netherlands, this calendar year and last, excluding VAT
Apply	Online in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk, at least 4 weeks before the quarter you want to start
For 1 January 2027	Received by 3 December 2026
Leave	Any quarter, at least 4 weeks ahead; no minimum period since 2025
Rejoin after leaving	Not before 1 January of the year after next

If you have not registered your business yet, start with how to register as a freelancer. For how VAT works when you are not in the KOR, see the VAT guide. Not sure it suits you? The KOR calculator shows what you would gain or lose in a minute.

What counts towards the €20,000

The limit is about turnover that would be taxed with Dutch VAT, measured without the VAT. The Belastingdienst lists what counts and what does not.

It counts: everything you sell that is taxed in the Netherlands at 21%, 9% or 0%. Goods you send to a business in another EU country count too, because they are a 0% supply from the Netherlands.

It does not count:

• Services to business clients abroad. A design job for a company in Germany or the US is taxed where the client is, so it stays outside the €20,000.
• Selling a business asset, such as your old laptop or car.
• Most VAT-exempt turnover. Only a few exempt kinds count, such as financial services and property.

The first point matters more than it looks. A freelancer who earns €70,000 mostly from foreign companies and €12,000 from Dutch clients has €12,000 of Dutch turnover and can join. Whether that is a good idea is the next question.

The €20,000 applies to the year you join and to the year before. The law looks at the calendar year as a whole, and does not reduce the limit for a business that starts in September.

Watch out with consumers: once you are in the KOR and keep your prices the same, your whole price is turnover. If you charged consumers €121 including VAT, all €121 now counts towards the limit.

Does it pay off for you?

The KOR removes VAT from your invoices. For a client who can reclaim VAT, that changes nothing: they got it back anyway. For a client who cannot, such as a consumer, your price becomes 21% cheaper, or you keep that 21% yourself. On your side, you lose the VAT you would have reclaimed on your costs.

Mostly consumers: usually worth it. A wedding photographer charges couples €16,000 in a year, including VAT, and buys €3,000 of equipment and software plus €630 VAT. Without the KOR, €2,776.86 of the €16,000 is VAT (16,000 × 21/121). She reclaims the €630 and pays €2,146.86 to the Belastingdienst. With the KOR she keeps the full €16,000 and loses the €630. She is €2,146.86 better off, and files no returns.

Mostly businesses: usually not worth it. A developer bills Dutch agencies €19,000 a year. Without the KOR he adds €3,990 VAT, which the agencies reclaim, and he reclaims €504 VAT on a laptop and software. With the KOR he bills €19,000 and loses the €504. The KOR costs him €504 a year, in exchange for four returns he no longer files.

Mostly foreign clients: usually not worth it either. Services to foreign businesses carry no Dutch VAT whether or not you are in the KOR. The KOR only changes your Dutch invoices and your own costs. If your Dutch clients are businesses, you mostly lose the reclaim. And if you buy software or advertising from abroad, you still file returns (see below).

The Belastingdienst gives the same advice in its own comparison: it pays for businesses whose clients cannot reclaim VAT, and it can cost you if you plan large purchases.

How to apply, and the 3 December deadline

You apply with the online form for the KOR in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk. The KOR starts on the first day of the next quarter that begins at least 4 weeks after the Belastingdienst receives your application:

To start on	Received by
1 January 2027	3 December 2026
1 April 2027	3 March 2027
1 July 2027	2 June 2027
1 October 2027	2 September 2027

Miss the date and the KOR starts a quarter later. Within 8 weeks you get a letter with your start date. Until the KOR starts, you keep charging VAT and filing returns as usual.

If you are just starting out: you cannot sign up for the KOR at your KVK appointment. You first need your VAT IDs, which the Belastingdienst sends by letter, usually within two weeks. The Belastingdienst asks you to apply only after that letter has arrived.

What changes once you are in

• Your invoices carry no VAT. You may not show a VAT amount or rate at all. State that you are exempt, for example: "Vrijgesteld van btw (kleineondernemersregeling)". The law does not prescribe exact words, but the Belastingdienst asks you to mention the exemption. You may still send invoices, and most clients will want one.
• No quarterly returns, with the exceptions below.
• No VAT reclaim on anything you buy, including VAT paid in other EU countries.
• You keep your records. Keep purchase invoices and your sales records for seven years, as before. You need them for your income tax, and to show you stay under the limit.

Netto knows when a business is in the KOR: invoices go out without VAT and with the exemption line, and the VAT page shows how close you are to €20,000, with a warning from 90%.

Buying from abroad: when you still file a return

If you buy a service from a supplier abroad that reverse-charges the VAT to you, such as software from Ireland or advertising from Google or Meta, the VAT is still due in the KOR, and you cannot reclaim it. The Belastingdienst says you must file a return for it. In the KOR this is an incidental return, which you request in writing from your tax office.

Example: software at €40 a month from an Irish company is €480 a year, so €100.80 VAT that you declare and pay, and keep as a cost. If you buy a lot of services from abroad, the "no returns" benefit of the KOR largely disappears.

Reclaimed VAT in earlier years: herziening

If you reclaimed VAT on equipment you still use, such as a laptop or a camera, joining the KOR can mean paying part of it back. This is called herziening. For movable equipment it runs for 5 years: the year you started using it plus 4 more. Each remaining year, you may have to repay one fifth of the VAT you reclaimed.

There is an exception that covers most freelancers: for equipment already in use in earlier years, nothing is revised in a year where the total comes to less than €500. A €2,000 laptop with €420 VAT gives €84 a year, well under that. Larger investments, or a workspace you own, need a closer look. If you do owe something, you request an incidental return in writing.

Crossing €20,000 during the year

The moment a sale takes your Dutch turnover over €20,000, the KOR stops, and that whole sale carries VAT, not just the part above the limit. Say you are at €19,200 in October and take a €1,500 job: you invoice €1,500 plus €315 VAT.

You then deregister straight away in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk, charge VAT and file returns for the rest of the year. You cannot use the KOR again for the rest of that year and the whole of the next one.

Leaving, and coming back

Since 1 January 2025 there is no minimum stay. The old three-year commitment is gone. You can leave from the start of any quarter, deregistering in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk at least 4 weeks before it.

After leaving, you cannot rejoin for the rest of that calendar year and the whole of the next. Leave on 1 October 2026, and the earliest you can return is 1 January 2028. So do not leave for a single quarter with a big purchase in it, unless the VAT you reclaim is worth more than the KOR for the next year as well.

The KOR next to a salaried job

If you have a job and run an eenmanszaak on the side, only your business turnover counts for the KOR. Your salary plays no part. For a small side business with private clients, such as tutoring, photography or a web shop, the KOR can save a lot of paperwork.

The EU-KOR, briefly

Since 2025 there is also a KOR for sales taxed in other EU countries, if your turnover across the EU stays under €100,000. It needs its own application, and you report your turnover per country every quarter. It matters for businesses that sell goods or services to consumers in other EU countries. If you work for business clients abroad, those services are already reverse charged, and you do not need it.

The KOR and your income tax

The KOR is about VAT only. Your income tax does not change: you still file a yearly return and pay tax on your profit. The VAT you cannot reclaim simply becomes part of your costs. To see what you keep after income tax and the Zvw contribution, try the freelancer net income calculator.

Quick answers

What is the KOR limit in 2026?

€20,000 of turnover in the Netherlands per calendar year, excluding VAT, in the year you join and the year before. Services to business clients abroad do not count.

When do I need to apply to start on 1 January 2027?

The Belastingdienst must receive your application by 3 December 2026. Apply online in Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk.

Can I join the KOR when I register my business?

Not at the KVK appointment. Wait for the letter with your VAT IDs, then apply. The KOR starts on the first quarter that begins at least 4 weeks after your application.

What do I put on my invoices in the KOR?

No VAT amount and no VAT rate. Mention that you are exempt, for example "Vrijgesteld van btw (kleineondernemersregeling)".

Is the KOR worth it if my clients are businesses?

Usually not. Businesses reclaim VAT anyway, so the KOR mainly costs you the VAT you could have reclaimed on your own costs.

Can I leave the KOR whenever I want?

Yes, from the start of any quarter, at least 4 weeks ahead. But you cannot rejoin for the rest of that year and the whole of the next.

What happens if I go over €20,000?

The sale that takes you over carries VAT in full. Deregister straight away; you charge VAT for the rest of that year and cannot rejoin the next year.

Sources

• Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968, articles 25 to 25g, version in force from 1 January 2026 (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Kleineondernemersregeling (KOR) (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Voorwaarden voor deelname aan de KOR (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Aanmelden voor de KOR (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Afmelden voor de KOR (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Wel of niet meedoen aan de KOR (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Btw-aftrek herzien vanwege de KOR (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Btw-aangifte bij diensten van leveranciers buiten de EU (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: Incidentele btw-aangifte (Dutch)
• Belastingdienst: KOR in de EU (EU-KOR) (Dutch)
• Business.gov.nl: Small businesses scheme (KOR)
• KVK: KOR: voordelen, nadelen en voorwaarden (Dutch)