Personal income tax

The income tax in the Netherlands is a form of direct tax that is paid on the income of a natural person. People in paid employment pay payroll tax. The employer then transfers the payroll tax to the tax authorities.

Self-employed persons, such as sole traders, self-employed persons and partnerships cannot pay income tax because they are not in paid employment. Instead they pay income tax. In most cases you as a self-employed person pay the income tax once a year and do this afterwards.

In the Netherlands, income tax is divided into three groups (boxes). Each box is about part of the potential income and there are different tax rates per box.