As of 1 January 2026, enforcement against false self‑employment by the Dutch Tax Administration has entered a new phase. From that date onwards, the Dutch Tax Administration are again able to impose penalty fines for culpable conduct (vergrijpboetes). However, as part of the so‑called “soft landing” regime no administrative default fines (verzuimboetes) will yet be imposed in 2026 and enforcement will generally start with a company visit. These elements of the soft landing will be fully phased out as of 1 January 2027.
Reason for the soft landing regime is that the government has announced that it will withdraw part of the proposed legislation on self‑employment that was already pending before the House of Representatives. This concerns the clarification component of the Bill on Clarification of Employment Relationships Assessment and Legal Presumption (Wet verduidelijking beoordeling arbeidsrelaties en rechtsvermoeden). The part of the proposal intended to clarify the boundary between employment and self‑employment will be replaced by the Self-Employment Act (Zelfstandigenwet). This act will take over the role of defining when work may be performed by an independent contractor and when it must be treated as employment.
The Self-Employment Act bases the qualification on three cumulative and equally weighted tests: (i) whether the individual qualifies as a genuine independent contractor, (ii) whether the working relationship is characterised by the absence of authority, and (iii) whether sector‑specific rules give rise to a rebuttable presumption of employment in high‑risk sectors. These sector‑specific rules are intended to apply in sectors with an increased risk of false self‑employment and will be laid down by subordinate legislation.
The remaining part of the original bill relates to the introduction of a legal presumption of employee status for individuals earning less than €38 per hour (rate as per 1 January 2026). This element of the bill would remain together with the Self-Employment Act. If an individual earns less than €38 per hour, the individual may assert that the working relationship qualifies as employment, shifting the burden of proof to the employer/client to demonstrate otherwise.
Both legislative proposals are still pending before the House of Representatives and the Senate.