Teaching as a self-employed professional

Whether you call yourself a self-employed educational professional, a teaching ‘zzp’er’, or a freelance tutor makes no difference. You work for different clients and you perform your work as an independent entrepreneur. There is no employment relationship. 

As a self-employed teacher, you will have to deal with administration, insurance, and taxes. You will also have to register your company with KVK.

More teachers are going freelance

Teaching a class, being a teacher, is mostly associated with being in employment. But the number of self-employed teachers hiring themselves out for teaching jobs is on the rise. In 2024, nearly 3,500 teachers registered with KVK.

Employment Relationships Deregulation Act (Wet DBA).

As a self-employed person in education, you often work for several clients. Do you usually only work for one client? Then you may have false self-employment. False self-employment occurs when you accept an assignment as an entrepreneur, when the work is really only fit to be done in employment. For example, because you work full-time, and cannot let someone else do the work for you. In the eyes of the Netherlands Tax Administration, you are then actually employed. Under the Employment Relationships Deregulation Act (Wet DBA), you are not allowed to work as a zzp'er in this case. The law is intended to provide clarity to freelancers and clients about their employment relationship.

Together with your client, you are responsible for the working relationship you enter into. Use the flow chart of the Netherlands Tax Administration (in Dutch) to check whether you are self-employed or salaried. Still not sure? You can use a  (in Dutch) to lay down the arrangements between you and your client. But be aware that the model agreement will no longer be valid after January 2027.

Exempt from VAT

The educational sector is exempt from VAT (in Dutch). This goes for primary, secondary, and higher education. If you are the contractor and the school is the client, you do not charge VAT on your fee, nor do you file a VAT return. You cannot deduct VAT for purchasing and costs.

Did you get the assignment to the school (your client) through an intermediary agency? And do you send an invoice for your service directly to the school and not to the intermediary agency? Even then you do not charge VAT.

Do you perform the assignment at a school with an assignment agreement and invoice to an intermediary agency? Then you do have to charge VAT.

VAT exemption exception

Trainings and courses you give to a vocational school are exempt from VAT. These are official (v)mbo, university of professional education and wo programs. Do you offer training or courses on a non-official education? Then you are not VAT exempt and must charge VAT on your invoices. Whether a course or training falls under the exemption is determined by the Inspector of the Netherlands Tax Administration.

CRKBO register

If you teach classes, workshops, or trainings at a vocational education institution (such as mbo, hbo, training institutes), you need to register with the Central Register for Short-term Vocational Education, the CRKBO in Dutch. Self-employed teachers who meet the quality requirements for teachers are registered here. The Tax Administration will not award you a VAT exemption if you are not registered in the correct CRKBO register (in Dutch). To register, you need to have the right certificates and/or diplomas.

Pay attention to:

Other issues and obligations you may encounter as a self-employed teacher are:

• Do you want to work as a self-employed teacher? You must show your client a Certificate of Conduct (‘Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag’, VOG). 

• You work with personal data. According to the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, AVG in Dutch), schools have a special accountability (in Dutch), which requires them to demonstrate how they protect their pupils’ personal data. You as self-employed teacher also need to be able to prove that you comply with the rules.

General information for starters

As well as the topics described above, as a self-employed teacher you will also have to deal with:

• Choosing a business name
• Choosing a legal structure
• Setting an hourly rate
• Taxes
• Drawing up general terms and conditions
• Insurance
• Administration and bookkeeping

And you may be interested in starting as a part-time entrepreneur.