Your sole proprietorship when you work on the road: KVK registration, VAT and deregistering
If you no longer do any work in the Netherlands, you must deregister your business at the KVK, even if you keep Dutch clients. You then settle up with the tax authorities and become a foreign entrepreneur for VAT. If you stay registered, you simply file returns here, with the KOR up to € 20,000.
6 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
If you have a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) and want to keep working on the road, the first question is not VAT, but whether your business may stay registered in the Netherlands. The KVK (Chamber of Commerce) is strict about this. If you no longer do any work in the Netherlands, you deregister, even if all your clients are Dutch. And then comes the part the rules have no answer for: as a nomad you have no new country to start again in.
Three things to know up front:
- For the KVK you need a business address in the Netherlands, and a permanent home address.
- If you stay registered, you file your income tax and VAT returns in the Netherlands, also for foreign clients.
- If you deregister, you settle up with the tax authorities and become a foreign entrepreneur for VAT.
Do you have a BV (private limited company)? Then other rules apply. They are in box 3, your BV and inheritance when you live nowhere.
May my sole proprietorship stay registered at the KVK?
The KVK says: whether you stay registered depends on whether you still have business activities in the Netherlands. Ondernemersplein, the government's desk for entrepreneurs, says when you must deregister:
- You no longer do any work in the Netherlands. "Ook als u wel Nederlandse opdrachtgevers heeft" (even if you do have Dutch clients).
- You no longer have a business address in the Netherlands.
You then deregister your business "binnen 7 dagen voor uw vertrek" (within 7 days before you leave).
There are two exceptions. If you travel to the Netherlands often for your business, you do not always have to deregister. And if you leave for less than half a year, staying registered can be more practical. You then need "goede redenen" (good reasons), for example because you still do work here, and a business address that is not just a PO box.
If you do nothing, the KVK can deregister your business itself if it no longer looks active. That is called an ambtshalve doorhaling (deregistration by the KVK on its own initiative).
Which address does a nomad give?
Two addresses, and both are tricky:
- A business address in the Netherlands. A PO box alone is not enough.
- A permanent home address. Ondernemersplein: for your KVK registration you need a permanent home address, and how best to arrange it depends on your situation. The advice is to contact the KVK Advisory Team.
We have not found an official rule for people who live nowhere. Call the KVK Advisory Team before you leave and ask for the answer in writing.
What if there is no new country?
In the KVK's examples, a freelancer moves to Sweden. He keeps advising Dutch clients, but no longer does any work in the Netherlands. The KVK: you no longer do any work in the Netherlands, so you must deregister your business from the Business Register. "Je start een nieuw bedrijf in Zweden" (you start a new business in Sweden).
A nomad has no Sweden. If you work a few months everywhere, there is no country where you register your business again. Ondernemersplein only says: check in the destination country whether you must register there. That is the question you put to the KVK Advisory Team and a tax adviser, before you do your last job in the Netherlands.
How does VAT work if I stay registered?
Then you file your income tax and VAT returns in the Netherlands, "ook als u voor een buitenlandse opdrachtgever werkt" (also if you work for a foreign client). What goes on your invoice depends on your client:
| Your client | What you do |
|---|---|
| A business in the Netherlands | Ordinary Dutch VAT |
| A business in another EU country | You reverse-charge the VAT: the invoice says "btw verlegd" (VAT reverse-charged). You report it in your VAT return and in an ICP return |
| A private individual | Usually taxed in the country where you are established. If you have to pay VAT in another EU country, you can do so through the One Stop Shop, every quarter |
Reverse-charging VAT means: the client pays the VAT in his own country, not you. The ICP return is a list of those clients for the Belastingdienst. The One Stop Shop is a single desk where you declare the VAT of several EU countries.
A small turnover can make it simpler:
| Scheme | Limit | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Small businesses scheme (KOR) | turnover of no more than € 20,000 a year | you charge no VAT, but you also reclaim none |
| EU-KOR | turnover of at most € 100,000 a year in the whole EU | the exemption also in other EU countries where you have to pay VAT |
What happens if I deregister?
The municipality and the KVK pass your deregistration on to the Belastingdienst. Ondernemersplein: "U moet dan fiscaal afrekenen met de Belastingdienst" (you must then settle up with the Belastingdienst).
Settling up means closing your business for tax purposes. Ondernemersplein lists, among other things:
- drawing up the annual accounts up to the day you stop;
- filing the last VAT return;
- settling an old-age reserve (oudedagsreserve), if you built one up;
- paying VAT on business items you keep privately, such as a laptop or phone.
Two articles in the law deal with this. Article 3.61, the final settlement: profit not yet taxed counts in the year in which you stop deriving profit from the business in the Netherlands. Article 3.60 is about what your business owns and moves to a business abroad, while you stop being a resident: that counts as if you sold it, at market value. How the two work out for a business that does not move to another country but is nowhere is not stated. Have a tax adviser calculate it.
After that, for VAT: if you no longer live in the Netherlands and have no permanent establishment here, the Belastingdienst treats you as a foreign entrepreneur. If you still supply Dutch clients, you file VAT returns here and may pay VAT in the Netherlands.
Deregistering at the KVK does not settle your insurance. If you work as a self-employed person only outside the Netherlands for three months or longer, you can lose your insurance for AOW and health care. See digital nomad: tax and insurance.
Which questions do I ask?
To the KVK Advisory Team:
- May my business stay registered if I am away for more than half a year, but work in the Netherlands regularly?
- Which permanent home address does the KVK accept from someone who lives nowhere?
To a tax adviser:
- What do I have to settle when I deregister my sole proprietorship, and for which year?
- Do I still live in the Netherlands for tax purposes, and what does that mean for my profit?
- Which country is my country of establishment for VAT if I live nowhere?
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.12: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey for a life on the road or go straight to step 2.12 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Ondernemersplein — step-by-step plan for becoming a digital nomad, with the permanent home address, deregistering and VAT — ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
- KVK — freelancing abroad, in the Business Register or not — kvk.nl
- Ondernemersplein — VAT on services abroad, reverse charge, the ICP return and the One Stop Shop — ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
- Ondernemersplein — settling up with the Belastingdienst when you stop or leave — ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
- Belastingdienst — VAT for foreign entrepreneurs, who counts as one — belastingdienst.nl
- Income Tax Act 2001, article 3.60 (transfer abroad) and 3.61 (final settlement) — wetten.overheid.nl
Read on
- OnderwegJe basis in Nederland7 min
Box 3, your company and inheritance when you live nowhere
Deregistering from your municipality is not the same as emigrating for tax. Anyone who does not go to live somewhere else can remain a resident of the Netherlands. Box 3, your private limited company and inheritance tax all depend on that. What applies whether or not you are still a resident, and which questions to put to a tax adviser.
Updated 27 October 2026
- OnderwegJe basis in Nederland7 min
Digital nomad: where do you pay tax and where are you insured?
Legally, you work in the country where you sit behind your laptop. That country may often tax your wages, except under the 183-day rule. And anyone who works only outside the Netherlands for three months can lose their Dutch insurance for health care and AOW.
Updated 27 October 2026
- OnderwegJe basis in Nederland5 min
A sabbatical for a world trip: unpaid leave, your pension and unemployment benefit
A sabbatical is unpaid leave with the agreement that you come back. Your salary and your holiday days stop, your pension depends on your scheme, and your right to unemployment benefit stays protected for up to 78 weeks of leave. If you are away for less than a year, you remain insured for care and the AOW. Put your return on paper.
Updated 26 October 2026