Starting a Dutch business is a sequence, not just a KVK appointment: first establish whether you may operate and need registration, choose a legal structure and address, register correctly, then organise tax, records, banking, insurance and any sector-specific requirements.
Start in this order
- Right to operate: if you are not EU/EEA/Swiss, check residence and self-employment rights with IND before relying on a business plan.
- Is it a business? KVK looks at independent supply of goods/services, commercial activity and participation in the market.
- Choose a rechtsvorm: liability, ownership, tax and whether a notary is required depend on the structure.
- Choose name and address: check trade-name rules and whether your address can lawfully be used.
- Register: when you actually start trading, KVK says registration is due within a week; registration can also be prepared shortly before the start.
- Tax: KVK passes many Dutch registrations to Belastingdienst, but KVK registration does not by itself make you an income-tax entrepreneur.
- Operate: keep compliant records, issue correct invoices, file returns even when a return is nil, and check permits/sector rules.
KVK and Belastingdienst are different
KVK maintains the Handelsregister. Belastingdienst decides tax status and administers VAT, income tax, corporation tax and payroll taxes. Being registered at KVK does not automatically mean Belastingdienst treats you as an entrepreneur for every tax rule.
Newcomer trap: zzp is not a legal structure
Zzp’er and freelancer describe how you work. Your legal structure might be an eenmanszaak, BV or another form. Likewise, an eenmanszaak can employ staff: “one” refers to one owner, not zero employees.