{"id":897,"date":"2026-10-03T10:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?post_type=ba_guide&#038;p=897"},"modified":"2026-10-03T10:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:40:13","slug":"choosing-business-structure-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"ba_guide","link":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?ba_guide=choosing-business-structure-netherlands","title":{"rendered":"Eenmanszaak, VOF or BV? Choosing a Dutch business structure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ba-lead wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>ZZP and freelancer are not Dutch legal forms.<\/strong> A solo freelancer often chooses an <em>eenmanszaak<\/em>, but a BV or another structure may fit different liability, tax, investment or continuity needs.<\/p>\n<h2>Eenmanszaak<\/h2><p>One owner, straightforward KVK setup and no separate legal personality. That simplicity also means business liabilities can reach your private assets. An eenmanszaak can employ staff: \u201cone-person business\u201d refers to ownership, not headcount.<\/p>\n<h2>VOF<\/h2><p>A VOF lets two or more partners run one business together. A notary is not normally required to create it, but a written partnership agreement is strongly sensible. Agree contributions, authority, profit, sickness, disputes, new partners and exit\/death scenarios. Partners can face personal liability for VOF debts.<\/p>\n<h2>BV<\/h2><p>A BV is a legal entity with shares and is established by a civil-law notary, who normally handles KVK\/UBO registration. Limited liability is important, but it is not an absolute shield: director liability, guarantees and improper management can still matter. A director-major shareholder can also face specific salary\/tax rules.<\/p>\n<h2>Other structures exist<\/h2><p>Maatschap, CV, cooperative, foundation and association can fit particular activities. Use KVK&#8217;s legal-form tool and professional tax\/legal advice when the choice has material consequences.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understand the main differences between an eenmanszaak, VOF and BV, including ownership, liability, setup and why ZZP is not a legal form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","ba_country":[2],"ba_topic":[679,686,684,683,685,682],"ba_audience":[15,16,17],"ba_section":[21],"ba_stage":[25,28,30,26],"ba_location":[],"class_list":["post-897","ba_guide","type-ba_guide","status-publish","hentry","ba_country-netherlands","ba_topic-business","ba_topic-bv","ba_topic-eenmanszaak","ba_topic-legal-form","ba_topic-vof","ba_topic-zzp","ba_audience-eu-eea-swiss","ba_audience-non-eu","ba_audience-residents","ba_section-work-business-section","ba_stage-deciding","ba_stage-getting-established","ba_stage-living-stage","ba_stage-preparing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/ba_guide"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":898,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/897\/revisions\/898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ba_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_country&post=897"},{"taxonomy":"ba_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_topic&post=897"},{"taxonomy":"ba_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_audience&post=897"},{"taxonomy":"ba_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_section&post=897"},{"taxonomy":"ba_stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_stage&post=897"},{"taxonomy":"ba_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_location&post=897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}