For freelancers and clients
Bogus self-employment check 2026
Freelancer or actually an employee? Answer 19 questions about how the assignment works in practice and get an indication of the risk of bogus self-employment, with explanations per factor and tips. For freelancers and clients.
Indication
| Factor (weight) | Points towards | Score |
|---|
Tips to reduce the risk
The score is not a probability in the statistical sense, but a weighted sum of your answers. See “How the score works” below.
How the score works
- Each answer gets a value: towards employee = 1, towards self-employed = 0, “partly” and “don’t know” = 0.5. Unanswered questions do not count.
- For each factor the average is taken; the risk score is the weighted average of the factors × 100 (weights below).
- Levels: low from 0 · medium from 30 · elevated from 50 · high from 70.
- Authority rule: the Tax Administration calls one or more “yes” answers to the authority questions a strong indication of a relationship of authority. That is why the level with 1 “yes” is at least medium and with 2 or more “yes” answers at least elevated.
- Hourly rate: if you answer “yes” to the question about a rate below €38, you get a separate notice about the legal presumption (from 31 December 2026).
- The weights are our own, transparent choice based on the sources. The Supreme Court has no fixed ranking between the factors; in reality the court or the Tax Administration weighs all circumstances together.
- You see a result as soon as you have answered at least 14 of the 19 questions.
Explanation: bogus self-employment
You go from bogus self-employment exists if someone works as a freelancer, but the assignment is in reality carried out as in employment. According to the Tax Administration, employment has three characteristics: the possibility of employer authority, the obligation to perform work (personally) and pay. Whether that is the case depends on all facts and circumstances together. In the Deliveroo ruling (24 March 2023), the Supreme Court mentioned among other things the nature and duration of the work, who determines the work and working hours, embedding in the organisation, personal work and replacement, how the agreements were reached, the form and level of remuneration, the commercial risk and whether the worker behaves as an entrepreneur. According to the Supreme Court (21 February 2025), there is no fixed ranking between those circumstances.
Since 1 January 2025, the Tax Administration is enforcing against bogus self-employment again. In 2026 the Tax Administration can issue additional assessments and impose penalties for intent or gross negligence; default penalties are not yet imposed for 2026. From 31 December 2026 there is also a legal presumption of an employment contract with a rate below the statutory hourly rate (€38 at the reference date of 1 January 2026). Want to know the financial difference too? Then compare the costs with the calculator freelancer vs employee or calculate the loonkosten of an employee.
Frequently asked questions
What is bogus self-employment?
Bogus self-employment means that someone formally works as a freelancer while the assignment is carried out in practice as by an employee, for example under the client’s authority. Then there may still be employment, with wage taxes and employee rights.
How does the Tax Administration assess whether someone is employed?
The Tax Administration looks at authority, personal work and pay, and weighs all facts and circumstances from the Deliveroo ruling together: including who determines the work and working hours, embedding in the organisation, replacement, remuneration, commercial risk and entrepreneurship.
Will I get a penalty for bogus self-employment in 2026?
For 2026, the Tax Administration does not yet impose default penalties for incorrect classification of employment relationships, but it does impose penalties for intent or gross negligence. Additional wage tax assessments are possible, in principle no further back than 1 January 2025.
What is the legal presumption with a low hourly rate?
From 31 December 2026, a worker with a rate below the statutory hourly rate (€38 per hour at the reference date of 1 January 2026) can invoke in court the presumption that there is an employment contract. The client must then prove the contrary.
Is the outcome of this check binding?
No. This check is an indication. The official Webmodule Beoordeling Arbeidsrelatie also has no legal status. For certainty you can consult an adviser or request a prior consultation with the Tax Administration.
Are my answers stored?
No. The calculation happens in your browser. We only count anonymously that the check was completed, without your answers.
Note: indication, not a legal opinion
This check gives an indication based on general criteria from law, case law and the Tax Administration’s explanation. It is not legal or tax advice and not a ruling by the Tax Administration; no rights can be derived from it. The actual assessment depends on all facts and circumstances together. Also use the official Webmodule Beoordeling Arbeidsrelatie (in Dutch), in case of doubt ask a tax adviser or employment lawyer, or request a prior consultation with the Dutch Tax Administration. Not included: deemed employment (e.g. persons treated as employees, intermediaries), the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (Waadi) and collective agreement rules.
Something wrong or missing? Let us know
Sources & values used
| Factor | Weight | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Authority: who determines work and working hours | 25% | Dutch Tax Administration: “If the answer is yes one or more times, that is a strong indication of a relationship of authority.” Authority is one of the 3 statutory characteristics of employment. |
| Embedding in the organisation | 15% | Deliveroo factor 3; the Tax Administration names embedding and entrepreneurship as circumstances the Supreme Court has expressly mentioned (Company visits manual 2026). |
| Personal work and replacement | 10% | Deliveroo factor 4: counts the actual significance of replacement, not just the contract. |
| Nature and duration of the assignment | 10% | Deliveroo factor 1 (nature and duration of the work). |
| Remuneration and how the agreements were reached | 12% | Deliveroo factors 5, 6 and 7 (how the remuneration was reached, its form and level); legal presumption for a low hourly rate from 31-12-2026. |
| Commercial risk | 12% | Deliveroo factor 8 (commercial risk). |
| Entrepreneurship (also outside this assignment) | 16% | Deliveroo factor 9; Supreme Court 21-2-2025 (Uber): entrepreneurship can be decisive, without a fixed ranking. |
model choice The weights are not statutory values but our own estimate based on the sources below.
- Dutch Tax Administration – When is there employment? (3 characteristics, assessment framework, 4 authority questions) (in Dutch)
- Dutch Tax Administration – Explanation of assessing employment relationships (Deliveroo ruling factors) (in Dutch)
- Belastingdienst – Employment relationships and enforcement (in Dutch)
- Parliamentary paper 31311, no. 302 – partial extension of the soft landing 2026 (no default penalties, but penalties for intent or gross negligence) (in Dutch)
- Supreme Court 24 March 2023, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:443 (Deliveroo) (in Dutch)
- Supreme Court 21 February 2025, ECLI:NL:HR:2025:319 (Uber): no ranking, entrepreneurship can be decisive (in Dutch)
- Dutch government – Frequently asked questions about bogus self-employment (in Dutch)
- Ondernemersplein – Webmodule Beoordeling Arbeidsrelatie (employment relationship assessment tool) (in Dutch)
- Dutch Senate – Act introducing a legal presumption of an employment contract based on hourly rate (36,783) (in Dutch)
- Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 207 – entry into force of the legal presumption on 31 December 2026 (in Dutch)
Checked on 6 October 2026.