The blocked account: when you need one, and when you don't
Written by Ilias Aarrass6 min read · Last reviewed on 
Written by Ilias Aarrass6 min read · Last reviewed on Working as a subcontractor in construction or lending out staff, you will encounter it sooner or later: the client wants to pay part of the invoice into a blocked account. Such an account protects the client against liability for your payroll taxes. But the instrument is requested more broadly than the law intends, including from freelancers without staff, who cannot open one at all. This article explains the system, who really needs one and what to answer when a client asks unjustly.
What the blocked account is for
The Netherlands has two liability schemes affecting clients. Chain liability makes a contractor liable for the payroll taxes its subcontractors must remit for their staff, down the whole chain. Hirer's liability does the same for those borrowing staff from, say, a temp agency. If the subcontractor or lender fails to pay, the tax authority can knock higher up. The blocked account is the protection mechanism: if the client pays the payroll share of the invoice into it, they are indemnified up to that amount. The balance can go almost only to the tax authority or to the next link's blocked account.
Who can and should have one
A blocked account is meant for businesses deploying staff on work at or for another party: subcontractors with employees, temp agencies, payroll firms and secondment agencies. You request it from the tax authority and open it at your bank via a three-party agreement. In practice parties agree that a percentage of the invoice, often around 25 to 30 percent for subcontracting and higher for staff lending, goes into the blocked account; the rest goes to your ordinary business account. From the blocked account you pay your payroll tax returns and possibly VAT.
Freelancer without staff? Then no blocked account, and that is correct
A freelancer without staff remits no payroll taxes, so there is nothing to indemnify: the tax authority simply will not issue you a blocked account. If a client still asks, they are conflating two risks. Their risk with a genuine freelancer is not chain or hirer's liability but whether the work is truly independent; that playing field is called false self-employment and no blocked account helps there. Explain that calmly and offer what does give assurance:
- An extract of your business registration and your VAT ID, as evidence you operate as a business.
- A written assignment contract properly arranging independence, possibly based on a model agreement.
- Invoices meeting every requirement, keeping the client's records watertight.
For those who do have one: keeping it workable
A blocked account takes light discipline. Invoice with a clear split so the client knows which share goes to the blocked account, and always pay payroll taxes from it with the correct payment reference. If the balance structurally outgrows your remittances, you can ask the tax authority to release the surplus. And if you work with staffed subcontractors yourself, say as a main contractor in construction, apply the same principle downwards: paying into their blocked account protects you, just as the reverse charge in that same chain has rules of its own.
Frequently asked questions
My client withholds part of my invoice 'to be safe'. Is that allowed?
Withholding money without agreement is not allowed; payment terms belong in the contract. With an unstaffed freelancer there is moreover no payroll risk justifying it. Point to your agreement and offer the assurances above; if nothing moves, treat it like any other non-paying client.
Does a blocked account cost money?
The tax authority application is free; banks charge their usual account and transaction fees. The real cost sits in management: blocked funds are not freely spendable, so adjust your cash flow planning.
Does chain liability apply outside construction?
Yes, it applies to contracting tangible work broadly, think on-site cleaning, landscaping and garment work, and hirer's liability applies wherever staff is lent in and out. Construction is merely the best-known arena.
How does this differ from the construction reverse charge?
They are two separate schemes meeting in the same chain. The reverse charge moves VAT remittance to the main contractor; the blocked account protects that same contractor against subcontractors' unpaid payroll taxes. One subcontracting invoice can thus carry both reverse-charged VAT and a blocked account payment.
This article provides general information based on the rules known for 2026 and does not replace personal tax advice. For your specific situation, we're happy to take a look with you.
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