Freelancing alongside your studies: tax, student finance and benefits
Written by Ilias Aarrass7 min read · Last reviewed on 
Written by Ilias Aarrass7 min read · Last reviewed on More and more students invoice alongside their studies: as a developer, designer, tutor or content creator. Good news: the earnings ceiling in Dutch student finance has been abolished, so your profit does not affect your basic grant or student travel product. Still, there is more to it than sending an invoice. This article covers everything a student entrepreneur must arrange: from registration to care benefit.
Registering: even when it starts small
If you regularly provide paid services, you should register at the Chamber of Commerce. You then automatically receive a VAT number and file VAT returns. For a single job a year registration is not always required; you then declare the earnings as other income. Once you have clients structurally and want to build on it, registration is the proper route; many clients simply ask for it too.
Student finance: the earnings ceiling is gone
You used to have to repay if you earned too much alongside your student finance. That earnings ceiling has been abolished: however much profit you make, your basic grant, supplementary grant and student travel product remain. The supplementary grant depends on your parents' income, not on yours.
Income tax: often less than you think
You pay box 1 income tax on your profit. But thanks to the general tax credit and the labour credit you often pay little to nothing on a modest profit. You also pay the income-dependent healthcare contribution of 4.85% on your profit. Filing is required even when nothing is due on balance, and is then often beneficial, because you can reclaim wage tax withheld from a side job.
Worked example: student with € 12,000 profit
- Business profit
- € 12,000
- SME profit exemption 12.7%
- – € 1,524
- Income tax after credits
- close to € 0
- Healthcare contribution, 4.85% of exempt-adjusted profit
- around € 508
Result: Of € 12,000 profit you keep well over € 11,400 net. Still set something aside monthly: the assessment income can reduce your care benefit
VAT: the small business scheme can be smart
If your revenue stays under € 20,000 a year, you can opt for the small business scheme: you then charge no VAT and file no VAT returns. That saves administration and makes you cheaper for private clients, such as tutoring. If you mainly work for businesses, the scheme is usually a disadvantage: business clients deduct the VAT anyway and you lose your own VAT deduction on costs.
Care benefit and deductions
From eighteen you pay your own health insurance premium and are usually entitled to care benefit. Your profit counts as assessment income, so a good year can reduce your benefits. Pass a realistic estimate to the tax authority to avoid repayments.
Alongside full-time study you rarely reach the 1,225-hour criterion, so the self-employed deduction is usually out of reach. Two things fortunately apply without an hours criterion: the 12.7% SME profit exemption and ordinary cost deduction. Your laptop, software, phone plan (business share), travel to clients and trade literature are simply deductible.
Frequently asked questions
Does my profit affect my grant or travel product?
No. The earnings ceiling in student finance has been abolished, so you can earn without limit with no consequences for your basic grant, supplementary grant or student travel product.
Must I register for tutoring or small jobs?
For structural paid work, yes. For a single occasional job you can declare the income as other income without registering. When in doubt, registering is almost always the safest choice.
Can I stay insured through my parents?
Not for health insurance: from eighteen you have your own basic policy and pay your own premium. For liability, business work is not covered by the family policy either. Consider whether professional or business liability insurance is needed.
Do I get the self-employed deduction as a student?
Only if you meet the 1,225-hour criterion, which is rarely realistic alongside full-time study. You do get the 12.7% SME profit exemption, which has no hours criterion.
Must I file if I earn almost nothing?
If you receive a filing letter, you must always file. Even without one it is often smart: if you also had a side job, you frequently get withheld wage tax back through the return.
What if a client wants to hire me full-time after graduation?
Then watch out for false self-employment: if you end up working structurally for one client under their direction, the tax authority may treat the relationship as employment. Read how the test works in the article on the DBA Act.
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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