Perhaps your company did not get off the ground completely and that is why you choose to look for a (side) job in employment. Or maybe you have been employed for a long time and you have the ambition to become a freelancer. There can be various reasons for combining entrepreneurship with an employment contract. But are there any consequences to that?
Entrepreneur for income tax
Once your company is registered at the Chamber of Commerce you are obligated (in most cases) to do your turnover tax (VAT declaration). But this does not automatically mean that you are also an entrepreneur for income tax purposes. Here you must meet a number of requirements, such as:
- You make a profit or you expect to make a profit.
- You run risks, for example if your clients do not pay.
- You are personally liable for any debts.
- You have multiple clients.
- Your connections to the outside world as an entrepreneur, for example through a website.
Because every situation is different, the Tax and Customs Administration has made an online check. Even if you do not meet the above requirements, you can still be regarded as an entrepreneur for income tax purposes.
By doing the entrepreneurs check you can see whether you are indeed an entrepreneur for income tax purposes. You may also have to file an income tax return as a private individual. If the second situation is applicable to you, then you state the profit from your company as ‘result from other activities’. You are therefore not obliged to prepare annual accounts, for example.
Deductions
But what makes a profit return different from an income tax return as a private individual? If the tax authorities see you as an entrepreneur, you are entitled to a number of deductible items. This is the sole proprietorship deductions (possibly increased with the starter’s deduction) and the SME profit exemption. This means that you do not have to pay tax on part of your profit.
In order to be allowed to apply for ‘sole proprietorship deductions’, you must meet the hour criterion of 1225 hours per year. Have you now established that you are an entrepreneur for income tax purposes and are you filing a profit return? Then you are automatically entitled to the SME profit exemption. You do not have to pay tax on 14% of your profit.
Bottom line, this can give you a big advantage. But do you not meet the hour criteria because you are also in paid employment, or do you not meet the requirements of entrepreneurship as a result? Then you have to take into account that you have to remit at least 50% of your profits from business to the tax authorities.
What else should you pay attention to?
In order to determine how much income tax you have to pay, the tax authorities lump all your income into a large pile. The amount of tax you owe is then calculated based on this total. Do you exceed a certain threshold because of your extra income? Then you end up in the top rate and you pay a lot more tax on this income. In 2023 this limit will be €73.031.
Of course there is still a lot to take into account. Do you want to perform approximately the same work in your company as you do as an employee? Then check whether your contract does not include a non-competition clause. Get more information about, for example, necessary insurance and a supplementary pension, so that you can get started as an entrepreneur well prepared.
Keep in mind
Freelancing in addition to your employment will probably mean that you are often working for your own company in the evenings and on weekends. You naturally want to provide your own customers with your product or service on time. So hard work, but maybe this way you will land that one dream job that will allow you to grow even further!
