Freelance KvK Income and the 30% Ruling
Short answer: usually not disqualifying. What the Belastingdienst actually checks, and how to address freelance KvK income in your application annex.
by the founder
Freelance KvK income during studies usually does not disqualify you from the 30% ruling. What matters is whether the freelance work itself would have qualified as the recruited-from-abroad role, and whether your post-graduation employment is clearly a new, separate qualifying job.
What the Belastingdienst looks at
Three things: scale of the freelance work, nature of it relative to the qualifying role, and the chronology. Small student-level freelance work in an unrelated field is rarely a problem. Substantial Dutch employment-like income in the same field is.
How to address it in the annex
- State the freelance activity clearly with dates and turnover.
- Explain the field and why it is distinct from your qualifying role.
- Confirm it ended (or continues unrelated and below a material threshold).
- Reference the recruited-from-abroad framing for the new qualifying role.
What about a Dutch BV?
A pre-existing BV that paid you employment-like income before the qualifying job is a materially higher risk. The annex needs to explain the structure, the activities, and why the new role is the qualifying employment rather than a continuation. A written Expert Check before submission is worth it for these cases.
Next
Run the 30% Check and flag the freelance income; the result will tell you whether your situation is treated as straightforward or borderline.