Hiring a freelance photographer, designer or copywriter: what changes after 31 December 2026?

From 31 December 2026, someone who works for your agency at a low hourly rate is presumed to be an employee. The law states at most € 36 per hour, the government states € 38. The amount as at 31 December 2026 is still to follow. For creative freelancers, what matters most is what a day rate or project price works out to per hour.

A high rate alone is no protection. If a freelancer works in your team for months, on your schedule and under your art director, it can be employment even above that threshold. From 1 January 2027 the Belastingdienst returns to normal enforcement on this.

In this article

1. What changes on 31 December 2026?
2. How do you convert a day rate or project price into an hourly rate?
3. Is a high hourly rate enough to be safe?
4. What does the Belastingdienst do in 2026 and 2027?
5. Does the BNO model agreement help?
6. Why does this affect creative agencies so often?
7. What do you record for each freelancer?

What changes on 31 December 2026?

The Dutch Civil Code gains article 7:610aa. Anyone who works for another party for pay of at most € 36 per hour is presumed to do that work under an employment contract (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 158). The law takes effect on 31 December 2026 (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 207).

The amount rises with the minimum wage. Ondernemersplein writes that it has been € 38 per hour since 1 January 2026 (Ondernemersplein). For the first application the minister sets the amount in a separate regulation (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 158, article III). That regulation had not yet been published on 31 October 2026. So the law states at most € 36, the government states € 38, and the amount as at 31 December 2026 is still to follow.

A legal presumption is a starting point that the other party has to rebut. If a freelancer invokes it, you must prove that it is not an employment contract (Ondernemersplein). A low rate is not prohibited, and the freelancer does not automatically become an employee either (KVK, updated 7 October 2026).

The presumption only works between you and the freelancer. The government writes that UWV, the Belastingdienst and the Labour Inspectorate do not test against the presumption themselves (Parliamentary paper 36 783, D). For payroll taxes the usual test still applies.

How do you convert a day rate or project price into an hourly rate?

You take the fee actually paid excluding VAT, deduct the costs made only for that assignment, and divide by the hours that belong directly to the assignment. That is how the explanatory memorandum to the law puts it (explanatory memorandum, section 4.4.2). So it is not about the rate on the quote, but about what is left per hour.

Costs that belong directly to the assignment are, for example, materials, the hire of a studio or equipment specifically for that assignment, and hiring others. A camera, laptop or software that the freelancer uses for more assignments is not deducted (explanatory memorandum, section 4.4.2). Preparation counts as hours. Sales work, administration and travel time from home do not count.

The presumption also applies to a fixed price or a price per piece. The freelancer must then make it plausible how many hours stood against that price (explanatory memorandum, section 4.4.3). A copywriter paid per word or a designer with a fixed price per logo can therefore use a record of hours to show that the hourly rate was too low.

An example. A photographer charges € 450 excluding VAT for a shoot day. That includes € 60 for a studio he hires only for this assignment. The day takes him 1 hour of preparation, 8 hours of shooting and 3 hours of editing. That leaves € 390 for 12 hours, which is € 32.50 per hour. That is below both amounts. At a day rate of € 600 it is € 45 per hour.

Is a high hourly rate enough to be safe?

No. The government writes that false self-employment can exist even at a high hourly rate. Having one's own private limited company does not prevent it either (Government of the Netherlands, FAQ on false self-employment). False self-employment means that someone is self-employed on paper but in practice works like an employee.

The court looks at all circumstances together. The Supreme Court mentions, among other things, the nature and duration of the work, who determines the work and working hours, how embedded the work is in the organisation, whether the work must be done personally, the level of pay and the commercial risk. Whether someone behaves as an entrepreneur, with their own clients and their own reputation, also counts (Supreme Court 24 March 2023, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:443).

In an agency the risk lies mainly with the regular freelancer. A designer who has been in the office four days a week for a year, appears in the team schedule, does the same tasks as your own designers and gets instructions on how to do the work looks like an employed colleague. A photographer who is asked per shoot, works for many clients and decides how to photograph does not.

If you work through an intermediary, the same rules apply. You can then also be liable for payroll taxes or VAT that the intermediary does not pay (Government of the Netherlands, FAQ on false self-employment). The general rules of the DBA Act are also in our article on hiring self-employed people and false self-employment.

What does the Belastingdienst do in 2026 and 2027?

The Belastingdienst is already enforcing, but with a soft landing. In 2025 there were no penalties. From 1 January 2026 the Belastingdienst can impose penalties for intent or gross negligence, but no default penalties yet in 2026. Additional assessments never go back further than 1 January 2025 (Belastingdienst, employment relationships and enforcement).

A penalty for intent or gross negligence (vergrijpboete) requires intent or gross fault. A default penalty (verzuimboete) is for not meeting an obligation or meeting it too late, without intent being needed. From 1 January 2027 that last part of the soft landing also ends (Parliamentary paper 36 783, D).

Until 2030 a phase-in model applies. Only in 2030 can the Belastingdienst once again issue additional assessments going back 5 years. The enforcement plan also names hiring through an intermediary as a point of attention, and says that working through a private limited company, partnership or cooperative does not rule out false self-employment (Belastingdienst, Enforcement plan employment relationships 2026).

Does the BNO model agreement help?

Yes, for payroll taxes, and only if you really work the way the model describes. The Belastingdienst has approved a model agreement for design assignments from the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO). It is valid until 31 December 2029 (Belastingdienst, model agreement for designers, no authority).

The model is meant for independent designers in all disciplines, from graphic and digital to illustration and animation. The core: the designer organises the work, decides time and duration within reasonable limits, and works without supervision or direction. You may give feedback on the purpose of the assignment, but not on how the work is done (BNO model agreement, no. 90621.64842.1.0, articles 2.3 to 2.5).

The certainty only applies if you work in line with the agreement in practice, do not change the marked articles and include the assessment number in the agreement. The opinion only covers payroll taxes, not employment law (BNO model agreement, Belastingdienst explanation). So it does not protect against a claim based on the presumption. Since 6 September 2024 the Belastingdienst no longer assesses new models (Belastingdienst, no new model agreements).

The BNO has no separate model for photographers, copywriters and other creators. The Belastingdienst list does include a model for freelance authors and editorial staff from the Dutch Publishers Association (Belastingdienst, model agreements by sector). For each model, check whether it fits the work you have done.

Why does this affect creative agencies so often?

Because the profession consists mostly of one-person businesses. According to CBS, 87.5% of advertising agencies consist of one working person. In graphic design it is 95.2% and in photography 96.4% (CBS, table 81589NED, fourth quarter of 2026). A small agency that grows often does so with freelancers instead of its own staff.

Research on careers in the cultural and creative sector in the Netherlands followed workers for ten years. More than half left the sector in that period. Careers with mainly flexible positions had the lowest and least secure income, but did make it more likely that people stayed in the sector (Been, 2025). The research describes the sector, it says nothing about an individual freelancer.

Economists see solo self-employment as an intermediate status between employment and unemployment. Based on surveys in the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy, they argue that enforcing the minimum wage and reconsidering tax advantages can help discourage hidden employment (Boeri and others, 2020). The Dutch presumption fits that idea, but the research is not about the Netherlands.

What do you record for each freelancer?

Record the rate, the hours and the way of working for each freelancer, and check every year whether practice still matches the contract. A contract only carries weight to the extent that it really matters for how the work is done (Supreme Court 24 March 2023, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:443).

• Convert every day rate, piece rate and project price into an hourly rate, using the real hours including preparation and editing. If you get close to € 38, adjust the price or the set-up.
• Describe the result for each assignment: which images, texts or designs, for what purpose and when. Give feedback on the result, not on the way of working.
• Use the BNO model agreement with the marked articles unchanged, including the assessment number, if you hire designers.
• Keep evidence that the freelancer is an entrepreneur: their own website or portfolio, other clients, their own equipment and their own invoices.
• Watch out for the regular freelancer. If someone has been in your team almost every day for more than a few months, with the same tasks as your staff, discuss whether employment would be a better fit.
• If you hire through an intermediary, ask how it assesses the employment relationship and whether it pays its payroll taxes.

Sources

• Act of 18 June 2026 amending Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code to introduce a presumption of an employment contract based on an hourly rate, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 158. officielebekendmakingen.nl
• Commencement decree, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2026, 207. officielebekendmakingen.nl
• Explanatory memorandum, Parliamentary paper 36 783, no. 3, sections 4.4.2 and 4.4.3. officielebekendmakingen.nl
• Memorandum in response to the report, Parliamentary paper 36 783, D, received 5 June 2026. officielebekendmakingen.nl
• Ondernemersplein, Low hourly rate of a self-employed person can lead to an employment contract (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
• KVK, Are you really self-employed with an hourly rate below 38 euros? (in Dutch), updated 7 October 2026. kvk.nl
• Supreme Court of the Netherlands 24 March 2023, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:443 (Deliveroo), ground 3.2.5. uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl
• Government of the Netherlands, Frequently asked questions on false self-employment (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
• Belastingdienst, Employment relationships and enforcement (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Enforcement plan employment relationships 2026 (in Dutch), version 2.0, 31 December 2025. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, No new model agreements (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Model agreement for designers, no authority (submitted by BNO), assessment no. 90621.64842.1.0 of 11 January 2022. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Download model agreements for sectors and professions (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• CBS (Statistics Netherlands), Businesses by sector (table 81589NED), SBI 2008, fourth quarter of 2026, last changed 15 October 2026. cbs.nl
• Been, W. (2025). Entrepreneurial, precarious or leaving altogether? Work trajectories in the creative industries in the Netherlands. Cultural Trends, 35(1), 90-110. doi.org
• Boeri, T., Giupponi, G., Krueger, A.B. & Machin, S. (2020). Solo self-employment and alternative work arrangements: a cross-country perspective on the changing composition of jobs. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34(1), 170-195. doi.org