What exactly is the hours criterion?
The urencriterium is the condition for several entrepreneur deductions in Dutch income tax, including the self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek) and the starter's deduction (startersaftrek). If you're self-employed in the Netherlands, as an expat or international founder too, these are the hours that decide whether you get them. You have to meet two requirements in the same calendar year.
There's no pro rata reduction. If you start your business halfway through the year, you still need the full 1,225 hours in the rest of that year.
- At least 1,225 hours per calendar year on your business.
- More time on your business than on other work, such as employment.
- Starter exception: if you weren't an entrepreneur in any of the five previous years, only the 1,225 hours apply.
1,225 hours over 52 weeks averages about 23.6 hours a week. Take holidays into account and the weekly average in the weeks you do work is higher.
Which hours count?
Every hour you spend on your business counts, not only the hours you bill. That's where it usually goes wrong: many freelancers only track billable hours and lose the rest.
Hours in which you're merely available without working don't count. Waiting for a call, or having a shop open with no customers, isn't work on your business for the hours criterion.
- Counts: work for clients.
- Counts: writing quotes.
- Counts: bookkeeping and admin.
- Counts: maintaining your website.
- Doesn't count: being available without working.
How do you prove your hours?
The Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst) asks you to make your hours plausible (aannemelijk maken). There's no prescribed form or format. You prove it with what you already have, backed by a time record.
The closer your evidence is to the moment of working, the stronger it is. An overview updated weekly convinces more than a list you put together from memory the following March.
- Your calendar with meetings and client visits.
- Quotes you sent.
- A time record per day or per week.
- Invoices to clients.
What is it worth in 2026?
The self-employed deduction is €1,200 in 2026, down from €2,470 in 2025. If you're a starter, the starter's deduction of €2,123 comes on top. Both require you to meet the hours criterion.
If you also do R&D work, the WBSO (the Dutch R&D tax credit) has its own hours threshold and its own records. See WBSO time records.
| Deduction | Amount 2026 | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek) | €1,200 (2025: €2,470) | Hours criterion |
| Starter's deduction (startersaftrek) | €2,123 | Hours criterion and starter |
Keeping track without making it a second job
Most freelancers have their billable hours in order, because that's what they get paid for. The gap is everything else: sales, quotes, admin, your website. Those are exactly the hours you need to get past 1,225.
- Next to client work, set up fixed categories for non-billable work, such as ‘Admin’, ‘Sales’ and ‘Website’.
- Record every day, or at least every week. What you fill in on Friday you still remember; what you reconstruct in December you don't.
- Check your total once a month, so you see in time whether you're on track for 1,225 hours.
- At year end, export an overview and keep it with your tax return, together with your calendar, quotes and invoices.
Want help with the tracking itself? Automatic time tracking explains how to see afterwards where your time went.
How Half5 does it
In Half5 you create an activity for non-billable work, for example ‘Administratie’ (admin) or ‘Acquisitie’ (sales), and set it to ‘Niet declareerbaar’ (Non-billable). Those hours stay out of your invoicing but remain in your records. The ‘Per activiteit’ (per activity) report shows how many hours you spent per kind of work, and ‘Exporteer naar CSV’, ‘Excel’ or ‘PDF’ lets you keep the year overview with your tax return.
Half5 doesn't calculate the hours criterion for you and has no counter towards 1,225 hours; you see your totals in the reports. The desktop app for Mac and Windows and the mobile app show ‘Suggestions’ in your private Timeline for time you haven't registered yet, so the small admin jobs don't slip through.
Frequently asked questions
Do admin and sales hours count towards the hours criterion?
Yes. Every hour spent on your business counts, including writing quotes, bookkeeping and maintaining your website.
I started halfway through the year. How many hours do I need?
Still 1,225 hours. The hours criterion isn't reduced pro rata when you start later in the year.
I also have a salaried job. Can I still meet the hours criterion?
Only if, besides the 1,225 hours, you also spend more time on your business than on your job. Starters only need the 1,225 hours.
Is there a required format for my time records?
No, there's no prescribed format. You need to make your hours plausible, for example with your calendar, quotes, a time record and invoices.
Do hours count when I'm on standby for clients?
Not if you aren't working during that time. Being available without doing work for your business doesn't count.
