How does the startersaftrek (starters' deduction) work?
The startersaftrek does not stand alone but comes on top of the zelfstandigenaftrek. So you only get to it if you also get that deduction: you are an entrepreneur for income tax and you meet the urencriterium of 1,225 hours. If you do not meet the urencriterium in a year, there is no deduction that year and you do not use up one of the three counts either.
The counter is the part that asks for bookkeeping. You have five years in which you may use it and three times that you may do so. If you make a profit in years one and two and a loss in year three, you can use the third count in year four or five, but not later. So record per year whether the deduction was applied, because without that record you cannot show at an audit how many counts you had left.
The behaviour in a loss year is the point where the two deductions diverge. The zelfstandigenaftrek runs into a zero limit and the unused part carries forward. The startersaftrek has no such limit: it also lowers your profit below zero, and so increases the loss you can offset against other years. Arithmetically, that is an advantage that only becomes visible later, namely in the year in which you offset that loss.
Where is the startersaftrek (starters' deduction) in the law?
These legal sources come from the specialist dossiers that were reviewed on 31 August 2026. Mind the difference that becomes large in a dispute: a statutory article next to a value is where that value is found, not a justification for how it applies to your situation.
- Article 3.76(3) of the Dutch Income Tax Act (Wet IB 2001)regulates the increase of the zelfstandigenaftrek for the starting entrepreneur, with the condition of at most three times in the first five years
- Article 3.76(2) of the Dutch Income Tax Act (Wet IB 2001)contains the zero limit that applies to the ordinary zelfstandigenaftrek and from which the startersaftrek is exempt
The links go to the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl, in the version that applied on 24 September 2026.
What does basestep do with the startersaftrek (starters' deduction)?
The tax engine tracks the counter: how many of the three times you have used and how many years you still have within the five-year window. In a loss year the platform calculates the startersaftrek through below zero and the zelfstandigenaftrek not, with the derivation alongside, so you see why the two turn out differently. It is an estimate based on your own input; you file yourself and the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) sets the assessment.
All calculations, explanations and signals in basestep are calculation support and instruction, not tax or legal advice. Amounts are estimates based on your own input; the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) sets the assessment.
Where does it go wrong with the startersaftrek (starters' deduction)?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Setting the startersaftrek to zero in a loss year
That is the rule of the zelfstandigenaftrek, not of this one. The startersaftrek may increase the loss, and that larger loss can be offset later. If you cut it off, you leave money on the table that only shows years later.
Thinking it is five years in a row
It is three times within five years, not five times. In a year without the urencriterium you use no count, so the three can be spread out.
Not recording the counter per year
Keeping only a total is not enough. You must be able to show per year whether the deduction was applied, otherwise you cannot substantiate how many counts you had left.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.