What do I need to arrange for my first employee?
Short answer
Register as an employer with the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) to get a payroll tax number. Check your employee's ID and keep a copy, put an employment contract in writing, sign a contract with an occupational health service (arbodienst) and file a payroll tax return every month from the first salary payment.
Updated on · Reviewed by the tax advisers at Boekhoudvriend
With your first employee, you take on a number of fixed obligations. You arrange most of them once; the payroll tax return is monthly.
The checklist
- Register as an employer with the Belastingdienst
- Verify identity and keep a copy of the ID document
- A written employment contract and payroll tax declaration (loonheffingsverklaring)
- A contract with an occupational health service or company doctor
- Consider sickness absence insurance, because you continue to pay wages for up to two years during sickness
- Check whether a collective labour agreement (cao) or mandatory pension fund applies
Every month
You create a payslip, file the payroll tax return and pay the payroll taxes. We take care of that for € 13,50 per payslip, in the same system as your bookkeeping.
Sources
- Belastingdienst: registering as an employer (in Dutch)
- Belastingdienst: filing a payroll tax return (in Dutch)
This answer is general information, not personal advice. Your own situation may work out differently, so feel free to ask our team.