Self-employed still struggling to repay tax debt from Covid pandemic

Significantly more self-employed people had tax debts compared to the period before the Covid pandemic, Statistics Netherlands reports. The total amount owed has also increased substantially since 2019, the year before the outbreak severely affected the economy.

Before the pandemic, just under 14 percent of self-employed individuals without employees and slightly over 13 percent of those with staff had tax debts. The pandemic caused these numbers to rise sharply, as restaurants, shops, and theaters were forced to close.

Last year, 27 percent of solo self-employed and 31 percent of business owners with employees still owed taxes, slightly less than in 2023, according to Statistics Netherlands.

The proportion of salaried employees with tax debts also increased slightly to 6 percent, but last year it fell back to 5 percent, nearly matching the 2019 level.

In 2024, the combined tax debts of entrepreneurs and employees totaled around 5.5 billion euros, up from 2.4 billion euros at the start of 2019. During the pandemic, many entrepreneurs used tax deferral schemes to relieve financial strain, but this led to a buildup of debts.

By April 2025, over 120,000 entrepreneurs still had unpaid Covid-related tax debts, totaling approximately 5.9 billion euros. According to the latest data from the tax authorities, the total unpaid Covid-related tax debts have fallen further to about 4.7 billion euros, involving roughly 107,662 entrepreneurs.

The debt is being repaid through a payment plan that started on 1 October 2022 and runs for 60 months, until October 2027. Entrepreneurs may pay off additional amounts at any time to reduce interest charges.