Include
Not every working hour is billable
Administration, sales, holiday and illness must be funded from billable hours. Use realistic weeks and hours.
From net target to rate
ZZP hourly rate calculator
Find an hourly rate that covers your net target, expenses and billable time.
Minimum rate excluding VAT
€52.37per hour · €57.60/h with a 10% buffer
- Billable hours per year
- 1.472 h
- Required annual revenue
- €77,082
- Business expenses
- − €12,000
- Income tax
- − €14,378
- Zvw contribution
- − €2,705
- Personal net income
- €48,000
Business expensesReserve for tax and ZvwNet
Reserve for tax and Zvw22,2%
This is the financial minimum under these assumptions. A buffer helps cover quiet months, investments and unexpected costs.
A rate that sustains the business
Your net target and billable capacity determine the minimum
A ZZP rate is not an employee’s gross wage. It must also fund administration, equipment, holidays, illness, gaps between projects, tax and development.
Calculate real annual capacity
Forty hours for 52 weeks gives 2,080 hours, but not every hour can be billed. Holidays, training, quotations, travel and administration may leave 1,400–1,600 billable hours.
Administrative time is still work and may count towards the hours criterion, but it does not create direct revenue. Dividing a desired salary by 160 hours often understates the needed rate.
Stress-test the rate
Include fixed and variable costs plus a reserve for late payments and quiet periods. For project pricing, divide the fee by all time: preparation, travel, delivery, corrections and administration.
Test 10% fewer billable hours and 10% higher costs. If the margin disappears, the price does not contain enough resilience.
- billable hours
- business expenses
- tax and Zvw
- holiday, illness and risk
Check the official sources