# Depreciation for freelancers: the €450 rule and KIA in 2026

Updated 24 September 2026. Source: https://goldmary.eu/en/blog/afschrijven-kleine-investeringen

**Short answer:** If a business asset costs less than €450 excluding VAT, you expense it at once as costs. If it costs more and lasts longer than a year, you depreciate it: you spread the costs minus the residual value (restwaarde) over the years of use, with a maximum of 20% of the purchase cost a year. If in 2026 you invest in total between €2,901 and €398,236, you also get the small-scale investment credit (kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek, KIA) on top.

## What is depreciation?

If you buy something for your business that lasts for years, such as a laptop, a camera or a desk, that is a business asset (bedrijfsmiddel). You may not deduct the costs in a single year. You spread them over the years in which you use it. Each year you deduct part of it from your profit. That part is called depreciation (afschrijving).

Depreciation lowers your profit, and so the income tax you pay. In the end you get the same amount of deduction, only spread over more years.

## When may you expense a purchase at once?

If a business asset costs less than €450, you may book it fully as costs in the year of purchase. If you deduct VAT, you look at the amount excluding VAT. If you may not deduct VAT, for example because you use the [small business scheme](https://goldmary.eu/en/blog/kleineondernemersregeling-kor), then €450 including VAT applies.

| Purchase (excl. VAT) | What you do |
| --- | --- |
| Mouse at €45.00 | Expense at once |
| Office chair at €420.00 | Expense at once |
| Monitor at €480.00 | Depreciate |
| Laptop at €1,500.00 | Depreciate |

_Examples for a business owner who deducts VAT._

## How do you work out the depreciation per year?

The Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) uses this formula: **depreciation per year = (purchase cost − residual value) ÷ years of use**.

- **Purchase cost**: the price plus extra costs, such as installation, minus discounts and subsidies. If you deduct VAT, you work without VAT.
- **Residual value**: what the item is expected to still be worth when you stop using it for your business. For a laptop that is often little.
- **Years of use**: how many full years you expect to use it. Many business owners choose five years for equipment.

Per year you may never depreciate more than 20% of the purchase cost (for goodwill that is 10%). In practice that means: at least five years. If you buy something halfway through the year, then in that first year you only depreciate for the months you had it.

## Example: depreciating a laptop

Mark is a web developer and deducts VAT. On 1 April he buys a laptop at €1,500.00 excluding VAT. He expects to use it for five years and estimates the residual value at €100.00.

1. Amount to depreciate: €1,500.00 − €100.00 = €1,400.00.
2. Per year: €1,400.00 ÷ 5 = €280.00. That is less than 20% of €1,500.00 (€300.00), so it is allowed.
3. First year, April to December: 9/12 × €280.00 = €210.00.

| Year | Depreciation | Book value end of year |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 (9 months) | €210.00 | €1,290.00 |
| 2 | €280.00 | €1,010.00 |
| 3 | €280.00 | €730.00 |
| 4 | €280.00 | €450.00 |
| 5 | €280.00 | €170.00 |
| 6 (3 months) | €70.00 | €100.00 |

_Together €1,400.00. At the end the laptop stands at the residual value._

If you sell the laptop earlier, you compare the selling price with the book value (boekwaarde) at that moment. If you get more, the difference is profit. If you get less, it is a loss.

## What is the small-scale investment credit (KIA) in 2026?

The KIA is an extra deduction from your profit, on top of depreciation. It depends on what you invest in total in business assets in a year. A business asset below €450 does not count.

| Total investment in 2026 | KIA |
| --- | --- |
| Up to €2,900 | None |
| €2,901 to €71,683 | 28% of the amount |
| €71,684 to €132,746 | €20,072 |
| €132,747 to €398,236 | €20,072 minus 7.56% of the part above €132,746 |
| More than €398,236 | None |

_Source: Belastingdienst, small-scale investment credit 2026._

In the same year Mark also buys a desk at €900.00 and a camera at €1,200.00. Together with the laptop he invests €3,600.00. That is more than €2,901, so he gets 28% KIA: €1,008.00. He deducts that from his profit, next to the normal depreciation. With only the laptop he would have got no KIA.

> **Note.** If you plan a large purchase around the turn of the year, check in which year you pass the lower KIA limit. Buying to save tax only pays off if you really need the item: you do spend the money.

## What must you keep?

Keep a list of your business assets with the purchase date, the amount, the residual value, the years of use and the book value per year. Keep the purchase invoice for 7 years. Read more in [keeping receipts](https://goldmary.eu/en/blog/bonnetjes-bewaren).

## Questions

### Is the 450 euro limit including or excluding VAT?

Excluding VAT if you deduct VAT. If you may not deduct VAT, as with the KOR, then €450 including VAT applies.

### How much may I depreciate per year?

At most 20% of the purchase cost a year. For goodwill that is 10%. So you depreciate over at least five years.

### Must I use a residual value?

You estimate what the business asset is still worth at the end of the years of use. Below that residual value you do not depreciate. For equipment that is worth little after five years, the residual value is low.

### Do I get KIA on a single laptop?

Usually not. The KIA only starts if in a year you invest in total at least €2,901 in business assets of €450 or more.

### What if I buy something halfway through the year?

Then in the first year you only depreciate for the months you owned it. If you buy on 1 April, that is 9/12 of the yearly depreciation.

## Sources

- [Belastingdienst: How to work out the depreciation amount (in Dutch)](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/winst/inkomstenbelasting/inkomstenbelasting_voor_ondernemers/afschrijving/hoe_berekent_u_het_bedrag_van_de_afschrijving)
- [Belastingdienst: Costs you may deduct in 1 year (in Dutch)](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/winst/inkomstenbelasting/inkomstenbelasting_voor_ondernemers/zakelijke_kosten/kosten_die_u_in_1_jaar_mag_aftrekken)
- [Belastingdienst: Small-scale investment credit 2026 (in Dutch)](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/winst/inkomstenbelasting/veranderingen-inkomstenbelasting-2026/investeringsaftrek-2026/kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek-2026)
- [Belastingdienst: Small-scale investment credit (KIA) (in Dutch)](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/winst/inkomstenbelasting/inkomstenbelasting_voor_ondernemers/investeringsaftrek_en_desinvesteringsbijtelling/kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek_kia)

_General information, not tax advice. Amounts are for 2026._