Financial support for self-employed professionals (Bbz)

If you are self-employed in the Netherlands and in need of financial support, your municipality can offer you various forms of social benefit options under the Decree on Assistance to the Self-Employed (Besluit bijstandverlening zelfstandigen, Bbz). The Bbz offers loans, credits or low income supplements. Also, your municipality can offer you coaching free of charge.

Different groups of self-employed persons are eligible:

• those starting a company, who receive:

  welfare (in Dutch)unemployment benefit incapacity benefit;

• established entrepreneurs who are experiencing temporary financial problems;
• entrepreneurs who are 55 or older with a non-viable company;
• entrepreneurs who wish to end their company.

When do you qualify?

Whether you are eligible for financial support as a self-employed professional depends on your situation. As does the type of support you require.There are different requirements for each situation. For instance your personal capital detemines whether your company capital is a grant or a loan (which you have to pay interest on). It is important to check which requirements apply to your situation. Your local municipality can help you with this.

How to apply?

Submit your application to your local municipal authority.

Compensation

Under the new budget, Self-employed professionals, who received financial support between 2014 and 2016 will receive compensation because they were required to add the loan as a grant to their income in their income tax returns. As a result other benefits were withdrawn. This compensation is, of course, subject to the measure passing through the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament.