The jaarruimte is the amount you may pay into a Dutch annuity (lijfrente) or blocked pension savings account this year and deduct from your income. It exists to let people with a pension gap build up more.
For 2026 the allowance is 30% of your premium base, minus what you already built up in a workplace pension. The premium base is your income of the previous year minus a franchise of EUR 19,172, with income counted up to EUR 137,800. Pension accrual through an employer is deducted as factor A times 6.27. Factor A is on the yearly statement of your pension fund.
With an income of EUR 50,000 last year and no workplace pension (factor A is zero), the allowance is EUR 9,248. Paying in that amount lowers your income tax by about EUR 4,065.
That saving is the bracket rate plus the effect of a higher general tax credit. It is lower than the marginal rate on an extra euro of wage, because a deduction does not change your labour income and so leaves the labour tax credit where it was.
A freelancer usually has no workplace pension, so factor A is zero and the allowance follows entirely from last year's profit. The annuity premium is deducted in the income tax return, and unlike mortgage interest it is not capped at the basic rate: in the top bracket it is deductible at the top rate. Unused allowance from the past ten years (reserveringsruimte) can be added on top; this calculator does not include it. Rates and thresholds are indexed every year. The calculator uses the published 2026 figures; check the Belastingdienst for your own tax year before you act on a result.
A payment counts for the calendar year in which you make it. To deduct it this year, the money must be on the annuity or pension savings account before 31 December.
The part above your jaarruimte and reserveringsruimte is not deductible, while the payout later is still taxed. Calculate first, then pay in.
Yes. The deduction defers tax: the payouts from the annuity are taxed as income in box 1, usually after retirement when your rate may be lower.
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Indicative calculation, not tax advice. No rights can be derived from the result. Check amounts and rates for your year with the Belastingdienst or your adviser.