The maatschap, also known as a "group practice" or "commercial partnership", is a business structure where self-employed individuals work alongside other professionals in the same field under a shared name. This structure is useful for certain professions such as hairdressers, dentists, lawyers, architects or farmers.
The defining aspects of a maatschap are that the partners are considered more or less equal, that every partner contributes something to the partnership (such as goods or labour) and that the financial gain is shared between partners. It is not possible for one partner to receive all the profits.
The maatschap in a nutshell
- Establishment: Free, apart from small KvK fee and notary fee for partnership contract (see below)
- Capital required: None
- Governance: Partners
- Liability: Private if partnership fails its obligations
- Social security: No sickness benefits or unemployment benefits
- Taxation: BTW, income tax and payroll tax (if you have employees)
- Tax breaks: Yes if requirements are met
Maatschaps & liability
All members of a maatschap are privately liable for the business's debts. From a liability perspective, in a maatschap, partners may not make commitments on behalf of others. They must first either reach a joint agreement or issue a power of attorney.
The maatschap contract
It’s not legally compulsory to sign a partnership contract when setting up a maatschap. However a contract is strongly advised to avoid misunderstandings between partners and as evidence of business relations for the Belastingdienst.
The partnership contract can either be created independently or via a notary and usually sets out:
- Who the partners are and what they each contribute (labour, capital, and so on)
- Profit distribution based on contributions
- Allocation of responsibilities and authorised powers (on day-to-day or managerial levels)