10 important changes for employers in 2026
1. 12% pseudo-final levy for passenger cars with CO2 emissions
Although there will be no change as of January 1, 2026, employers should already take into account the 12% pseudo-final levy in payroll tax from 2027 onwards. From 2027, employers will owe 12% pseudo-final levy on the catalog value of passenger cars with CO2 emissions that they make available to employees. The levy does not apply to cars that are not used privately, whereby commuting kilometers are considered private. Furthermore, the tax also does not apply to passenger cars without CO2 emissions or to cars that are not passenger cars (e.g., delivery vans).
Please note! Transitional law applies to passenger cars that were already made available before January 1, 2027. For these passenger cars, the tax will only apply from September 18, 2030.
2. Lower additional tax liability for cars with zero CO2 emissions
For the private use of new cars with zero CO2 emissions, an additional tax liability of 18% will apply in 2026 on the first €30,000 of the catalog value and 22% on the value above that amount. If a new car with zero CO2 emissions is made available in 2027, the additional tax liability will be 20% on the first €30,000 of the catalog value and 22% on the value above that amount. This additional tax liability applies for the first 60 months after the month in which the car was first registered for road use. For hydrogen or solar-powered cars, the additional tax liability percentages of 18% and 20% apply to the entire catalog value.
Please note! The additional tax liability for cars with CO2 emissions will be 22% in 2026. For cars manufactured before 2017, the additional tax liability is 25% of the catalog value. This only differs if the car has no CO2 emissions or falls under the youngtimer scheme. In that case, the additional tax liability for the car without CO2 emissions is 21% of the catalog value up to €30,000 and 25% above that amount. For youngtimers, 35% of the market value applies.
3. Age limit for youngtimer scheme raised, transitional arrangement in 2026
The additional tax liability for private use of a car that was first registered sixteen years ago will be 35% of the market value in 2026. This is also known as the youngtimer scheme. In 2025, the age limit for this scheme was still fifteen years.
If the car is less than sixteen years old in 2026 but was first registered before January 1, 2017, the additional tax liability in 2026 will be 25% of the catalog value. If such a car has no CO2 emissions, an additional tax liability percentage of 21% can be applied up to a catalog value of €30,000 in 2026.
Tip! Transitional law applies to cars that were already made available to the same employee in 2025 and that were fifteen years old or older in 2025. For these cars, an additional tax liability of 35% of the market value may be assumed for the whole of 2026.
Please note! As of January 1, 2027, the age limit in the youngtimer scheme will be raised to twenty-five years. Transitional law will then no longer apply.
4. Increase in the statutory minimum hourly wage
The statutory gross minimum hourly wage is always indexed on January 1 and July 1. As of January 1, 2026, this will be increased to €14.71 for employees aged 21 or older (as of July 1, 2025, this was still €14.40). Minimum hourly wages derived from this apply to employees between the ages of 15 and 20. There is an intention to increase these percentages as of January 1, 2027, from 80% to 87.5% for a 20-year-old, from 60% to 75% for a 19-year-old, from 50% to 62.5% for an 18-year-old, from 39.5% to 50% for a 17-year-old, and from 34.5% to 40% for a 16-year-old.
5. Partial soft landing for the enforcement of bogus self-employment in 2026
The soft landing for the enforcement of bogus self-employment as it applied in 2025 will be partially extended in 2026. This partial extension means that, in principle, the Tax and Customs Administration will also start with a business visit in 2026 instead of immediately conducting a tax audit. The entrepreneur will then, in principle, be given the opportunity to improve their business operations.
In 2026, as in 2025, the Tax and Customs Administration will be able to impose additional tax assessments. In cases of (obvious) bogus self-employment, the Tax and Customs Administration will therefore have the option to take action. Whereas in 2025 it was not yet possible to impose penalties for misconduct, this will be possible from 2026 onwards. The extension of the soft landing therefore does not apply to penalties for misconduct. The Tax and Customs Administration can impose a penalty for misconduct in cases of (conditional) intent or gross negligence. The extension of the soft landing does still apply to penalties for non-compliance. This means that the Tax and Customs Administration will not impose any penalties for non-compliance in 2026.
Please note! The extension of the soft landing only applies in 2026. From 2027 onwards, the Tax and Customs Administration will no longer start with a company visit and will therefore also impose default penalties.
6. Standard amount for customary wages increased
The standard amount for customary wages in 2026 will be €2,000 higher than the standard amount in 2025 and will amount to €58,000 per year. The customary wage you will have to apply in 2026 will depend not only on this standard amount, but also on the wage paid in the most comparable employment and on the wage of the highest-earning employee of your private limited company or affiliated private limited companies.
7. Discretionary scope remains the same, but standard amounts for the WKR increase
In 2026, as in 2025, the discretionary scope in the WKR will be 2% of the wage bill up to €400,000 and 1.18% above that amount. From January 1, 2027, the discretionary scope will increase to 2.16% of the wage bill up to €400,000 and 1.18% above that amount.
The tax-free allowance for working from home will be €2.45 per day in 2026 (2025: €2.40). The standard amount for the value of meals in canteens or during staff parties at the company location will also increase in 2026 to €4.05 per meal (2025: €3.95). The standard amount for accommodation in lodging will increase from €6.80 per day in 2025 to €7.00 per day in 2026.
8. Tax-free volunteer allowance to €2,200
The maximum tax-free volunteer allowance in 2026 will be €2,200 per year and €220 per month (in 2025 €2,100 per year and €210 per month). The tax-free volunteer allowance must remain within the maximum amounts and the volunteer must not perform the work on a professional basis for designated, non-commercial organizations. The Tax and Customs Administration assumes that the work is not performed as a profession if the maximum hourly allowance in 2026 is €5.75 (in 2025 this was €5.60). For volunteers under the age of 21, this maximum hourly allowance is €3.40 (in 2025 €3.30).
9. Changes to wage cost benefits for job agreements
The wage cost benefit (LKV) for job agreements has been changed with effect from 2026. For example, you no longer need a target group declaration for this LKV, but you must check the target group register at the UWV to see whether the employee is included in it. Furthermore, the maximum period of three years has been abolished. From 2026, you will therefore be entitled to this LKV as long as the employee is employed by you and is included in the target group register. From 2026, people with learning disabilities and employees with an indication for sheltered employment will no longer be entitled to the LKV, unless you can make use of the transitional law for employment relationships that commenced before 2026.
Please note! Another LKV, the LKV for older employees, will be abolished on January 1, 2026, for employment relationships that began on or after January 1, 2024. For employment relationships that began before that date, the right to the LKV for older employees will continue to exist in 2026 until the end of the maximum term of three years.
10. No WPM reporting for companies with up to 250 employees from 2027
Employers with 100 or more employees are required to report on their employees’ business travel and commuting. This obligation is known as the ‘Work-related personal mobility reporting obligation’, abbreviated to WPM.
The intention is to exempt companies with up to 250 employees from this obligation from 2027 onwards. Legislation to this effect is currently being prepared. The State Secretary is consulting with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) about enforcement until January 1, 2027. He would like municipalities and environmental services to exercise restraint in enforcing their powers with regard to companies with up to 250 employees until January 1, 2027.
Registration in a one-stop shop system
The fixed customs duty of € 3 will apply to all goods entering the EU if the sellers from outside the EU are registered in the EU’s single window system for imports. Ninety-three percent of all e-commerce to the EU is registered in the one-stop shop system.
The levy will only apply to parcels with a value of up to € 150. Customs duties already apply to parcels worth € 150 or more.
Please note! The fixed customs duty will apply per product group. If a parcel contains three different products, a fixed customs duty of € 3 will be payable three times from July 1, 2026.
Temporary solution
The € 3 customs duty is a temporary solution until 2028. In November 2025, the Council of the European Union committed to introducing customs duties for small parcels as soon as possible. Once introduced, customs duties will be paid on all goods worth less than € 150 at the normal EU rates for the individual products. Until then, the temporary arrangement will apply from July 1, 2026, whereby a fixed customs duty of € 3 will be levied. It will therefore still be possible to undervalue parcels in order to evade and avoid tax and import duties.
Administrative costs
There is also a proposal to introduce a € 2 levy for administrative costs in addition to the fixed customs duty. This is due to take effect from November 2026, but the government is considering introducing it earlier in the Netherlands. In doing so, the Netherlands is following developments in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Implementation will take place on February 1, 2026, at the earliest.
1. Anticipate 12% extra tax on company fossil fuel passenger cars
Employers will pay extra tax if, from January 1, 2027, they make a company fossil fuel passenger car (CO2 emissions greater than zero) available to their employees for private use for the first time. The catch with this regulation is that commuting is also considered private use! In principle, the tax amounts to 12% of the catalog value. For passenger cars made available before 2027, the levy will not take effect until September 17, 2030. Therefore, you should also take this regulation into account if you are considering making fossil fuel passenger cars available for the first time before 2027. If you are purchasing or leasing a car with a longer term, you may want to opt for an emission-free passenger car.
Please note! The additional tax liability for company cars will also remain in place! However, the lower additional tax liability for company cars that do not emit CO2 will be abolished in 2026. If you purchase an electric car in 2025, you will still benefit from the low additional tax liability for a maximum of five years.
2. Plan the composition of your box 3 assets
If you have private assets, it is important to take into account the tax you have to pay on the different types of assets in box 3. The amount of box 3 tax depends not only on the amount of your assets, but also on their composition.
Furthermore, movable property for personal use (such as household effects, jewelry, or a boat) is not included in box 3. You can therefore save on tax by planning wisely around the reference date of January 1, 2026. Buy movable property for personal use before January 1, 2026, rather than just after that date. And if you have sold immovable property in box 3, check whether it can be transferred to the notary before January 1, 2026. In that case, the statutory return on this property on January 1, 2026 will not be 7.78%, but the much lower statutory return that applies to bank balances.
Please note! Advice regarding box 3 is always tailored to individual circumstances and involves more than described above! Therefore, consult your advisor for your own situation.
3. Check whether you can apply the box 3 rebuttal rule
If your total actual return in box 3 is lower than the total calculated statutory return, you may be able to invoke the box 3 rebuttal rule. The Supreme Court ruled on this in mid-2024. In principle, it is possible to invoke the box 3 rebuttal rule for the years 2017 to 2027. However, for the years 2017-2020, this is only possible if your final income tax assessment was not yet irrevocably determined on December 24, 2021, and you lodged an objection or requested an ex officio reduction in good time. To invoke the rebuttal rule, you must use the Opgaaf Werkelijk Rendement (OWR) form. The Tax and Customs Administration will be sending out letters in phases starting in July. Once you receive this letter, please contact our advisors as soon as possible. In certain cases, the response period is only twelve weeks!
Please note! The calculation of the actual return is likely to differ from what you have in mind for an actual return. For example, unrealized changes in value are also taken into account. To assess whether you can invoke the box 3 rebuttal rule, please contact our advisors.
Tip! If your actual return is higher, you do not need to do anything. You simply pay box 3 tax based on the statutory return.
4. Pay out dividends or not yet?
In 2025, the rate in box 2 will be 24.5% up to an income of €67,804 (or €135,608 for joint tax partners). The rate for amounts above this will be 31% in 2025. It is therefore more attractive to pay dividends up to €67,804 (€135,608 for fiscal partners) than a higher amount. Check what amounts of dividends you want to pay out in the coming years and take these rate differences into account.
5. Anticipate VAT revision services from 2026
A VAT adjustment scheme already applies to investments in movable and immovable property. From 2026, a VAT adjustment scheme will also apply to services of at least € 30,000 (excluding VAT) relating to immovable property. From 2026, these investment services will be monitored in the year of commissioning, plus the four subsequent years. If the use for VAT-taxed and/or VAT-exempt services changes during that period, the VAT deduction on the investment service will be revised.
The VAT revision scheme only applies to services that serve the immovable property for several years, such as the renovation and maintenance of immovable property, but also demolition work related to a renovation. Materials, installations, machines, and tools that are incorporated into a service and lose their independence after installation or assembly are also considered part of the investment service.
The VAT revision scheme will apply to investment services that are put into use from January 1, 2026. If you put these investment services into use before this date, they will not be affected by the scheme.
Tip! The € 30,000 limit applies per service.
6. Enforcement of bogus self-employment
After years without enforcement (except in cases of malicious intent), the Tax and Customs Administration will resume enforcement of bogus self-employment from January 1, 2025. Please note that from 2026, fines may also be imposed again, even if there is no intent or bad faith. Pseudo-self-employment occurs when a self-employed person (freelancer) is actually employed by a client according to the legal rules. Do you work with self-employed people? Then check carefully whether they should actually be employed by you. What agreements have you made, how have you recorded them, and do the agreements actually correspond to practice?
Please note! Contractual agreements do not always correspond to how things work in practice. The actual performance of the work is decisive.
7. Only buy a second home in 2026
Are you planning to purchase a home that you will not use as your primary residence, for example, a home to rent to your child? If possible, wait until after 2025. From 2026, the transfer tax for homes that you will not use as your main residence will be reduced from 10.4% to 8%. This can make a significant difference to your wallet. For example, the benefit for a home worth € 500,000 is already € 12,000.
8. Utilize your discretionary scope
Under the work-related expenses scheme, as an employer you do not pay tax if your reimbursements and benefits in kind to your staff remain within the discretionary scope. In 2025, this will be 2% up to a total taxable wage bill of €400,000 and 1.18% above that amount. Check whether you still have any discretionary scope left and make use of it if you want to reward your staff with extra benefits. Any surplus discretionary scope cannot be carried over to 2026. If you are a director/major shareholder of a private limited company, you can also give yourself a tax-free bonus in this way, provided that this bonus meets the customary practice test.
Tip! Up to a total amount of € 2,400 per employee per year, the Tax and Customs Administration assumes in principle that the customary practice test has been passed.
9. Purchase an annuity this year
Amounts paid for the purchase of an annuity are deductible under certain conditions. For those with a pension shortfall in 2024, the annual tax allowance for the deduction of annuity premiums in 2025 is 30% of income (including profit and wages). The maximum annual allowance in 2025 is € 35,798. Perhaps you also have reserve allowance from previous years? If so, you can use a maximum of € 42,108 of this in 2025. Make sure you pay the annuity premiums in 2025! Only then can you still deduct them in your 2025 income tax return. If you pay in 2025, your bank balances on January 1, 2026 will be lower and you may also pay less tax in box 3 for 2026.
Please note! The amounts paid for annuities are only deductible if there is insufficient pension accrual. The 2025 tax allowance reflects this pension shortfall in 2024.
10. Do not let your reinvestment period expire
Do not let the period for reinvestment reserves (HIR) formed in the past expire. In principle, you must use any HIR you formed in 2022 before December 31, 2025. If you do not, the HIR will be released and you will owe tax on it.
Tip! In special circumstances, a longer reinvestment period is sometimes possible. For more information, please contact our advisors.
Let op! Some of the above tips are not yet final and still need to be approved by the new House of Representatives and Senate. We would therefore be happy to discuss with you personally whether it is wise to take action or not.
Please note!This article outlines government proposals that will be debated by the Lower and Upper House over the forthcoming period. Unless indicated otherwise, the proposed measures will enter into force with effect from 1 January 2026.
1. Employers will pay a 12% levy on company fossil fuel passenger cars
From January 1 2027 as an employer, you will owe a pseudo-final levy of 12% if you provide a passenger car with CO2 emissions to an employee for private use and/or commuting. The aim of this scheme is to accelerate the transition to electric passenger cars, in line with the climate targets for 2030. Fully electric passenger cars and passenger cars used exclusively for business purposes are excluded from the regulation.
Please note!Commuting is explicitly classified as private use. This is therefore different from the calculation of the additional tax liability for private use of a company car!
From January 1 2027 you will therefore have to calculate a pseudo final levy on a monthly basis. You can pay this levy monthly, but you can also wait until the second payroll tax period in 2028 to pay it. The levy may not be passed on to the employee. A personal contribution from the employee for private use does not affect the amount of the levy.
Please note!Until 17 September 17 2030 no pseudo-final levy is due on passenger cars made available to employees before 1 January 2027. After this date, the levy will apply to all fossil fuel passenger cars used for private purposes.
2. Adjustments to box 3: higher return, lower exempt capital
From 1 January 2026 the government will implement a number of adjustments to the current box 3 scheme as a prelude to the new system based on actual returns. The intended implementation date of the new system is 1 January 2028. Below are the most important points as of 1 January 2026:
- The fixed return for other assets will increase from 6% to 7.78%. The 1.78% increase is intended to cover the expected budgetary loss from the later introduction of the new system (2028 instead of 2026).
- At the same time, also to cover the budgetary loss, the tax-free allowance will decrease from € 57,684 to € 51,396 per person, as a result of which more taxpayers will pay box 3 tax.
- The rules for rebutting the presumption of actual return will be tightened. Among other things, this is intended to combat tax avoidance through bonds with accrued interest. Purchases made after 25 August 2025, will be subject to stricter conditions.
- The vacancy value ratio will be limited: renting to affiliated parties at a non-market rent will no longer be covered by this scheme. This prevents tax advantages through artificially low rents. Affiliated parties are parties that are so closely related that they agree on a rent that would not normally apply in the market.
3. Various changes to rates
For taxpayers younger than the state pension age, the rate in the first income tax bracket will decrease slightly, from 35.82% (2025) to 35.70% (2026). The second bracket will increase slightly, from 37.48% (2025) to 37.56% (2026). The third bracket will remain unchanged (49.50%). For taxpayers older than the state pension age, there will be a reduction in the first bracket from 17.92% (2025) to 17.80% (2026). The second bracket will increase slightly, from 37.48% (2025) to 37.56% (2026), and the third bracket will also remain unchanged (49.50%).
In addition, the bracket lengths in box 1 of the income tax will change with limited indexation. The highest rate of 49.50% will apply to incomes above €79,137.
To make working more attractive, the maximum employed person’s tax credit will be increased from € 5,599 (2025) to € 5,712 (2026).
The maximum general tax credit will increase slightly, from € 3,068 to € 3,115 (for taxpayers older than the state pension age from €1,536 to € 1,554), and the maximum income-related combination credit will increase from € 2,986 to € 3,032. The elderly tax credit and the single parent tax credit will also increase slightly.
For entrepreneurs, the self-employed deduction will decrease from € 2,470 to € 1,200; this is in line with the policy of phasing out tax benefits for the self-employed. For entrepreneurs, this means that the tax incentive for self-employment will further decrease. The SME profit exemption will remain unchanged at 12.70%.
4. The reporting obligation for personal mobility will be relaxed
The reporting obligation for work-related personal mobility (WPM) now only applies to companies with 250 or more employees. Previously, this obligation applied to companies with 100 or more employees, but on Prince´s Day it was announced that the threshold for the obligation would be raised to 250 employees.
5. Clarification of bicycle scheme
Since 1 January 1 2020 an additional tax liability of 7% (minus any personal contribution by the employee) applies to a company bicycle that an employee also uses privately. This additional tax liability is mandatory as soon as the bicycle is used for commuting. The government proposes to amend this scheme with retroactive effect to 1 January 2020. If the bicycle is not parked at the employee’s home or place of residence, or if it is parked there for no more than 10% of the time, the additional tax liability is zero. This means that no wage or income tax is due. In this way, the scheme prevents unintended taxation in the case of, for example, hub bicycles or campus bicycles. This scheme also applies to entrepreneurs subject to income tax.
Please note!If the bicycle is parked more than 10% at the employee’s home or place of residence, the regular additional tax liability of 7% applies.
6. Transfer tax: introduction of 8% rate in 2026
From 1 January 2026 four rates will apply to transfer tax (already adopted in 2024). The standard rate of 2% applies to homes that the buyer uses as their primary residence. First-time buyers under the age of 35 can, under certain conditions, apply a 0% exemption when purchasing a home with a market value of up to € 555,000 (2026). For homes that are not used as a primary residence, a new rate of 8% will apply from 2026. This includes investment properties, vacation homes, homes for children, or rented homes.
Please note!The rate for non-residential properties will remain at 10.4%. This applies to commercial real estate, business premises, and undeveloped land, for example.
7. VAT on culture, media, and sports will remain at 9%
The government has decided to maintain the reduced VAT rate of 9% on culture, media, and sports. The increase to 21% as of 1 January 2026, which was adopted at the end of 2024, will therefore be scrapped. Maintaining the low rate will cost € 1.3 billion on a structural basis. The government will cover this by limiting the inflation adjustment on income and payroll tax.
Please note!However, the general rate of 21% will apply to accommodation providers (such as hotels and B&Bs) from January 1, 2026. This adopted VAT increase will therefore not be reversed.
8. Early retirement scheme to be continued on a structural basis from 2026
The temporary RVU threshold exemption will be continued on a structural basis from 2026. This will allow employees – under certain conditions – to stop working up to three years before reaching the state pension age and receive a benefit. If that benefit remains within the threshold amount, the employer will not pay a pseudo-final levy of 52%.
In addition to the continuation of the scheme, the threshold amount will also increase by € 300 gross per month and this amount will be indexed annually in line with the minimum wage. In 2025, the RVU threshold exemption will be € 2,273 per month.
The pseudo-final levy paid on amounts above the RVU threshold exemption will also increase. Above this threshold, a pseudo-final levy of 52% currently applies, but this will rise to 57.7% in 2026, to 64% in 2027, and to 65% from 2028 onwards.
9. Tax benefit for green investments reduced
Green investments currently yield a tax benefit through an exemption in box 3. In addition, a tax credit of 0.1% applies to the exempt amount. The scheme applies to investments in recognized green funds that finance sustainable and innovative projects.
This benefit has already been gradually phased out since January 1, 2025. In 2025, the exemption will be € 26,312 (€52,624 for tax partners). In 2026, the exemption will still exist, but in 2027 it will only amount to €200 (€400 for partners). The scheme will therefore effectively be abolished.
The tax credit will formally remain in place in 2027, but the effect will be marginal due to the 0.1% percentage. The tax benefit was actually supposed to be abolished on January 1, 2027, but due to implementation problems at the Tax and Customs Administration, the final abolition has been postponed to 1 January 1 2028.
10. Clarification of inheritance and gift tax
Four measures relating to inheritance and gift tax were presented on Prince`s Day 2025. The government’s aim is to clarify tax practice and prevent unfair situations. The proposed measures are:
- From 1 January 1 2026 gifts made within 180 days of death will only be taxed through inheritance tax and no longer first through gift tax. Currently, both a gift tax and inheritance tax return must be filed.
- From 1 January 2026 biological children without legal recognition will be treated in the same way as legally recognized (biological) children for inheritance and gift tax purposes. This will allow them to benefit from the child rate and the child exemption. A close personal relationship is implicitly demonstrated by the fact that the biological parent makes a gift to the child or leaves something to them. The condition is that biological parenthood can be proven by means of a DNA test.
- Incidentally, by invoking the hardship clause, it will also be possible to request the application of the child rate and the child exemption before 2026.
- In the case of prenuptial agreements with unequal shares (e.g., 90/10), everything above 50% is subject to inheritance or gift tax. Prenuptial agreements concluded before 4 p.m. on 16 September 16 2025, are excluded from this measure, provided that they are not amended at a later date.
- The filing deadline for inheritance tax is extended from 8 to 20 months after death. Tax interest will only start to accrue from the 21st month. This gives you more time to file a correct and complete return and reduces the risk of requests for deferral and objection procedures.
