Global Daily Tax News, Netherlands Confirms New Year Tax Changes Following Tax Plan Approval, (Dec 24, 2025)

The Dutch Government has outlined tax changes that will become effective from January 1, 2026, following the adoption of the 2026 Tax Plan by the nation's Senate on December 16, 2025.

From 2026, 21 percent VAT will apply to overnight stays in hotel rooms, holiday homes, or mobile homes, rather than nine percent. This also applies to short-term accommodation (maximum of six months) for employees, students, asylum seekers, and the homeless.

Stricter rules will be introduced for the tax benefit for company bicycles, precluding access to the seven percent tax benefit where the bicycle is used for private purposes. Further, the low road tax rate will be reduced for camper vans and eliminated for horse transport.

To pay for the reversal of the VAT increase on culture, media, and sports, the income tax brackets and tax credits will not be fully adjusted for inflation. As a result, taxpayers will move to the next income tax bracket slightly sooner. The first income tax bracket will increase from EUR38,441 currently to EUR39,357 in 2026, and the second income tax bracket will increase from EUR76,817 currently to EUR79,137 in 2026.

The labor tax credit will also be adjusted. Relief amounts are normally linked to the increase in the statutory minimum wage but this will change from 2026, when income thresholds will be lowered. As such, people who work part-time and earn less than the minimum wage will receive a higher labor tax credit in 2026.

The excise duty reduction on gasoline, diesel, and LPG will be extended by one year, until January 1, 2027. However, the reduction will be lower due to a change made by the House of Representatives. The excise duty on a liter of gasoline will be EUR0.84, on a liter of diesel EUR0.55, and on a liter of LPG EUR0.20.

The amount that self-employed individuals can deduct from their profit will decrease to EUR1,200 next year. The exempt monthly amount for early retirement will increase by EUR300 gross in 2026.

The conditions under the tax scheme for foreign employees temporarily residing in the Netherlands (the ETK scheme) will be tightened starting in 2026. Employees will no longer be able to claim additional living expenses and additional call costs for private purposes with their country of origin tax-free.

Several adjustments are being made to inheritance and gift tax rules. For example, structures involving unequal asset division between partners before death or divorce are being addressed. This means that, upon the end of the marriage or death, spouses will pay gift or inheritance tax on half of the community property, even if they have divided it unequally on paper, to prevent one of them from paying less tax. To better enable heirs to file their inheritance tax returns, the filing period for inheritance tax after death will be extended from eight to 20 months.

People who buy a second home as an investment property or vacation home in 2026 will pay less transfer tax, with the rate to fall from 10.4 percent to eight percent.

To support the green transition, the reduced BPM rate for zero-emission cars will also apply to zero-emission motorcycles and special passenger cars, such as campers and wheelchair-accessible vehicles. At the same time, the BPM rates will be adjusted to maintain sufficient incentive to make fuel-powered vehicles even more efficient.

At the request of the House of Representatives during the debate on the Tax Plan, a discount on the additional tax liability for private use of a company car with zero CO2 emissions will be extended by two years.

For trucks weighing between 3,500kg and 12,000kg, the MRB will be replaced by a new truck levy starting July 1, 2026. The cleaner and lighter the vehicle, the lower the per-kilometer charge. For trucks weighing over 12,000kg, the MRB will decrease.

Starting in 2026, companies will pay taxes on a larger portion of the drinking water they use. The levy ceiling will increase from 300 cubic meters to 50,000 cubic meters.

A CO2 tax will also be introduced starting in 2026 on certain goods originating from outside the EU, such as iron, steel, and aluminum.

Finally, the Government has said, starting in 2026, crypto asset services providers will be required to collect personal data from customers. This data, along with transaction data, must be reported to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration by January 31, 2027. The law will be debated in Parliament in early 2026 and, once passed by both houses, will take effect retroactively from January 1, 2026, the Government said.