Labour migrants who want to stay in the Netherlands for more than four months must register as residents in the municipality where they will be living within five days of their arrival. For shorter stays, they can register at a Non-Resident Registration (RNI) desk. Migrant workers are regularly incorrectly listed as non-residents in the BRP. This means that municipalities and other organisations do not have a clear picture of where migrant workers are staying.
Migrant workers themselves remain responsible for correct registration in the BRP. What is changing is that employers who hire migrant workers are obliged to support the migrant worker in registering in the BRP at the start of an employment contract. This can be done by providing the correct information in the language of the migrant worker. The employment agency must then verify that the migrant worker is actually registered.
These measures will become part of the Placement of Personnel by Intermediaries Act (Waadi). The rule applies to all employers who send migrant workers.
The government is also working on raising awareness among migrant workers. For example, they are working on communicating by email to make migrant workers aware of the importance of correct registration. In addition, migrant workers can contact regional physical and mobile WorkinNL information points with questions about registration in the BRP. These WorkinNL points are being rolled out across the country and services are provided in several languages.
If it is up to the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, employment agencies will also be responsible for the proper registration of migrant workers in the Dutch Personal Records Database (BRP). Currently, migrant workers are responsible for their own registration, with the result that many migrant workers are not registered correctly.
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The statutory minimum wage is indexed twice a year, on January 1 and July 1. The statutory gross minimum hourly wage for employees aged 21 or older was increased to €14.06 on January 1, 2025.
As of January 1, 2025, the enforcement moratorium on employment relationships has been completely lifted. The Tax Authorities can therefore once again fully enforce an incorrect qualification of an employment relationship and impose correction obligations and additional tax assessments.
Please note! The Tax Authorities can only go back to January 1, 2025, unless there is malicious intent.
In principle, the Tax and Customs Administration will start in 2025 with a company visit during which a discussion is held with the client about the hiring of self-employed persons and external personnel. Where necessary, the client will be alerted to attention for the qualification of the employment relationships and possible risks of false self-employment. In this way the client is warned. The Tax Authorities can also opt for an audit, for example if it is estimated that there are major risks or if the client works or continues to work with pseudo self-employed persons.
Tip! For the calendar year 2025, employers and employees will not yet be charged default and penalty fines if they can prove that they are taking steps against false self-employment.
The Tax Office will no longer approve new model agreements as of September 6, 2024. However, all current approved model agreements have been automatically extended until the end of 2029. However, the Tax Office can revoke a model agreement if it no longer complies with laws, regulations and case law or if it turns out that the conditions of the model agreement are not or cannot be met.
Tip! If you want the Tax Authorities to assess an employment relationship, use the form Request for pre-consultation assessment employment relationship. The Checklist for prior consultation to assess the working relationship contains the minimum information you must include in your request.
The work-related expenses scheme allows you, as an employer, to offer or provide various tax-free reimbursements to your staff. If the allowances remain within the fixed budget, then the employer does not have to pay tax on this either. In 2025 the fixed budget will be slightly increased to 2% (in 2024 still 1.92%) of the wage bill, up to an amount of € 400,000. Insofar as the wage bill is higher, the fixed budget on the excess remains 1.18%, as in 2024.
For the additional costs associated with working from home, you can - subject to conditions - give an untaxed allowance to your employee. This untaxed reimbursement will be €2.40 per day in 2025. The standard compensation for the value of meals in company canteens (or similar areas) or during staff parties at the company location will be € 3.95 per meal in 2025. The standard compensation for accommodation at the workplace will increase to € 6.80 per day in 2025.
The standard amount for the customary salary in 2025 is equal to the standard amount in 2024 and amounts to € 56,000 per year. After years of increasing the standard amount (in 2023, for example, it was € 51,000 and in 2022 it was € 48,000), you therefore do not have to take a higher standard amount into account in 2025. Nevertheless, the customary salary may still be higher in 2025 than in 2024, depending on the salaries from the most comparable employment and the salaries of the highest-earning employee of your company or related companies.
The maximum untaxed volunteer compensation in 2025 will also remain the same as in 2024, namely a maximum of €2,100 per year and €210 per month. The untaxed volunteer compensation must remain within the maximum amounts and the volunteer must not perform the work as a profession for designated, non-commercial organizations. The Tax Office assumes that the work is not performed by way of profession if the maximum hourly compensation in 2025 is €5.60. For volunteers under 21 years of age, this maximum hourly compensation in 2025 is €3.30.
The additional tax rate for new cars without CO2 emissions (including fully electric cars) will increase in 2025 to 17% up to a list price of € 30,000 and to 22% above that. The year 2025 is the last year in which a discount applies to such new cars. The additional tax rate for new cars with CO2 emissions of more than 0 grams per kilometer will not change in 2025. It will remain, as in previous years, at 22%.
An employer can buy off the addition for the private use of a van used alternately by several employees by applying a final levy. The amount of this final levy will no longer be €300 per year in 2025, but has been increased to €438 per year (€36.50 per month).
Please note! The untaxed travel compensation for business travel expenses with own transport, including commuting, is the same in 2025 as in 2024 and amounts to € 0.23/km.
Through the Wet Bevordering Speur- en Ontwikkelingswerk (WBSO), employers receive a compensation for the costs of innovative work. The employer deducts the compensation granted from the payroll tax to be paid. Various percentages of the WBSO have been increased effective January 1, 2025. As of 2025, a percentage of 36% applies for costs up to €380,000 and 16% for the excess. For startups, a percentage of 50% applies for costs up to € 380,000 as of 2025.
The Wet tegemoetkomingen loondomein (Wtl) contributes to encourage employers to hire and retain people with a vulnerable position. As of 2025, the Wtl includes only the wage cost benefit (LKV). The low-income benefit (LIV) has been abolished as of January 1, 2025. Payment of the 2024 LIV will still take place in July/August 2025.
Another change is the phasing out of the LKV for older workers. For employment relationships that began before January 1, 2024, the LKV for older employees of €3.05 per hour worked with a maximum of €6,000 per calendar year will remain in place until the end of the maximum three-year term. However, for employment relationships that began on or after January 1, 2024, the LKV has been reduced as of January 1, 2025 to € 1.35 per hour worked with a maximum of € 2,600 per calendar year.
Please note! As of January 1, 2026, you are no longer entitled to recieve LKV for these employment relationships. However, the LKV 2025 will still be paid for these employment relationships in 2026.
Furthermore, as of 2025, the criteria of the LKV reemployed employee with disabilities have been expanded. For an employee who during the waiting period of the WIA fully or partially resumes his own work or fully or partially starts working for you in another position, you will also be entitled to this LKV from 2025.
The differentiated premium for the General Unemployment Fund (Awf) consists of a high and low Awf contribution. As an employer, you may apply a low Awf contribution if a number of conditions are met. If you do not meet these conditions, you will pay a high Awf contribution. The low contribution in 2025 is 2.74%, the high contribution is 7.74%.
In certain situations, you must retroactively revise a low Awf contribution to a high Awf contribution. This is the case, for example, if the paid hours of an employee for whom you applied the low Awf contribution are more than 30% higher than the contract hours in a year. For the year 2024, you will then only still have to apply the high Awf contribution for employees with an employment contract of less than 35 hours per week on average. Check in early 2025 whether you need to apply such a revision for the year 2024. For the year 2025, you are less likely to need to apply such a revision. You then only need to do so for employees with employment contracts averaging 30 hours or less per week.
Please note! The low Awf contribution must also be revised to the high Awf contribution if a new employee resigns or is laid off within two months of starting employment. This revision does not depend on the number of contract hours and thus applies to all contracts.
The 30% scheme is a tax regulation whereby, under strict conditions, up to 30% of the salary may be paid tax-free to personnel recruited from abroad. This regulation was to be made more flexible, but a large part of the reduction has been reversed with effect from 2025. This means that if the strict conditions are met, in 2025 and 2026 the percentage of up to 30% may still be applied as usual. From 2027 this percentage will be reduced to 27%, unless you already applied the 30% scheme for the employee before 2024. In that case, you may apply the 30% rate for the entire 60-month period.
In 2025, the 30% scheme may be applied over a salary up to a maximum of €246,000 (in 2024 this was still €233,000). Incidentally, this maximum does not apply in 2025 if you already applied the 30% scheme for the employee prior to 2023.
In 2025, the salary standard applied in the 30% scheme is €46,660. For incoming employees who are younger than 30 and have obtained their master's degree, the salary standard in 2025 is €35,468. Both amounts will be increased to €50,436 and €38,338, respectively, starting in 2027. These are the amounts based on those in effect in 2024, and they will still be indexed as of 2027. Incidentally, this increased salary from 2027 does not apply to those who already applied the 30% scheme before 2024.
Please note! Employees using the 30% scheme did not have to pay taxes in box 2 and box 3 on foreign capital income until 2024. This is also known as the partial foreign tax liability. This facility expired as of 2025. This does not apply to situations in which the 30% ruling was already applied before 2024. In these situations, the facility remains in effect through 2026. For employees for whom the foreign partial tax liability expires as of 2025, you will no longer be able to use the facility as of 2025 to reconcile the wage tax/ national insurance contributions you must withhold with the income tax and any national insurance contributions your employee must pay.
Employers with 100 or more employees are required to report the business and commuting traffic of their employees as of July 1, 2024. This obligation is part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management's Environment Act and is known as the “Work-related Passenger Mobility Reporting Obligation,” or WPM for short.
For example, these employers must report the total number of kilometers traveled by employees for business and commuting purposes, as well as the annual total of kilometers, broken down by type of vehicle and fuel type. Data for 2024 can be submitted starting Jan. 15, 2025, and must be submitted by June 30, 2025. In 2026, reporting for the entire year 2025 is mandatory.
Do you employ staff? Do you work with self-employed workers? On Jan. 1, 2025, there will be quite a few changes for you as an employer and as a dga. We draw your attention to ten important points.
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Note! A number of these tips result from proposals from the 2025 Tax Plan and must still be approved by the Lower and Upper House. Also, new plans are constantly being announced or revised by the Cabinet; therefore, it is important to always contact your advisor to discuss.
Entrepreneurs currently pay no motorcycle tax (BPM) if they buy a new van and use it for at least 10% business purposes. This exemption will be ended by 2025. This will cost you thousands of euros more, so buy a new van for your business this year.
Tip! You can still buy a van with no CO2 emissions without bpm in 2025.
If you invest, you may be entitled to the small-scale investment deduction (KIA). The percentage of KIA decreases from a certain investment amount, so with larger investments it is often advantageous to spread them over several years (if you can). The application of the KIA is subject to a number of conditions. Therefore, discuss with your advisor whether you might therefore be better off postponing an investment at the end of this year until 2025 or bringing forward an investment planned for 2025.
The rate in box 2 in 2024 is 24.5% up to an amount of €67,000. If you have a tax partner, you can even pay dividends at 24.5% up to an amount of €134,000. However, any amount above that will be taxed at 33% in 2024. Therefore, pay dividends up to a maximum of €67,000 - or if you have a tax partner €134,000 - and take advantage of the lower rate. In 2025, you can distribute up to an amount of € 67,804 at 24.5% and with a tax partner up to an amount of €135,608. The proposal on Prince's Day 2024 is to reduce the rate for any amount above that from 33% to 31% in 2025.
So if you want to pay out a large amount in dividends, it is better to pay out part of it in 2025. Keep in mind, however, that dividends as of 2025 may also affect the amount of your general tax credit and your assets in Box 3. A debt to your company in excess of €500,000 may also affect the decision to pay dividends. Check the effects of this and calculate whether, and if so how much dividend, you would be better off paying out in 2024 or rather in 2025.
The business succession regulation (BOR) and the carry forward regulation (DSR) will change significantly as of 2025. For example, the amount of the 100% exemption will increase to € 1,500,000 (in 2024 still € 1,325,253), but the exemption above this will go from 83% in 2024 to 75% in 2025. This means that in 2024, the schemes could provide a greater benefit if the value of your business exceeds about €1,870,000. If the value of your company remains below that, then the schemes may provide a greater benefit in 2025. Therefore, consider whether you should transfer your business this year or wait until 2025. Take other considerations into account as well, such as the other changes that apply to the BOR and DSR as of 2025.
Tip! Because a business transfer is customized and one change as of 2025 may be to your advantage while the other is not, we always recommend consulting with one of our advisors. They can update you on all the changes likely to take effect as of 2025 and 2026 and advise you on your own situation.
Under the working expenses scheme, under certain conditions, you do not pay any tax as an employer if you stay within the free margin with your allowances and benefits in kind to your staff. For 2024, the free margin over your total wage bill is 1.92% up to and including €400,000. Above € 400,000, the free margin in 2024 is 1.18%. Check whether you have any free space left and make use of it if you want to reward your employees extra, because a surplus of free space cannot be carried over to 2025.
Tip! If you already make maximum use of your free space and still want to do something extra for your employees at the end of the year, see if you can carry this forward to the beginning of 2025.
Check your provisional tax bill 2024. If the provisional bill is too low, change it as soon as possible. If you still pay the further provisional bill in 2024, this leads to lower assets as of January 1, 2025 in box 3 and you may save tax. Also, starting July 1, 2025, the Tax Office will charge interest of probably 6.65% on your 2024 tax bill. This is high, especially compared to the interest rate on a savings account. So avoid owing this high tax interest and check that your 2024 provisional bill is correct.
Tip! If you change the provisional tax bill more than eight weeks before the end of the year and the Tax Authorities do not succeed in imposing the further provisional assessment in time so that you can still pay this year, you can still take this tax debt into account on January 1, 2025.
Tip! For companies for which the fiscal year ends earlier than December 31, for example due to incorporation in a fiscal unity, the calculation of tax interest starts earlier, namely on the day that lies six months after the close of the fiscal year. Request a provisional assessment in time, i.e. within four months after the end of the fiscal year, to avoid tax interest in box 3.
In the corporate income tax there is a regulation for gift deduction. It amounts to a maximum of 50% of the profit up to a maximum of €100,000. It has been proposed to abolish this gift deduction for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. In addition, the proposal is to treat any gift made by a company to an ANBI or support foundation SBBI, as of 2025, as a dividend distribution by the company to the shareholder(s) withholding dividend tax and tax in box 2. Therefore, if your company wants to support a charity (ANBI or support foundation SBBI), do so in 2024.
Note! Of course, your company must make sufficient profit in 2024, otherwise the gift will not lead to a deduction.
You can apply for the Emission Free Company Cars Subsidy (SEBA) only in 2024. The subsidy applies when you purchase a new zero-emission electric company car with a maximum weight of 4,250 pounds. The subsidy depends on your company size and amounts to a maximum of €5,000 per car. Please note that you have not yet entered into a final purchase or financial lease agreement at the time you apply for the subsidy.
Note! Don't wait too long to apply for the subsidy. At 7 October 2024 only € 20,000,000 (33%) budget was still available of the total budget of € 60,000,000. The counter at RVO.nl closes at noon on December 31.
As of January 1, 2025, the Tax and Customs Administration can again enforce if a working relationship you have with a self-employed worker or other non-employee should be considered an employment relationship. Although the Lower House agreed a softer landing when the enforcement moratorium is lifted on January 1, 2025, now is the time to review your employment relationships within your company and take action where necessary.
Your private assets composition on January 1, 2025 will again form the basis of the box 3 tax you pay in 2025. The rate in box 3 looks set to remain at 36% in 2025! Therefore, toward the end of 2024, assess your box 3 assets. For example, if you are planning to sell investments, then it seems wiser - in the context of the box 3 tax rate - to do so at the end of 2024 rather than the beginning of 2025. This is because of the much higher flat rate for investments than for bank and savings deposits. Of course, the box 3 tax should not be the only variable on which you base your decision. And notice, you may not exchange bank balances for other investments within three months.
More tips to reduce your box 3 assets include buying valuables in late 2024 instead of early 2025, gifting an amount in late 2024 instead of early 2025 and purchasing so-called green investments. These 'green' investments are still exempt up to an amount of €71,251 (tax partners €142,502) in 2024, but only up to an amount of €30,000 (tax partners €60,000) in 2025. In addition, you are entitled to a tax credit of 0.7% on your exempt ‘green’ investments.
Note! In recent rulings, the Supreme Court ruled that in box 3 you may take into account the actual return - as defined by the Supreme Court - if it is lower than the statutory flat rate return. Therefore, the statutory flat rate return is still relevant as of January 1, 2025. You can only deviate from this if you can prove that your actual return, calculated in the manner prescribed by the Supreme Court, is lower than this lump-sum return.
What (tax) measures can you, as an entrepreneur in the Netherlands, still take this year that can be advantageous for you? How can you anticipate changes that will apply from 2025? Ten practical tips.
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The 30% scheme can be applied for a maximum of 60 months. Since 2024, the previous cabinet has reduced the scope of the 30% rule. The 30% tax-free allowance was since 2024 applicable for the first 20 months, the following 20 months only 20% of the salary may be paid net instead of 30% and the following 20 months only 10%.
An amendment to be included in the Tax Plan 2025 will largely reverse the retrenchment. The proposal is to set the maximum untaxed allowance at a constant flat rate of 27% from 1 January 2027. In 2025 and 2026, a tax-free rate of 30 will remain in effect for everyone and therefore no phase-out will take place yet.
Note!For employees who were already applying the 30% scheme before 2024, the 30% rate will continue to apply over the entire 60-month period.
To apply the 30% scheme, an employee must earn at least a certain salary. For this year this is € 46,107, for employees under 30 with a Master's degree this is € 35,048. It has been proposed to increase both amounts to € 50,436 and € 38,338i, respectively, from 2027. These are the amounts based on 2024 and will therefore still be indexed as of 2027.
Note! This increased salary does not apply to those who already applied the 30% scheme before 2024.
As of January 1, 2024, the 30% scheme is also limited to the salary standard. This means that in 2024 a maximum of € 69,900 (30% of € 233,000) may be compensated net under the 30% scheme. The Cabinet has made no proposals to reverse this limitation.
Note! The salary standard for the year 2025 is € 246,000. In 2025, a maximum of € 73,800 (30% of € 246,000) may therefore be compensated net under the 30% rule. For employees who already applied the 30% scheme before 2023, the restriction does not apply in 2024 and 2025. They will not be affected until January 1, 2026.
The 30% scheme is optional. Employers can in fact also choose to reimburse the actual costs untaxed, insofar as this is fiscally possible. This option will continue to exist.
Note! The employer must choose, no later than the first pay period of a calendar year, whether to apply the 30% scheme or to reimburse the actual extraterritorial expenses. That choice then immediately applies to the entire year.
Foreign employees who apply the 30% scheme will also have the option in 2024 to keep foreign capital income outside the Dutch taxation in box 2 and box 3. The employee will then be considered a foreign taxpayer for box 2 and box 3, despite living in the Netherlands. Last year it was already decided by the previous cabinet to abolish this facility by 2025. The current Cabinet has made no proposals to change this.
Note! Employees who already applied the 30% scheme before 2024 can still continue to use this facility through 2026.
Note! The Cabinet's proposed adjustments to the 30% scheme must still be included in the 2025 Tax Plan and then approved by the Lower and Upper House of Parliament.
Foreign employees who work in the Netherlands can use the so-called 30% scheme, this under certain conditions. If they can apply this scheme, 30% of the salary is a tax-free allowance with a maximum of € 69,900 (2024). The 30% scheme has been economised since the beginning of 2024, but the government wants to largely reverse this retrenchment.
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Since January 1, 2024, the uniform rate of box 2 has been replaced by two rates. For dividends received up to € 67,000, a rate of 24.5% will apply in 2024. This rate will remain the same in 2025, but will then apply to dividends up to € 67,804. For the year 2024, the rate of the second bracket at the end of 2023 was changed at the last minute from the originally proposed 31 to 33%. This change will now be reversed with effect from 2025. A 33% rate in the second bracket will still apply in 2024; a 31% rate in the second bracket has been proposed starting in 2025.
Tip! Tax partners benefit twice from the rate of the first low bracket, which means that a dividend distribution of €134,000 in 2024 is taxed at the low rate of 24.5%. In 2025, the low rate of 24.5% applies to tax partners up to a dividend distribution of €135,608.
Note! As of 2025, dividend payments also affect the reduction of the general tax credit. The general tax credit will generally decrease or may even become zero as a result of a dividend distribution as of 2025. In addition, a dividend distribution, even as early as 2024, affects the so called ‘dga tax’ and the amount of box 3 assets. Therefore, consult with your advisor to determine the most advantageous dividend distribution in your situation in 2024.
The reduced VAT rate of 9% for culture, media, lodging (hotels, vacation homes and mobile homes), books and sports will be abolished as of Jan. 1, 2026. The general VAT rate of 21% will then apply.
Note! For non-profit sports associations, the exemption continues to apply.
Tip! There are some exceptions: cinemas, circuses, camping sites and day recreation (amusement parks, playgrounds and ornamental gardens and zoos) remain subject to the reduced VAT rate of 9%.
Note!The adjustment of the VAT rate depends on when the service is provided, not when the service provider receives payment. For example, if you sell a ticket for a theater performance in 2025 for a performance that takes place in 2026, the general rate of 21% already applies in 2025.
The general transfer tax rate of 10.4% will be reduced to 8% for homes not in owner-occupied use as of Jan. 1, 2026. This rate reduction does not apply to commercial properties. For homes that are owner-occupied, the transfer tax rate will remain at 2% - under the conditions already in place for this purpose. For first-time buyers under 35 years of age, the one-time exemption from transfer tax will continue to apply - under the conditions already in force for this purpose.
Note! This reduction has not yet been included in a concrete bill, but will be included in a bill to be introduced at a later date (envisaged in October 2024).
The purpose of the business succession regulation (BOR) and the pass-through regulation (DSR) is to prevent the continuity of the business from being jeopardized by the tax burden during real business transfers. You can therefore pass the baton to the next generation with a tax incentive. The BOR and DSR play an important role in the transfer of family businesses, but pay attention to the changes already adopted at the end of 2023 and the additional changes announced.
The Cabinet proposes to reduce the mandatory continuation period from five to three years as of January 1, 2025. If this proposal is adopted, this means that a continuation period of five years will continue to apply to acquisitions occurring before January 1, 2025, while a continuation period of three years will then apply to acquisitions as of January 1, 2025.
As of Jan. 1, 2026, the proposed changes include the following:
Note! Since January 1, 2024, real estate made available to third parties (including rentals) already by default no longer qualifies as business assets. Donating or inheriting such real estate with application of the BOR is since then no longer possible.
Employees who come to the Netherlands and meet the criteria, can claim the 30% ruling. This allows them to receive up to 30% of their salary untaxed. In the Tax Plan 2024, a moderation in steps to 10% was announced (the so-called '30-20-10-rule'). This austerity will be largely reversed, but in addition a higher salary standard will be instituted.
As of Jan. 1, 2027, a constant flat rate of 27% will be introduced for up to five years. In 2025 and 2026, a rate of 30 will apply to all employees who meet the criteria. The salary standard will be raised from €46,107 (amount in 2024) to €50,436 from 2027. For incoming employees who are younger than 30 and have a master's degree, the salary standard is increased from € 35,048 (amount in 2024) to € 38,338.
Note!For employees who already applied the 30% rule before 2024, the percentage of 30 will apply for the entire term. In addition, the old (indexed) income standard will continue to apply to them. Thus, they will not face 27% and a higher salary standard from 2027.
Note! These changes are not yet included in a concrete bill, but will be included in a bill to be introduced at a later date (targeted in October 2024).
Currently, users of an emission-free passenger car (fully electric or hydrogen-powered) do not pay motor vehicle tax. At the end of 2019, the Climate Agreement Tax Measures Act already adopted that a 75% motor vehicle tax rate discount will apply to such cars in 2025 and that the rate discount will be abolished from January 1, 2026. However, because zero-emission passenger cars have heavier batteries, they are also taxed more heavily. To reduce this difference and thus ensure that no fewer emission-free passenger cars will be sold, a 25% reduction in the motor vehicle tax rate for emission-free cars will apply from 2026 through 2029. The government has announced to assess in the spring of 2025 whether the 25% rate discount for emission-free passenger cars is sufficient.
Note! This change is not yet included in a concrete bill, but will be included in a bill to be introduced at a later date (targeted in October 2024).
For fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, the corporate gift deduction will be abolished. This means that as of that date, you can no longer deduct donations from your company from your profits. Donations from your company will additionally be considered a dividend distribution to you privately from 2025 and will therefore be taxed with dividend tax and in box 2 of the income tax. In box 2, depending on the amount of total dividend payments in a year, a rate of 24.5% or 31% will apply in 2025. However, you can, under conditions, then use the gift deduction in income tax in private.
Note! Although the gift deduction in corporate income tax disappears, this deduction in income tax remains unchanged in 2025.
Note! Do you support charities through sponsorship or advertising? Then these costs are not donations, but business expenses. These costs, like other business expenses, remain deductible from profits. The same applies to expenses you incur as part of Corporate Social Responsibility.
As of January 1, 2025, a new reduced first bracket will be introduced in Box 1. This will provide a more targeted reduction in the burden on middle-income earners in particular. The rate in this first bracket will drop from 36.97% (2024) to 35.82% (2025). This bracket runs in 2025 up to an income of €38,441. The rate of the second bracket in 2025 is 37.48% and runs up to € 76. 817.The limit for the third (highest) bracket is thus € 1,298 higher than in 2024. The highest rate in box 1 remains 49.5%.
Note! If you fall in the lowest rate, you will also receive deductions in the lowest rate.
The rate in box 3 will remain at 36% next year. Despite expectations that the rate for box 3 would be lowered to reduce the tax burden on savers and investors, the rate will not change.
Note! On June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled - briefly described - that a taxpayer is entitled to more legal recovery if the actual return in box 3 is lower than the statutory (flat rate) return. The consequences and further details of this ruling have been fleshed out a bit further in a parliamentary letter published on Prince’s Day 2024. We will inform you about this in more detail shortly.
The earnings stripping measure limits the generic interest deduction and applies to all corporate taxpayers. As a result, you can deduct less of the difference between the interest expense and interest income of money loans when determining your profit. From 2025, you can no longer deduct the interest balance if it exceeds the higher of 25% (20% in 2024) of the (adjusted) profit or the threshold of €1 million.
As of January 1, 2025, the €1 million threshold will no longer apply to real estate entities that lease real estate to third parties. This means that real estate entities can deduct a maximum of 25% of the (adjusted) profit in interest.
Note! This rule does not apply to real estate that is rented out to an affiliated entity or to an affiliated natural person.
What are the most important tax proposals for entrepreneurs of the Dutch Minister of Finance Heinen on the Dutch Prince's Day 2024? We list the ten most important ones for you.
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Legally, nothing is currently regulated for mourning leave. A Panteia study used a random sample to look at the 105 largest collective bargaining agreements that cover 80 to 85 percent of employees. In 21 collective bargaining agreements, there was some form of bereavement leave. This means that four of the five largest collective bargaining agreements did not include a bereavement leave arrangement.
The situation of employees who are struggling with the loss of a loved one and therefore cannot (yet) return to work is now often accommodated in leave arrangements that are not specifically intended for that purpose. Many times these employees feel compelled to call in sick. A number of them sometimes struggle with this because they are not actually sick and thus do not experience recognition of their situation. Visiting a company doctor and the tension that this entails can be experienced as burdensome when returning to work.
Statutory bereavement leave is used in the event of the death of a partner if the employee is caring for one or more minor children, or the death of a minor child. Employees in this situation are given the opportunity to take paid mourning leave at least once the weekly working hours. The employer is required to pay for this leave.
The leave can be taken flexibly from the day after the funeral until one year after the death of the loved one.
It is possible to deviate from the minimum duration in favor of the employee or to make the mourning leave apply in more situations. Employers can, however, argue that there is a compelling business interest that prevents inclusion.
The financial impact on employers is estimated at four million euros per year. In all likelihood, some of these costs are already incurred by employers, but are now accommodated in sick leave or existing non-statutory bereavement leave arrangements.
A bill Introducing Mourning Leave has been submitted to the Dutch Lower House. This bill provides a legal basis for bereavement leave. What will this legal mourning leave mean for employee and employer?
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You use the sales tax number only for your contacts with the tax authorities, such as for your returns. For sole proprietorships, this number partly consists of the entrepreneur's BSN number. Partly for privacy reasons, you do not use this number to your customers.
The VAT identification number is used when dealing with customers. You should also find this number on your customer's invoices and on their website. You can check this number via this site.
If you want to check a number, you must also enter your own VAT ID. If you have lost this number, you can find it out via the Tax and Customs Administration website. To do so, go to myzakelijk.belastingdienst.nl, log in with DigiD and click on 'turnover tax' and click on 'VAT identification number'. Here you will find both VAT numbers.
Attention! To apply the zero rate to a so-called intra-Community supply (ICL) to a VAT entrepreneur in another EU country, there are a number of obligations you must comply with. One of these is the use of the correct VAT identification number. It is therefore important to always check carefully whether you have your customer's correct number.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands nowadays always receive two numbers concerning VAT from the tax authorities: a sales tax number and a VAT identification number (VAT ID). Make sure that you always use the correct number when contacting and checking your customers, because in practice this regularly turns out to go wrong.
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Employers' organizations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland had discouraged the additional increase, as the minimum wage has already been raised substantially and thus causes sharply rising wage costs.
In 2023, for example, the minimum wage increased by more than 10%. As of Jan. 1 of this year, it increased again by 3.75%. Also, as of that date, the minimum wage was also based on a 36-hour work week. Employees who contractually work more than 36 hours therefore gained more than 3.75% as of Jan. 1, 2024.
The increase in the minimum wage also affects benefits, such as AOW pension and welfare.
The Dutch minimum wage will be increased by 1.2% as of July 1, 2024 after all. The increase is a result of an adopted motion by the Lower House.
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With effect from 1 January 2024 the fixed budget under the work-related expenses scheme has been reduced to 1.92% on the first € 400,000 of the wage bill (2023: 3%). It will remain at 1.18% on the excess amount of the wage bill.
The standard amount under the customary salary scheme for a DGA and his/her co-working partner is increasing to € 56,000 in 2024 (2023: € 51,000). This scheme applies to anyone who has a substantial shareholding in a company (or whose partner has such a substantial shareholding) and also works for that company. They must receive a salary that is ‘customary’ for such work. The standard amount of € 56,000 is one of the elements used to assess what is customary.
This year the exempted travel allowance for the costs of business travel, including commuting, has increased to € 0.23 per kilometre. This allowance applies to all forms of transport and therefore also to kilometres travelled by bicycle or moped, for example. The increase to € 0.23 per kilometre is also applicable to a DGA who is employed by his/her company.
From 2024 simpler rules will apply to tax-free public transport season tickets. As of this year it no longer matters whether such a season ticket is purchased by the employer and made available (employer retains ownership) or supplied (employee acquires ownership) to the employee or whether it is purchased by the employee and subsequently reimbursed. The only condition is that it is also used for business purposes, e.g. commuting. If that is the case, a specific exemption applies to a public transport season ticket that has been made available, supplied or reimbursed. The amended rules also apply to the making available, supply or reimbursement of an off-peak pass.
From 1 January 2024 a statutory minimum hourly wage applies, amounting to € 13.27 per hour for employees aged 21 and above. This means that the salary scales in many collective labour agreements will need to be adjusted and recalculated, as there are no longer any fixed monthly, weekly or daily amounts.
Please note: The statutory minimum hourly wage that applies, in view of the employee’s age, must be indicated on the payslip, along with the period to which the payslip relates.
You can grant volunteers who perform voluntary work within your organisation an allowance that will not be taxed by the Tax and Customs Administration. On 1 January 2024 the level of the maximum untaxed volunteer’s allowance increased to € 2,100 per year and € 210 per month.
The volunteer’s allowance must not exceed the maximum amounts and the volunteer must not carry out the work in question as part of his/her profession. The Tax and Customs Administration assumes that the work is not carried out on a professional basis if the maximum hourly allowance in 2024 amounts to € 5.50. For volunteers under the age of 21 this maximum hourly allowance is € 3.25 in 2024.
The 30% scheme is a tax facility under which, subject to strict conditions, up to 30% of the salary may be paid free of tax to employees recruited from abroad. This scheme has been restricted with effect from 2024. In 2024, for example, the 30% scheme can only be applied to a salary not exceeding € 233,000. This maximum does not apply in 2024 if you were already applying the 30% scheme for the employee concerned in the last pay period of 2022.
The 30% scheme is also being scaled back with effect from 2024. For the first 20 months you will be able to pay 30% of the salary free of tax as an expense allowance. This will then fall to a level of 20% for the next 20 months and to 10% for the 20 months after that. This does not apply in 2024 if you were already applying the 30% scheme for the employee concerned in the last pay period of 2023.
The application of the 30% scheme is subject to a number of conditions. One is that the employee has specific expertise that is scarce or not available at all on the Dutch labour market. An employee is considered to meet this specific expertise requirement if his/her pay is above a set salary standard. In 2023 the employee’s salary had to amount to at least € 41,954, but this is rising to € 46,107 from 2024. No salary standard applies to employees who work at a research institute in scientific research or education or employees who are doctors in training to become a specialist (AIOSs). In the case of incoming employees who are under the age of 30 and have obtained a master’s degree a salary standard of € 31,891 applied in 2023. This is rising to € 35,048 in 2024.
From 1 July 2024 employers who employ 100 or more people will be required to report on the business travel and commuting journeys of their employees. The employers concerned must report, for example, the total number of kilometres that their employees have travelled for business and commuting purposes, but also the annual total of kilometres travelled, broken down by mode of transport and fuel type. The data for 2024 must be submitted by 30 June 2025 at the latest.
In 2024, subject to certain conditions, you can pay your employees an untaxed allowance of € 2.35 per day (2023: € 2.15) for the additional costs associated with working from home. The standard amount set for the value of meals in company canteens (or similar areas) or at staff parties in the workplace is also rising in 2024. In 2023 this was € 3.55 per meal and in 2024 amounts to € 3.90 per meal.
In 2024 the maximum salary assessable for contributions is increasing to € 71,628 from € 66,956 in 2023. For employees with an assessable salary above € 66,956 an employer may therefore owe higher contributions, even though the contribution percentages for certain employee insurance schemes have fallen compared with 2023. The contribution payable under the Healthcare Insurance Act (Zvw) may also rise for employees and DGAs with an assessable salary above € 66,956. The maximum healthcare insurance contribution payable for employees in 2024 amounts to € 4,706 (an increase of € 233 compared with 2023). In the case of DGAs the maximum level of this contribution in 2024 is € 3,811 (an increase of € 175 compared with 2023).
On 1 January 2024 numerous payroll-related changes were once again introduced that affect employers and directors/major shareholders (DGAs). These include the reduction in the fixed budget under the work-related expenses scheme (WKR) and the restriction of the 30% scheme. Which ten changes stand out in particular?
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Please note: Some of these tips relate to proposals in the 2024 Tax Plan that still have to be approved by the Lower and Upper House. The government also frequently announces new plans or revises its plans. It is therefore important to always contact your advisor to discuss the situation.
From 1 January 2024 the rate in box 2, which also applies to dividend income, is changing. The current rate of 26.9% will be replaced with two rates. A rate of 24.5% will apply to income up to € 67,000 (or a collective amount of € 134,000 for tax partners), with a rate of 31% applying above this figure. Bear in mind that, following a motion passed by the Lower House, the higher rate applicable from 1 January 2024 may be set at 33% instead of 31%. Take steps to anticipate the forthcoming rate changes in box 2 as well as you can. The question to consider is whether it is advisable to pay out a dividend in 2023 or instead wait until 2024 and subsequent years. The same applies to a planned sale of shares: is it best to proceed with this in 2023 or to wait until 2024? This question needs to be assessed in each individual case to make the right decision, as it all depends on your personal circumstances. You should therefore always consult with your (tax) advisor.
In 2023 make sure you take full advantage of the possibilities available to you under the work-related expenses scheme. This is particularly important, as the fixed budget will be reduced again in 2024. Up to a wage bill of € 400,000 the fixed budget is currently still 3%, but this will fall to just 1.92% in 2024. As in 2023, a rate of 1.18% will apply above this level in 2024. You should therefore assess the remaining amount of your fixed budget and think about whether allowances and benefits in kind that you are planning to grant in 2024 could possibly be brought forward to 2023.
Do you have more than 100 employees? If so, from 1 January 2024 you are required to record the CO2 emissions that result from the kilometres travelled by your employees. A record must be kept of all trips made by staff; this covers commuting and all other business trips. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) will calculate the CO2 emissions on the basis of the data submitted. Do you meet the criteria? If so, you have until 1 January 2024 at the latest to adapt your records accordingly so you can keep track of this data. The data for 2024 will need to be submitted by no later than 30 June 2025. For the time being, there is only an obligation to report this data.
If your companies are currently grouped together in a tax entity for corporation tax purposes, it is worth reviewing this. The tax entity pays corporation tax on the total profits of the combined companies. Given the difference between the lower and higher rate of this tax, terminating the tax entity may be beneficial. After all, in 2024 the difference between the rates will be 6.8 percentage points (19% and 25.8% respectively), with the lower rate applying to the first € 200,000 of your profit. If the tax entity is terminated, each company can take advantage of the lower rate separately. Talk to your advisor to make sure that terminating the tax entity would not have any other (adverse) consequences.
With effect from 2023 a taxpayer with little income no longer receives a partial payment of the general tax credit, employed person’s tax credit and income-dependent combination tax credit. If your partner has no or insufficient income of their own, but together with your partner you have taxable assets (box 3), you can use these assets to (partially) prevent the loss of tax credits. You do this in your tax return by allocating all or part of the assets to the partner who has no or little income of their own. If you have a company, you can also decide to pay out a dividend and allocate part of that dividend to your partner. Assets and/or dividends that you allocate to your partner are taxable for your partner, which means that he or she can then take advantage of the tax credits in full or in part.
The business succession scheme (BOR) and transfer facility (DSR) are important facilities relating to the gifting or inheritance of a (family) company. Changes are being made to the BOR and DSR from 2025, although one aspect is being introduced earlier, from 1 January 2024. This means that any property rented out must be designated as an investment. In many situations it already is, but due to this change this will automatically be the case from 2024. If you are considering gifting your company in the near future and would like to take advantage of the BOR or DSR, discuss with your advisor whether – in view of the above changes – it would be advantageous to do this in 2023 or 2024 or instead wait until 2025.
In the area of corporation tax there is a facility that allows the deduction of gifts. This is possible up to a maximum of 50% of a company’s profit, but can never exceed € 100,000. Provided that you remain within this limit, the gift is also not regarded as a disguised dividend paid to the shareholder(s). The possibility for companies to deduct gifts is being scrapped, however. This means that, from 2024, gifts made by companies will no longer be deductible. On the other hand, from that point on such payments will never be regarded as a disguised dividend, i.e. even if the gift exceeds 50% of the profit or € 100,000. Are you considering making a gift from your company to an ANBI (public benefit organisation)? If so, do this by 31 December 2023 so you can deduct it in 2023. Your company must, of course, have made a sufficient profit in 2023 for this to be possible. Costs for which you receive something in return (such as sponsorship or advertising) will remain deductible in the normal way.
In 2024 the energy investment deduction (EIA) will be reduced from 45.5% to 40%. If you are planning to make energy-saving investments in the near future, do this in 2023 if possible. Make sure you take any related effects into account, such as the impact on the level of your profit and on the small-scale investment tax credit (KIA).
2023 is the last year in which you can take advantage of the renewable energy and energy-saving investment subsidy (ISDE) for small-scale wind turbines and solar panels A budget of € 30 million has been set aside for this in 2023. All legal entities, but also partnerships, foundations, general partnerships and limited partnerships, are eligible for this subsidy.
In 2023 you are allowed to arbitrarily depreciate a number of new capital goods in which you invested this year. In this way you can reduce your profit in 2023, which can result in an immediate tax saving. On the other hand, this means that over the remaining years the depreciation on these goods will be lower and you will therefore pay more tax then. Arbitrary depreciation is therefore not necessarily always beneficial, for example if your profit in 2023 is taxed at a lower rate than in future years. Under this facility, in 2023 you can arbitrarily depreciate, on a one-off basis, 50% of the cost of the asset, taking the residual value into account. The other 50% must be depreciated in the normal way. However, you can also choose to apply less or no depreciation at all to half of the investment amount (minus the residual value), so that you can depreciate more in future years. Consider applying arbitrary depreciation in 2023 if this will be advantageous for you.
Which tax-related measures can you still benefit from this year as an entrepreneur? How can you respond smartly now to changes that will apply from 2024? Here are ten practical tips.
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