Dutch Prince's Day 2026: Ten key tax changes for entrepreneurs

1. Fewer tax benefits for entrepreneurs

From 2027, the government will be scaling back various tax benefits for entrepreneurs.

The entrepreneur’s allowance reduces the profit on which an entrepreneur pays income tax. From 2027, further cuts will apply to various components of this allowance.

• The self-employed person’s allowance will fall from €1,200 (2026) to €900. As a result, the taxable profit of entrepreneurs who meet the hours criterion will increase.
• The start-up allowance will also be significantly reduced. This top-up to the self-employed person’s allowance for start-up entrepreneurs will fall from €2,123 (2026) to €10 with effect from 1 January 2027 and will be completely abolished with effect from 1 January 2028.
• The start-up allowance will remain in place in 2027 and 2028, but will be abolished from 1 January 2029. The current maximum amounts are €12,000 in the first year, €8,000 in the second year and €4,000 in the third year.
  

• The cessation allowance will be reduced in one go from a maximum of €3,630 to €908.
• The rates for the co-worker allowance will be reduced from 1.25%, 2%, 3% and 4% to 0.32%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% respectively.

The cessation allowance and the co-worker allowance will cease to apply at the start of the third calendar year following the year in which the reduction takes effect. As the changes come into force in 2027, the schemes will therefore cease to apply on 1 January 2030.

As of 1 January 2028, another tax benefit for business owners will be abolished: the discretionary depreciation scheme for start-ups.

Start-up business owners, those planning to cease trading within a few years, and business owners with a co-working partner will be particularly affected. The choice between a sole trader, a general partnership (VOF) or a private limited company (BV) therefore once again requires a calculation based on actual profits and personal circumstances.

2. Greater scope for travel expenses; tightening of the WKR

Employers may, with retroactive effect up to and including 1 January 2026, reimburse a maximum of €0.25 per business kilometre tax-free. This was previously €0.23. The increase also applies to commuting. The government is now enshrining this increase in law with retroactive effect.

This relaxation is offset by a tightening of the work-related expenses scheme (WKR). The targeted exemption for sector-specific products is being abolished. Until now, employers were permitted to grant employees a 20 per cent staff discount, tax-free, on the market value of the product, up to a maximum of €500 per year. This exemption is being abolished. From 2027, however, the discount may still be charged to the ‘free space’. If you exceed the free space, you will pay 80 per cent final levy on the amount above that threshold.

The discretionary allowance on the first €400,000 of the taxable wage bill will increase from 2% to 2.16% with effect from 1 January 2027. This will give you a maximum of €640 extra discretionary allowance per year. This increase was adopted earlier and is therefore not part of the 2027 Tax Plan.

3. Driving fossil-fuelled vehicles to become more expensive; ‘youngtimer’ scheme limit extended to 20 years

If, as an employer, you make a passenger car with emissions available to an employee for private use from 2027 onwards, you will be subject to a pseudo-final levy of 12 per cent of the list price. This levy is in addition to the employee’s additional tax liability and must not be passed on to the employee. Transitional provisions apply to cars made available before 1 January 2027.

The pseudo-final levy was already adopted last year, but following consultation, four amendments are being proposed.

• For example, the levy does not apply to replacement transport during the first fourteen calendar days of maintenance or repair.
• Manual-gear driving school cars are also exempt.
• Until 31 December 2030, an exemption also applies to a fossil-fuel-powered passenger car that an employer makes available for private use no more than once per calendar year for a maximum of seven consecutive days. For example, in the case of a short-term hire car or a shared car.
• Finally, the transitional rules for fossil-fuelled passenger cars made available before 1 January 2027 will be extended until 31 December 2030.

The ‘youngtimer’ scheme will be scaled back more gradually than previously stipulated, and the changes will be less far-reaching. The additional tax liability will continue to be based on the market value, but the age limit will rise from 16 years to 17 years in 2027 and to 20 years from 2028 onwards. The previously planned rapid increase to 25 years from 2027 will therefore not go ahead. Transitional provisions apply to cars that have already been made available by 31 December 2025 at the latest and which will be 17 years old in 2027. These cars may continue to benefit from the youngtimer scheme throughout 2027. From 1 January 2028, the scheme will only apply to cars older than 20 years.

For employers, the decision to provide a company car is becoming increasingly important, particularly due to the ‘pseudo-final levy’. The contract term, drive type and the date on which a car is first made available can have significant tax implications. As a result, an existing lease plan may turn out to be much more expensive or, conversely, much more attractive.

4. A lower inflation adjustment increases the tax burden in Box 1

Normally, the thresholds for tax bands and various tax credits in Box 1 rise in line with inflation. This means that the tax burden normally remains the same as income rises, in line with inflation.

In 2027 and 2028, the government will apply the inflation adjustment only partially. Without this measure, the inflation adjustment for 2027 would amount to 2.6 per cent. Of this, 48 per cent will be applied. As a result, tax band thresholds and tax credits will rise less in line with inflation. Incidentally, the 48 per cent is not applied to the second tax bracket threshold, which therefore remains the same in 2027 as in 2026. The first tax bracket threshold rises from €38,883 to €39,247. The second tax bracket threshold remains at €78,426.

At the same time, the Box 1 rates are changing. For taxpayers under the state pension age, the rate in the first tax bracket will rise by 0.48 per cent: from 35.75 per cent in 2026 to 36.23 per cent in 2027. The rate in the second tax bracket will rise by 0.60 per cent: from 37.56 per cent to 38.16 per cent. The rate in the third tax bracket remains at 49.50 per cent.

Due to the increase in rates and limited indexation, the tax burden in Box 1 will rise. This effect is mitigated for homeowners who can also deduct their mortgage interest at the higher rate of up to 38.16%.

5. Postponement of Box 3

Box 3 taxes private assets, such as savings, investments and a second home. Under the current system, the tax authorities calculate the return largely using flat-rate figures. If your actual return is lower, you can provide evidence to the contrary, subject to certain conditions.

The Government has provisionally deferred consideration of the ‘Actual Return on Box 3’ Bill. It will present a new proposal in the 2027 Spring Memorandum. Consequently, the intended introduction on 1 January 2028 will not take place, or at the very least, this date remains uncertain. The Government is re-examining whether a capital gains tax would be more appropriate than a capital appreciation tax.

Under a capital appreciation tax, even an unrealised increase in value is taken into account annually. Under a capital gains tax, tax is only levied upon, for example, the sale of an asset. For entrepreneurs and directors/major shareholders with investments, let property or other assets that are difficult to sell, this makes a significant difference.

6. Greater support for innovation and sustainability

The government is making various tax schemes for investment and innovation more attractive. For example, the energy investment allowance will rise from 40% to 45.5% with effect from 1 January 2027. Are you investing in qualifying energy-efficient business assets? If so, you’ll be able to deduct a larger portion of your investment from your profits.

The tax relief for research and development work is also being extended. The flat-rate hourly wage will rise from €29 to €33. This scheme reduces the payroll tax you, as an employer, pay when your employees are working on technically new products, processes or software.

Does your business make use of the innovation box? This scheme is also being made more attractive. From 1 January 2027, the maximum flat-rate amount will rise from €25,000 to €100,000 per year. The flat rate remains capped at 25% of profit. The current three-year application period will also remain unchanged. This allows you to have a larger proportion of your profit taxed at the lower Innovation Box rate.

7. Tax incentive for start-ups and scale-ups

To stimulate innovation and growth in specific young enterprises, the government is introducing an attractive tax scheme for employee share options at start-ups and scale-ups.
In principle, the employee pays tax when they actually sell the shares acquired through the options. After deducting the exercise price attributable to the shares, only 65 per cent of the benefit is taxed as income, subject to certain conditions. If the employee sells the share option right rather than the shares themselves, this lower tax base does not apply. The employee may also opt in writing for earlier taxation at the time the option right is exercised or as soon as the shares become tradable.

The scheme applies only to companies that qualify as start-ups or scale-ups and hold a decision from RVO. This decision is valid for eight years from the date of issue. Subject to certain conditions, you may extend the decision in five-year increments, up to a maximum total duration of 23 years. In addition, in principle, there must be a minimum period of two years between the grant of the share option and the sale of that option or the shares resulting from it. If the employee sells earlier due to a sale following the company’s initial public offering (IPO), an exception applies and the rule does apply.

The scheme is due to come into force on 1 January 2027. The definitive date of entry into force will be determined by Royal Decree. Share option rights granted on or after 17 April 2025 may also be eligible for the scheme. For this to apply, the share option rights must not yet have been included in payroll tax as at 31 December 2026, and the other conditions must be met. In that case, your company must apply to the RVO for the decision by 31 December 2027 at the latest.

8. Higher Aof contribution due to the ‘freedom contribution’

Employers must also pay a so-called ‘freedom contribution’ to fund rising defence expenditure. The government intends to collect most of this additional burden through an increase in the contribution to the Disability Fund (Aof). According to estimates, this increase will generate €1.5 billion in additional contribution revenue in 2027. From 2028 onwards, this will amount to €1.7 billion per year on a structural basis.

The high and low Aof contribution rates have not yet been finalised. The contribution rates will be announced at a later date, alongside the annual contribution rates for employees’ insurance schemes. As a result, it is not yet clear exactly how much your employer’s contributions will increase.

9. Transfer tax on investment properties rises to 7%

Are you buying a property in which you will not be living yourself on a long-term basis? If so, you will pay transfer tax at the standard residential rate. This applies, for example, to a let property or a holiday home. From 1 January 2027, this rate will fall from 8% to 7%. The 2% rate for a property in which you will be living yourself and the first-time buyer’s exemption remain unchanged.

Due to the rate reduction, it may be worth reconsidering the timing of the transaction. You should also take other factors into account, such as financing, return on investment, VAT and the legal structure.

10. Tax relief on specific healthcare costs to end in 2028

Certain non-reimbursed healthcare costs are currently tax-deductible under specific conditions. These include specific medicines, medical aids, dietary costs, transport and additional family care. The relief only applies after any reimbursements and an income-related threshold have been taken into account.

The Government is abolishing the deduction for specific healthcare costs with effect from 1 January 2028. The associated scheme for reimbursement of specific healthcare costs, the TSZ scheme, will also be abolished. For people with a chronic illness, the Government is working on a targeted compensation scheme. The bill does not include any transitional provisions. The measure primarily affects people with a chronic illness, a disability or structurally high, non-reimbursed healthcare costs. Entrepreneurs and directors/major shareholders may also face higher net personal tax liabilities as a result. The financial impact varies greatly, as not every out-of-pocket healthcare expense is currently tax-deductible.