Year-end tips: what can or must you still sort out in 2026?

1. Should you pay a dividend in 2026, or not?

Should you pay a dividend this year, or would it be better to wait until 2026? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. In any case, be sure to take the following points into consideration:

• It may be wise to set a dividend equal to the first tax bracket of 24.5 per cent. In 2026, this bracket extends up to €68,843 and, if you have a tax partner, up to €137,686. Above that threshold, the rate is 31 per cent.
• Bear in mind, however, that the dividend payment may cause your general tax credit to fall further. As a result, the dividend payment may be less attractive than anticipated. If you are no longer entitled to the general tax credit anyway, this effect will not apply. Please discuss this with our advisers. You should also do so if you have already reached state pension age, due to the potential impact of the dividend payment on the elderly tax credit.
• The government has proposed a plan to reduce the second tax bracket of 31% by 1.8 percentage points to 29.2% in the years 2027 to 2030 inclusive. This may be a reason to defer any dividend exceeding the first tax bracket of €68,843/€137,686 until 2027. Given that the first tax bracket of 24.5 per cent – which is likely to rise to €69,607 in 2027 (or €139,214 for tax partners) – will be reached first, deferring this dividend until 2027 seems a more sensible option in any case.
• Whether it is sensible to pay out a dividend in 2026 will also depend on how the proceeds are to be used. Will you spend the 2026 dividend, or will it fall straight into Box 3 at the start of 2027? The latter scenario makes the dividend payment at 24.5% slightly less favourable.
• If the dividend payment is necessary to reduce an excessive loan balance to below the threshold for excessive borrowing, then the dividend will have to be paid out in 2026 in any case. 

2. Bear in mind the reduction in the threshold for excessive borrowing

The measure concerning excessive borrowing from one’s own company broadly means that a director and major shareholder who borrows too much from their own private limited company will pay Box 2 tax on this amount. A threshold of €500,000 currently applies, but the government intends to lower this limit to €100,000. This will be implemented in five stages of €80,000 per year, starting in 2027. By the end of 2027, the threshold will stand at €420,000, and by the end of 2031, the €100,000 limit will have been reached. Although the measure still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, it may well be wise to factor the reduction in the threshold into your dividend planning.

3. Prepare for the 12% additional employer’s levy on company-owned fossil-fuel cars

From 2027, a 12% pseudo-final levy will apply to company cars if these vehicles emit CO₂ (hereinafter: fossil-fuelled company cars). This levy is calculated on the basis of the car’s list price (and, for cars older than 25 years, on the basis of its market value). This is an employer’s levy that you are not permitted to pass on to the employee! Furthermore, the employee may also be liable for the additional tax liability relating to private use.

So what can you still do now to avoid this levy in 2027?

• Ensure that the fossil-fuelled passenger car is already made available to an employee by 31 December 2026. You will then not have to pay the 12% pseudo-final levy on this car until 31 December 2030, even if you make the car available to another employee.
• Ensure that the passenger cars you make available to your staff are fully electric or hydrogen-powered. These passenger cars do not emit any CO₂. The 12% pseudo-final levy therefore does not apply to these cars.

Any vehicle that is not a passenger car, such as a van, lorry or tractor, is also exempt from the 12% pseudo-final levy. Please note, however, that a campervan and a minibus may also be classified as passenger cars. Check the classification in the vehicle registration register. An M1 vehicle is a passenger car!

There are still a number of exceptions to the 12% pseudo-final levy. For example, under certain conditions, a replacement car is exempt from the levy for up to fourteen consecutive days, and manual-gearbox driving school cars are also exempt.

4. Still in the private limited company in 2026?

There may be various reasons for setting up a private limited company in 2026 and transferring your income tax business into it. One reason could be that you were already planning to do this and also wish to transfer a fossil-fuelled passenger car into the company:

• If you do this in 2026 and make the car available through the private limited company by the end of 2026 at the latest, you can benefit from the transitional arrangements until 31 December 2030 at the latest. You will not be subject to the 12% pseudo-final levy until then.
• If you do not set up the private limited company until 2027, the 12% pseudo-final levy will apply from day one of the company’s incorporation. This is the case even if, for income tax and corporation tax purposes, you can transfer the sole trader business retroactively from 1 January 2026 via a silent transfer!

If you contribute the income tax business to the private limited company in 2026 with a tax settlement, you can still benefit from the cessation allowance of €3,630. In 2027, this allowance will fall to €908. If you still have a FOR that is due to be released, you can also make use of the cessation allowance in the event of a silent contribution.

Furthermore, a number of the entrepreneur’s income tax benefits will be further scaled back. For example, the self-employed person’s allowance will fall from €1,200 in 2026 to €900 in 2027; the additional self-employed person’s allowance for a start-up will fall from €2,123 in 2026 to €10 in 2027; and the family business allowance will be reduced by 75% in 2027.

This may also be a reason to switch to a private limited company (BV) in 2026. 

5. Check whether the new authorisation scheme for labour providers affects you

From 2027, a new authorisation scheme will come into force for parties that supply workers (labour providers). This is regulated by the Labour Supply Authorisation Act (Wtta).

The licensing scheme applies to anyone who makes workers (including self-employed persons) available to third parties. This includes temporary employment agencies, secondment agencies and agencies that supply self-employed persons. However, even a private limited company that supplies its director-major shareholder to another company may fall under the licensing scheme!

Fortunately, there are exceptions. For example, peer-to-peer lending where no profit is made is not subject to the authorisation scheme. The same applies to lending and borrowing within a group of companies.

If no exception applies, you may be able to apply for an exemption. This is possible if your income from lending services in a given year amounts to less than 10 per cent of your total income and that income does not exceed €5 million per year. In addition, an accountant must certify annually that these thresholds are not exceeded. 

6. Postpone the purchase of a Box 3 property until 2027

A property that is not your main residence – for example, a holiday home or a property you let out – falls under Box 3. If you are planning to purchase such a property, it may be advantageous to have the transfer at the solicitor’s take place in 2027 rather than in 2026.

This is because the transfer tax on the acquisition of properties that are not your main residence is currently still 8 per cent, but will be 7 per cent from 2027 onwards. Furthermore, the flat-rate Box 3 tax on bank balances (should you purchase the property using bank balances) is considerably lower than that applied to the property itself, which is classified as other assets.

7. Consider your (electric or old) car

For a new, fully electric car made available in 2026, an additional tax liability of 18 per cent applies to the first €30,000 of the list price and 22 per cent on the amount above that. If the new, fully electric car is first made available in 2027, the additional tax liability will be 20 per cent on the first €30,000 of the list price and 22 per cent on the amount above that. If the car runs on hydrogen or is powered by solar panels, the €30,000 limit does not apply and the additional tax liability in 2026 will be 18 per cent of the full list price, and in 2027 20 per cent of the full list price. These additional tax rates apply for a period of 60 months. This may be a reason to try to acquire a car with zero CO₂ emissions in 2026, or failing that, in 2027.

If your car with CO₂ emissions falls under the ‘youngtimer’ scheme, the additional tax liability will not be 22 per cent (or 25 per cent for a car first registered before 2017) of the list price, but 35 per cent of the market value. The ‘youngtimer’ scheme will apply in 2026 if the car is 16 years old or older on 1 January 2026, or if it was already at your disposal in 2025 and turns 16 in 2026. From 1 January 2027, the age limit is likely to rise to 17 years (it is currently 25 years) and from 1 January 2028 to 20 years. Do you drive the ‘youngtimer’ through your income tax business, such as a sole trader? If so, you may wish to transfer the car to your private name. Normally, this isn’t possible without further ado, but due to the legislative change, there may be options available. Please discuss this with our advisers.

8. Make use of your allowance under the work-related expenses scheme (wkr)

Check whether you have any remaining allowance under the work-related expenses scheme (wkr) and make use of it. In 2026, this allowance amounts to 2 per cent of the first €400,000 of the wage bill and 1.18 per cent above that amount. Any allowance remaining in 2026 cannot be carried forward to 2027!

Incidentally, the allowance will increase slightly in 2027. It will then amount to 2.16% on the first €400,000 of the wage bill and 1.18% on the amount above that.

9. Ensure you comply with the new share option scheme for start-ups and scale-ups

A new, attractive scheme for share options at start-ups and scale-ups is due to come into force, probably from 2027. Under the new scheme, 35% of the benefit (= the difference between the proceeds from the sale of the shares on the one hand and the contribution and purchase price of the shares on the other) remains tax-free. Furthermore, the employee only pays tax upon the sale of the shares acquired through the share options.

Various conditions apply, and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) must classify your company as an innovative start-up or scale-up. What is important for now is that share option rights granted on or after 17 April 2025 may be eligible for the new scheme. It is therefore important that these share option rights have not yet been included in payroll tax as at 31 December 2026. In any case, ensure that share option rights granted on or after 17 April 2025 meet this requirement.