News item | 14-04-2025 | 11:45 am
The tax treaty between the Netherlands and Germany is being amended so that border workers can work at home for a maximum of 34 days each year without having to pay tax on their income in both countries. The countries agreed today. It is a first step to improve the possibilities for border workers to work at home. Because a maximum of 34 days a year is included, not all border workers have benefited from the new home work scheme. That is why the Netherlands and Germany have agreed to discuss this further.
A tax treaty prevents border workers in both the Land van Wonen and the country where the employer is established pay tax on the same income. It is usually arranged for employees that income tax is levied in the country where the work has been physically performed. If border workers work from a country other than where the employer is located, then taxing rights can also be given to that other country. For example, tax must be paid in both the Land van Wonen for the part that is being worked at home, and the country of the employer for the remaining part of the income.
Home working scheme
Due to the change in the tax treaty with Germany, border workers can work from home for a maximum of 34 days annually, whereby the right of taxing remains fully at the country where the employer is located. This applies to both employees within the business community and within the government.
The change in the tax treaty has various benefits for border workers. The income of the border worker is only taxed in the country of the employer, which means that there is less uncertainty about the final net income. In addition, additional administrative burdens can also be prevented, for example for making complex calculations for tax returns in both countries. In some cases it can be prevented that costs are incurred for a tax adviser.
It has been agreed with Germany that there is a home working day if more than 30 minutes a day is worked at home. The change in the tax treaty is a first step to improve the situation around working from home for border workers.
Declaration of intent
Not all border workers benefit from the new home work scheme. For example, people who have an employer in Germany and structurally work from home for 1 to 2 days a week. The Netherlands also wants to find a solution for them and that is why a declaration of intent has been signed together with Germany in which it has been agreed in the long term about a home work scheme with more than 34 working days per calendar year. In addition, both countries, where possible, also want to offer more certainty to employers about the tax consequences of working from home by border workers.
Follow-up
Before the change in the tax treaty comes into effect, the Convention is first submitted to the Council of State, after which it is sent to the parliament for approval. The German parliament must also agree with the change.