News item | 17-12-2025 | 10:15
Various taxes will change as of January 1, 2026, taking steps towards a better tax system. The government also pays attention to the purchasing power of Dutch people, the climate and the fair taxation of wealth. The changes follow from previously adopted bills and the Tax Plan 2026 package, which was adopted by the Senate on December 16. Want to know exactly what will change per personal situation as of 2026? Then go to the ‘what does this mean to me’ tool van Wijzer in Money Matters.
State Secretary Eugène Heijnen (Tax, Tax Authorities and Customs): “Improving the tax system continues continuously. For example, we remove or change tax measures that clearly do not achieve what they are intended for. This also applies to measures that show that they are not an efficient way to achieve the goal. There is broad support in parliament for these measures. Until the new cabinet takes office, I will remain committed to improving the tax system.”
Better tax system
The government is taking a number of measures because evaluations show that some schemes do not do what is intended (effectiveness) and/or do not operate efficiently (efficiency). For example, from 2026 the low road tax rate (MRB) will be reduced for campers and scrapped for horse transport. This also applies to the reduced VAT rate for accommodation. From 2026, you will pay 21% VAT for overnight stays in hotel rooms, holiday homes or mobile homes. This also applies to the provision of short-term accommodation (max. 6 months) to, for example, employees, students, asylum seekers and homeless people.
An uncertainty in the addition of business bicycles will be removed from next year. If an employee also uses a bicycle privately, the 7% additional tax no longer has to be paid.
Income and entrepreneurship
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 to inflation. This means that people fall into the next income tax bracket a little earlier. The first income tax bracket will go from €38,441 now to €39,357 in 2026. The second income tax bracket will go from €76,817 now to €79,137 in 2026.
An adjustment will also be made to the employed person’s tax credit. These amounts are normally linked to the increase in the statutory minimum wage. This will happen differently before 2026. As a result, the income limits will be lowered on January 1, 2026. As a result, people who work part-time and earn less than the minimum wage will receive more employment tax credits in 2026.
To keep prices affordable at the pump, the excise duty discount on petrol, diesel and LPG will be extended for a year until January 1, 2027. However, the discount is less high as a result of a change made by the House of Representatives. The excise duty for a liter of petrol will be €0.84, for a liter of diesel €0.55 and for a liter of LPG €0.20.
The amount that self-employed people (self-employed) may deduct from their profits will drop to €1,200 next year. The exempt monthly amount for early retirement will increase by €300 gross in 2026. The employer does not have to pay extra tax on this and this makes it easier for older employees with heavy work to retire earlier.
The tax scheme for foreign employees who are temporarily in the Netherlands (ETK scheme) will be simplified as of 2026. Employees can no longer claim extra living costs and extra conversation costs for private purposes with their country of origin tax-free.
Assets
The government wants assets passed on through inheritance to pass on to the next generation in a fair manner. That is why a number of adjustments are being made within the inheritance and gift tax. In this way, constructions with unequal wealth distribution between partners before death or divorce are tackled. As a result, spouses pay gift or inheritance tax on half of the community of property at the end of the marriage or death, even if they have divided this unequally on paper to prevent one of them from paying less tax. To better enable heirs to file their inheritance tax return, the inheritance tax return period after death will be extended from 8 to 20 months.
The government had proposed to cover the costs of the delayed introduction of the new box 3 system within box 3. The House of Representatives has reversed this increase in burden. Instead, the Hillen Act will be phased out more quickly. This law ensures that people with a small or repaid mortgage debt receive a tax reduction. They receive this discount because little or no mortgage interest can be deducted and tax is paid on the notional rental value. Due to the phasing out of the Hillen Act, these people will receive less discount from next year, this had already been decided earlier. Due to the accelerated phase-out, this tax deduction will ultimately end in 2041 instead of 2048.
People who buy a second home in 2026 as an investment property or holiday home will pay less transfer tax. The rate drops from 10.4% to 8%.
Climate and car
Further steps are being taken in the climate transition through various measures that apply to people and companies. The government wants the greening of the Netherlands’ vehicle fleet to continue. That is why the reduced BPM rate for emission-free cars will also apply to emission-free engines and special passenger cars, such as campers and wheelchair transport vehicles. At the same time, the BPM rates will be adjusted so that there remains sufficient incentive to make fuel-efficient cars even more economical.
At the request of the House of Representatives during the discussion of the Tax Plan, a discount on the additional tax for the private use of a company car without CO2emissions extended for 2 years. In order to pay for this, the youngtimer scheme is being simplified. With this scheme, entrepreneurs and DGAs (director-majority shareholders) who also drive a business car privately that was first put into use more than 15 years ago receive an advantage in the additional tax. From 2026, the minimum age of this car will be increased from 15 to 16 years. Youngtimers who turn 16 in the course of next year are still entitled to the favorable addition, as the cabinet has made additional arrangements. Before the favorable additional tax is increased from 16 to 25 years in 2027, they can still change their car. This late change to the measure means that some DGAs have to process the adjustment manually or submit corrections afterwards.
From July 1, 2026, the MRB will be exchanged for a new truck tax for trucks between 3,500 kg and 12,000 kg. The cleaner and lighter the vehicle, the lower the amount per kilometer. The mrb decreases for trucks over 12,000 kg.
From 2026, companies will pay taxes on a larger share of the drinking water they use. The levy ceiling will increase from 300 cubic meters to 50,000 cubic meters. In the European Union (EU), producers pay a CO2 tax that taxes emissions. To ensure fair competition, a CO2 tax will also be introduced from 2026 on certain goods coming from outside the EU, such as iron, steel and aluminum.
Confidence in the tax system
For confidence in the tax system, it is important that everyone pays their taxes. That is why the next step will be taken next year in combating tax evasion with cryptos. From 2026, crypto providers must collect personal data from their customers. This information, together with the customer transaction data, must be reported to the Tax Authorities by January 31, 2027. The tax authorities can therefore better check whether those customers have correctly stated that they have crypto in their income tax return. The law will be discussed in the Chambers in early 2026 and – after it has been adopted in both Chambers – will come into effect retroactively from January 1, 2026. Crypto providers can therefore start collecting data from January 1, 2026.