Prinsjesdag 2025: New tax plans that affect BVs in the Netherlands

More tax on tap water

Do you use a lot of tap water? Then you will pay more tax. Currently, you only pay tax on the first 300 m³ per year.

In 2026, your business will pay tax on the first 50,000 m³.

From 2027, this limit will disappear completely. You will then pay tax on all the tap water you use.

Corporate income tax remains unchanged

The corporate income tax rates have now remained unchanged for 2 years in a row. The tax bracket threshold will also remain the same in 2026.

In 2024, the tax bracket threshold and the corporate income tax rate were divided into 2 brackets: a high and a low rate. In the first bracket, you pay the low rate of 19% corporate income tax on profits up to €200,000. So if your profit is €150,000, you pay €28,500 in tax.

Is your BV's profit more than €200,000? Then the amount above that falls into the second bracket. You pay the high rate of 25.8% on the amount above €200,000. View the overview of the tax rates for 2025.

Box 3 taxes on savings and investments

In box 3, you pay tax on savings, debts, investments, and other assets. These are divided into 3 categories:

1. Savings
2. Debts
3. Investments and other assets

In 2026, you will not pay tax on your assets up to €51,396. This is called the 'tax-free allowance'. In 2025, that amount was higher: €57,684.

You pay tax on your assets above €51,396. The Netherlands Tax Administration does not base this on the actual return, but on an estimated return on those assets. This is a percentage: the notional return.

The notional return on investments and other assets goes from 6% to 7.78%. The notional return that the Tax Administration will use in 2026 for the categories of savings and debts has not yet been announced. This will be done at the last minute, so that it reflects reality as closely as possible.

Next year, you will pay 36% tax on the expected return. That is the same as the 2025 rate.

Lower taxation for startups and scale-ups

To make it easier to attract and retain talent, share options for employees of startups and scale-ups will be made more attractive as of 1 January 2027. The tax rate will drop from 49.5% to a maximum of 32.17%. This means that employees will pay less tax on their share options. They will also only have to pay tax when they sell their shares, not before.

Extra money for startup growth

The government is making €200 million available to help Dutch startups and scale-ups. This money will go to the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI), a European fund. They will make it available to young, fast-growing businesses. This will make it easier for innovative businesses to grow.

More money for innovation (WBSO)

The R&D Tax Credit (WBSO) is a scheme that gives businesses discounts on labour costs for research and development. In 2026, the budget will be increased to €1.8 billion. It was previously €1.6 billion. This will allow more businesses to invest in new products and techniques. With this, the government wants to stimulate innovation and keep the Netherlands attractive for (foreign) businesses.

Extra tax on diesel and petrol cars from 2027

Does an employee or director use a company petrol or diesel car for private purposes? If so, you will have to pay additional tax from 2027 onwards. This amounts to 12% of the list price per year. This is in addition to the normal additional tax liability that your employee or director already pays. The BV may not pass on this tax to the employee or director.

Delivery vans and refuse collection vehicles are not covered by this rule.

Cars that are already being used privately before 1 January 2027 are exempt until 17 September 2030. After that, the rule will apply.

Does the employee or director only use the car for work? Then you do not pay any additional tax. However, you must be able to show that the car is not used privately. You can do this with a logbook. In this, you record exactly which journeys have been made, on which day, how many kilometres and to where.

When will the new plans take effect?

A legislative amendment must first be approved by the Lower and Upper Houses of parliament (Tweede en Eerste Kamer). After publication in the Staatsblad or Staatscourant (Government Gazette, in Dutch), the law can take effect.

An Order in Council (Algemene Maatregel van Bestuur, AMvB) or ministerial decree also applies only after publication in the Staatsblad or Staatscourant.

Find out more

Visit Business.gov.nl to see the complete overview of government plans that are important to your business. Or read more Budget Day articles on KVK.nl.