What entrepreneurs need to know about Prinsjesdag
- The basis
- Edited 6 July 2026
- 1 min
- Rules and laws
The government announces its plans for the next year on Budget Day, known in the Netherlands as Prinsjesdag. This budget can affect your business. But what exactly is Prinsjesdag?
Budget Day, known in the Netherlands as Prinsjesdag, takes place on the third Tuesday of September every year. On that day, the King delivers the budget speech from the throne. With this, he talks about the most important government plans for the coming year.
After the speech, the Minister of Finance hands over a briefcase to the House of Representatives on behalf of the government. This suitcase contains the National Budget (Rijksbegroting) and the Budget Memorandum (Miljoenennota).
Plans not certain
On Prinsjesdag, the government presents the National Budget and Budget Memorandum. The Budget Memorandum contains the government's plans for next year. But will all those plans be implemented? In the week following Budget Day, the parliamentary debates are held. In these, the members of parliament discuss the Budget Memorandum and the National Budget. The government can then adjust the plans. The Lower and Upper Houses must approve the national budget before 1 January of the following year.
Why is Prinsjesdag important?
On Prinsjesdag, the government presents the most important budget plans for the next year. These can be positive or negative for entrepreneurs, and affect certain choices they make. For example, it may be more favourable to postpone an investment because the government plans to introduce a new subsidy scheme.
