For business owners, the Tax Plan 2027 mainly contains fewer deductions for start-ups and the self-employed, and more support for investing in energy and innovation. The start-up deduction falls to € 10 in 2027 and disappears in 2028. The energy investment allowance goes from 40% to 45.5%. The self-employed deduction falls to € 900, but that was already in the law (factsheet bundle Tax Plan 2027, Income Tax Act 2001, in force from 1 January 2027).
The cabinet submitted the package to the House of Representatives on Budget Day, 15 September 2026. These are proposals. The House is expected to vote on 12 November 2026, and the Senate will deal with the package in December. Only then is it final (Government of the Netherlands, news item 15 September 2026, House of Representatives, Finance committee).
In short
- Already law: a € 900 self-employed deduction and a 12% levy for employers on fossil-fuel company cars from 1 January 2027.
- Proposal: start-up deduction € 10 and then abolished, EIA 45.5%, innovation box up to € 100,000 and no more exemption for staff discount on own products.
- Not in this package: a change to the corporate income tax rate, to box 2 or to box 3.
Situation as at 16 October 2026. This article will be updated once parliament has dealt with the package.
In this article
- What is in the Tax Plan 2027 and when is it final?
- What changes to income tax rates in 2027?
- What changes for the self-employed and sole traders in income tax?
- What changes for the owner-director and the private limited company?
- What changes for employers?
- What changes to cars, fuel and VAT?
- Frequently asked questions about the Tax Plan 2027
What is in the Tax Plan 2027 and when is it final?
The Tax Plan 2027 package consists of four bills: the Tax Plan 2027, Other tax measures 2027, the Act on tax incentives for start-ups and scale-ups, and an act on the global minimum tax (covering letter Tax Plan 2027). For small and medium-sized businesses, the first three matter most.
Not everything that changes in 2027 is in this package. Part of it was already put into law earlier, for example the lower self-employed deduction and the smaller reduction on the benefit-in-kind for electric cars (Income Tax Act 2001, in force from 1 January 2027). Those go ahead whatever parliament decides now. For each point this article states whether it is already law or still a proposal.
A memorandum of amendment has already been announced. It includes extending the excise discount on diesel in 2027 and an exception for housing associations from the interest deduction limit (covering letter Tax Plan 2027). Amendments by the House can also still change the package.
What changes to income tax rates in 2027?
The rates in the first and second bands go up, the top rate stays at 49.50%. The threshold for the top rate stays at € 78,426, so it does not rise with inflation (explanatory memorandum Tax Plan 2027, table 1). These are the proposed figures for people below state pension age:
| Box 1 | 2026 | 2027 (proposal) |
|---|---|---|
| Rate band 1 | 35.75% | 36.23% |
| Upper limit band 1 | € 38,883 | € 39,247 |
| Rate band 2 | 37.56% | 38.16% |
| Upper limit band 2 | € 78,426 | € 78,426 |
| Rate band 3 | 49.50% | 49.50% |
| General tax credit, maximum | € 3,115 | € 3,154 |
| Employed person's tax credit, maximum | € 5,685 | € 5,929 |
Source: explanatory memorandum Tax Plan 2027, table 1. The phase-out points of the tax credits depend on the minimum wage and are only final after November 2026.
Why do rates rise? The cabinet applies only 48% of the inflation correction. As a result, the thresholds rise less than prices. On top of that come rate increases from earlier tax plans and compensation for lower health insurance premiums. On balance, the band 1 rate rises by 0.48 percentage points and the band 2 rate by 0.6 percentage points (factsheet bundle, income policy). Against this, the employed person's tax credit rises by € 173 at all points of the scale.
What changes for the self-employed and sole traders in income tax?
The self-employed deduction, a fixed deduction for business owners who work at least 1,225 hours a year in their business, falls from € 1,200 to € 900. That is already law. The SME profit exemption stays at 12.7% (Income Tax Act 2001, articles 3.76 and 3.79a, in force from 1 January 2027, explanatory memorandum, table 1).
It is proposed to reduce the start-up deduction, an extra deduction for business owners in their first years, from € 2,123 to € 10 in 2027 and to abolish it from 1 January 2028. There is no transitional rule, so it also affects those who started before 2027. Arbitrary depreciation for start-ups also disappears from 2028, and the start-up deduction for people with a disability from 2029 (factsheet bundle, ATR advice, Government of the Netherlands).
The partner's deduction, for a partner who works in the business without pay, and the discontinuation deduction, when you stop the business, would first fall by 75% and disappear three years later. This is in the Act on tax incentives for start-ups and scale-ups, which takes effect by royal decree, preferably on 1 January 2027 (factsheet bundle). If you plan to stop or sell in 2027, keep an eye on the start date.
Investments in energy saving get a larger deduction. The energy investment allowance (EIA) goes from 40% to 45.5% from 1 January 2027 (Tax Plan 2027 bill). The government's news item says 45%, the bill itself says 45.5%. The limits of the small-scale investment allowance (KIA) rise only partly with inflation in 2027 (explanatory memorandum).
For the EIA, the year of ordering counts (RVO, EIA). If, for example, you are planning a heat pump or solar panels for your own business premises, you can take that timing into account. Research in the United States showed that firms shift their investments strongly towards the period with the higher benefit (House & Shapiro, 2008). Do not order earlier or later just for the deduction as long as the proposal is not law.
What changes for the owner-director and the private limited company?
Very little. The package does not change the corporate income tax rates. In 2026 they are 19% up to and including € 200,000 of profit and 25.8% above that (Belastingdienst, corporate income tax rates, factsheet bundle).
Box 2, income from a substantial interest such as dividend from your company, stays at 24.5% up to € 68,843 and 31% above that. That is how it stands in the law for 2027. Under the proposal, that threshold rises only partly with inflation (Belastingdienst, box 2, explanatory memorandum). For excessive borrowing from your own company, the limit stays at € 500,000. The package only settles a technical point for an inherited interest (factsheet bundle).
There is nothing in the package on the customary salary, the minimum salary an owner-director must pay himself. In 2026 it is at least € 58,000, or more if comparable work or the best-paid employee earns more (Belastingdienst, customary salary rule). The amount for 2027 had not yet been published on 16 October 2026.
If your company develops something new itself, such as its own product or software, the innovation box may become interesting. The profit from it is taxed at a lower rate. The flat-rate maximum for small businesses goes from € 25,000 to € 100,000 from 2027 (factsheet bundle).
For box 3, savings and investments, there is no measure in the package. The cabinet has not yet found a proposal with broad support (covering letter). The House of Representatives passed the Actual Return Box 3 Act on 12 February 2026, but the Senate has held over the vote since 30 June 2026 (Senate, Actual Return Box 3 Act). The new system is intended from 2028 (Government of the Netherlands, box 3 timeline).
What changes for employers?
From 1 January 2027 an employer pays extra tax if he gives an employee a petrol, diesel or hybrid passenger car that is also used privately or for commuting. This pseudo final levy is 12% of the list price per year and you may not pass it on. That is already law. A van is not covered, it concerns passenger cars (Ondernemersplein, extra tax on business petrol and diesel cars).
A worked example from the government: for a car of € 30,000 the levy is € 3,600 a year (Government of the Netherlands, company car). Transitional rules apply to cars you had already given an employee before 2027. The Tax Plan proposes extending them up to and including 31 December 2030. There will also be an exception for the first 14 days of replacement transport and for up to 7 days per car per year (factsheet bundle, pseudo final levy). If your company gives you as owner-director a fossil-fuel car, the levy also applies.
Under the proposal, the work-related costs scheme loses the exemption for staff discount on own products, up to 20% and at most € 500 a year. Such a discount can still be given tax-free within the free allowance. On 1 January 2027 it rises to 2.16% of the first € 400,000 of the wage bill and stays 1.18% above that. That was already fixed before this Tax Plan (Government of the Netherlands, work-related costs scheme). So if, as a wholesaler or installer, you sell materials at a discount to your own staff, that will be taken from your free allowance.
The tax-free travel allowance is € 0.25 per kilometre, retroactively from 1 January 2026. The Tax Plan puts that into law (factsheet bundle).
What changes to cars, fuel and VAT?
The benefit-in-kind for a fully electric car first registered in 2027 becomes 20% of the first € 30,000 of the list price and 22% of the rest. That is already law: the reduction on 22% goes from 4% to 2%, with a maximum of € 600 (Income Tax Act 2001, article 3.20, in force from 1 January 2027). If you register an electric car in 2026, you keep the 2026 rules for 60 months.
For youngtimers, older cars with a 35% benefit-in-kind on their current value, the law says the car must be at least 25 years old from 2027. The cabinet proposes changing that to 17 years in 2027 and 20 years from 2028 (factsheet bundle, youngtimer scheme).
The discount on fuel excise duty is extended by a year. In 2027 the excise duty on petrol will be € 0.85 per litre and on diesel € 0.55 per litre (Government of the Netherlands, news item 15 September 2026). For diesel this is done through the announced memorandum of amendment (covering letter). The halving of motor vehicle tax for business owners' vans applies from 1 July to 31 December 2026 and does not continue in 2027 (factsheet bundle).
For VAT, little changes in 2027 for most businesses. The low 9% rate for flowers and plants and for balloon flights goes to 21% from 1 January 2028 (factsheet bundle). There is no VAT measure in the package for construction and installation work. For energy tax, outside this package, the cabinet wants to focus the reduction per connection on households from 2028 (covering letter). How that works out for business premises has not yet been worked out.
Frequently asked questions about the Tax Plan 2027
Is the Tax Plan 2027 already law?
No. On 16 October 2026 the House of Representatives is still dealing with it. The vote is planned for 12 November 2026, followed by the Senate in December (House of Representatives, Government of the Netherlands).
I started in 2025. Will I still get the start-up deduction in 2027?
Under the proposal only € 10, and nothing from 2028. There is no transitional rule for those who have already started (ATR advice). You keep the normal self-employed deduction of € 900 if you meet the hours criterion.
Will my van become more expensive?
The pseudo final levy does not apply to vans, only to passenger cars (Ondernemersplein). The halved motor vehicle tax for vans stops after 2026, so in 2027 you pay the normal business rate again.
Is the rate for my company changing?
No. The package contains no change to corporate income tax on normal profit, nor to the box 2 rates (factsheet bundle).
Where can I find the official documents?
The government's Tax Plan documents page has the bill, the explanatory memorandum and the factsheets (Government of the Netherlands, Tax Plan documents).
Sources
- Ministry of Finance, Factsheet bundle Tax Plan 2027 package, 15 September 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- Ministry of Finance, Tax Plan 2027 bill with explanatory memorandum, 15 September 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- State Secretary for Finance, Covering letter Tax Plan 2027 package, 15 September 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- Government of the Netherlands, Tax Plan 2027 news item, 15 September 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- Government of the Netherlands, Tax Plan documents 2027, accessed 16 October 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- House of Representatives, Finance committee, decisions list 24 September 2026 with timetable for the Tax Plan 2027. tweedekamer.nl
- Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden, Advice on reducing and abolishing the start-up deduction, 29 July 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 (Income Tax Act 2001), articles 3.76 and 3.79a, in force from 1 January 2027. wetten.overheid.nl
- Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 (Income Tax Act 2001), article 3.20, in force from 1 January 2027. wetten.overheid.nl
- RVO, Energy investment allowance (EIA) for businesses, accessed 16 October 2026. rvo.nl
- Belastingdienst, Corporate income tax rates, accessed 16 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
- Belastingdienst, Box 2: explanation and rates, accessed 16 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
- Belastingdienst, Salary and substantial interest, accessed 16 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
- Senate, Actual Return Box 3 Act (36,748), accessed 16 October 2026. eerstekamer.nl
- Government of the Netherlands, Timeline Actual Return Box 3 Act, accessed 16 October 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- Ondernemersplein (RVO), Extra tax on business petrol and diesel cars for employees, accessed 16 October 2026. ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
- Government of the Netherlands, I drive a company car. Which taxes do I have to pay?, accessed 16 October 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
- Belastingdienst, What is the work-related costs scheme (WKR)?, accessed 16 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
- House, C. L. & Shapiro, M. D. (2008). Temporary Investment Tax Incentives: Theory with Evidence from Bonus Depreciation. American Economic Review, 98(3), 737-768. doi.org
- Government of the Netherlands, How do I use the work-related costs scheme (WKR) as an employer?, accessed 17 October 2026. rijksoverheid.nl