The final 2026 Dutch Tax Plan: what changed after Budget Day?

Short answer

The Senate adopted the 2026 Tax Plan package on 16 December 2025. Many measures started on 1 January 2026, but not everything remained as proposed on Budget Day. Most notably, Parliament reversed the planned Box 3 burden increase.

Proposal compared with final outcome

This table gives the main changes. Tax credits, age, deductions and other income can materially change an individual calculation.

Final income-tax brackets

For a person below state-pension age, the 2026 Box 1 rates are:

• 35.70% up to €38,883;
• 37.56% on the part from €38,883 to €78,426;
• 49.50% on the part above €78,426.

Limited inflation adjustment remained part of the package. Several thresholds and credits therefore rose by less than they would under full inflation adjustment.

Box 3: burden increase removed

The government initially proposed funding the delay to the new Box 3 system from within Box 3. The House of Representatives reversed that increase.

Instead, the Hillen deduction is being phased out faster. It provides relief to people with no or a small home mortgage when the deemed owner-occupied-home income exceeds deductible mortgage interest. Under the final package, the relief ends in 2041 rather than 2048.

This is separate from the bill for a possible actual-return Box 3 system from 2028.

Employment, business and accommodation

The self-employed deduction fell to €1,200. The treatment of certain extraterritorial costs for employees temporarily working in the Netherlands was also tightened.

Hotel rooms, holiday accommodation and similar short stays generally carry 21% VAT from 2026 instead of 9%. Camping is not automatically covered by the same increase. The treatment of combined services depends on what is supplied.

Inheritance and second homes

The inheritance-tax filing period increased from 8 to 20 months. Measures also addressed certain unequal divisions of joint property between partners that could influence gift or inheritance tax.

A home acquired in 2026 without being used as the buyer's main residence, such as an investment or holiday home, generally attracts 8% transfer tax rather than 10.4%. Different rules apply to non-residential property.

Cars, climate and excise duties

The reduced company-car addition for private use of a zero-emission vehicle was extended by two years. The youngtimer scheme was tightened: its minimum vehicle age rose from 15 to 16 years in 2026, with transition details for cars turning 16 during the year.

Reduced excise duties on petrol, diesel and LPG were extended until 1 January 2027 at adjusted amounts. From July 2026, the relationship between MRB and the new truck charge also changed for trucks.

What does this mean for a calculation?

Do not use an early Budget Day table for 2026 without checking whether it was updated after parliamentary consideration. Belastbaar links calculations to a tax year and shows assumptions and precision. The result remains an estimate, not an assessment or filed return.