Coalition agreement 2026: the tax measures at a glance

On 30 January 2026, the forming parties D66, VVD and CDA presented their coalition agreement 2026-2030, entitled Aan de slag – Bouwen aan een beter Nederland (Getting started - Building a better Netherlands). Since the three parties will form a minority cabinet (66 seats in the House of Representatives), they must always seek support for the individual proposals from opposition parties. This may mean that the plans from the agreement will still be changed in order to receive sufficient support. Nevertheless, the coalition agreement is an important indication of the government's direction.

The coalition agreement contains a number of concrete tax measures and also a number of plans for tax measures that have yet to be worked out. The perspective is clearly on strengthening the Dutch earning capacity. A new measure is a freedom contribution to finance defense spending.

It is important for entrepreneurs that corporation tax does not increase, tax schemes such as the WBSO and work-related costs scheme become less complex and administrative burdens must be reduced. The expat scheme, innovation box, business succession facilities, loss set-off and the participation exemption will also be retained. But there is also an important tax direction for private individuals, such as the retention of the mortgage interest deduction and no increase in tax on savings, inheritance and gifts.

Below is an overview of the most important - now known - tax measures.

Business: corporation tax, income tax and payroll taxes

• No increase in corporate tax to create a level playing field in Europe as much as possible.
• With a view to a level playing field, the coalition partners want to maintain the regulations that have been discussed in the past that are important for companies. The expat scheme, innovation box, business succession scheme, loss set-off, the participation exemption and WBSO are explicitly mentioned.
• In addition, the WBSO will be expanded for the development of AI and technology.
• Tax schemes for entrepreneurs, such as the WBSO and the Work-related Costs Scheme, will be made less complex and administrative burdens will be reduced. For director shareholders the tax burden must be balanced.

• To allow start-ups and scale-ups in the Netherlands to grow, it will be easier to pay employees partly in shares (options). There will also be more opportunities to provide financial employee participations in a tax-efficient manner. An investment institution to be established will provide more venture capital for start-ups and scale-ups.
• The investment capacities of housing corporations will be expanded through a corporate income tax facility. A further elaboration has not yet been announced.
• Employers will be given the opportunity to help employees pay off their student debt more quickly by using the work-related costs scheme.

Individuals: income tax, payroll tax, business succession

• The tax treatment of the owner-occupied home remains as it is; This means, in particular, that the mortgage interest deduction will be maintained and will not be further reduced.
• Due to the importance of family businesses for the Dutch economy, the business succession scheme for gift and inheritance tax and the transfer scheme for income tax will be retained and will not be cut back.
• Taxes on savings, inheritance and gifts will not be increased. Donations are kept tax deductible.
• The new box 3 system based on actual return must enter into force in 2028. The bill is now based on a capital growth system. In order to stimulate long-term investments, the new box 3 system will be further developed into a capital gains system in the future.
• The coalition wants to encourage people to invest their savings more in the Dutch economy. A scheme for this has not yet been worked out.
• As of 2028, the capital limits in the healthcare allowance for single people and two-person households will be equated with the applicable tax-free allowance in box 3. This means that the capital limits will be applicable earlier and the right to healthcare allowance will expire more quickly.

• The income tax deduction for specific healthcare costs will be completely abolished as of 2028.
• The maximum pensionable salary will not be indexed until 2032 and will remain at 137,800 euros.
• In order to keep the state pension affordable in the future, there will be a direct link between the state pension age and the increase in life expectancy as of 1 January 2033, with the exception of people who have a strenuous profession.
• The VBAR will be replaced by the Self-Employed Act. The Self-Employed Act will be introduced as soon as possible and in phases. First, the legal presumption (similar to the legal presumption from the VBAR) is introduced, after which the rest of the Self-Employed Act follows.
• The introduction of the basic insurance for self-employed persons (BAZ) will be continued with the option of private insurance (opt-out).
• There will be a fundamental review of the system of illness and disability.
• The unemployment benefit will be shortened to a maximum of one year, although the benefit will be higher in the beginning. The requirements for accrual and benefits will also be tightened.

Other measures

Reform of the tax and benefits system

The tax and benefits system and other income schemes and insurance policies will be revised. At the end of 2026, the future cabinet will come up with a reform agenda. The coalition wants to align definitions and conditions of tax, social security and allowances and gradually phase out the large number of income-dependent schemes, starting with the tax credits. In addition, working must be more beneficial. In this context, measures are being examined, such as relaxing the Distinction of Working Hours Act (full-time bonus), an hourly employment tax credit and a extra-hour benefit.

Workable policy

The government strives for better workability of all kinds of rules. In this context, there will be an annual Simplification Act that will continuously improve laws and regulations. This does not only concern tax rules, but we would expect that this would certainly also include the phasing out, adjustment or replacement of tax schemes that were previously labelled as inefficient.

No national extra's

The ambition remains not to add 'unnecessary national extra's' to European rules, so not to levy additional national taxes where European taxes already exist.

One Kingdom

The coalition will also apply the same new policies in the Caribbean Netherlands, unless there are compelling reasons not to do so.

Livestock farming

The coalition invests in dignified livestock farming through subsidies and tax schemes with a view to an economic perspective for family farms.