Relief tax package for rising energy costs
22/04/26
This article is last updated on 24 April 2026
The Dutch cabinet presented a tax support package worth just under 1 billion Euro. It consists of 627 million Euro in expenditure measures and 300 million Euro in tax measures in 2026. The package aims to mitigate the economic consequences of the war in the Middle East and disruptions in the energy markets for businesses, motorists, and other citizens.
The package includes an increase in the tax-free travel allowance from 23 to 25 Eurocents per kilometre, temporary tax relief for entrepreneurs using vans (grey licence plates) through a 50% reduction in motor vehicle tax, and targeted energy measures for vulnerable households, including additional funding for the energy emergency fund and home insulation. In addition, several planned sustainability subsidies for businesses will be made available earlier. A general reduction in fuel excise duties and support for public transport are not part of the package.
What does this mean for you and your organisation?
The support package contains measures relevant to organisations and businesses affected by rising energy and mobility costs, including:
- employers with commuting and business travel costs,
- entrepreneurs using vans,
- households facing high energy bills,
- companies investing in sustainability.
The impact and financial consequences for businesses have been mapped using the PwC Energy Price Impact Model (EPIM), showing which businesses are hardest hit and what can already be done in response. See our Dutch article ‘Hoge energieprijzen vragen om gerichte actie van bedrijven en overheid’.
Support measures
The measures are based on three policy pillars:
- household purchasing power and business resilience,
- security of energy supply,
- resilience in relation to energy demand.
These three policy pillars are considered in conjunction with one another. The aim is to absorb economic shocks in the short term and make the Netherlands more resilient in the long term to volatile energy prices with broad effects across the economy.
A general reduction in fuel excise duties is deliberately not part of the package. The cabinet wants to avoid broad price reductions that could increase demand and exacerbate scarcity. Instead, it has opted for targeted measures supporting specific groups.
The cabinet is taking account of the possibility of further deterioration and is working with a National Oil Crisis Plan in that context. Due to disruptions in the supply of kerosene and diesel, the Netherlands moved to phase 1 of the National Oil Crisis Plan on 20 April 2026. If the situation worsens, additional scenarios are available, including broader purchasing power measures and targeted support to prevent bankruptcies. The current package is therefore a first, targeted step, with scope for further scaling up.
Hereafter, we explain the measures of the support package in more detail.
Tax-free travel allowance
The maximum tax-free travel allowance will be increased retroactively for the whole of 2026 and beyond from 23 cents to 25 cents per kilometre. Employers may apply this higher tax-free allowance to commuting and business travel. The cabinet is calling on employers to make use of this fiscal facility and will consult with the social partners to ensure that this room is used structurally in collective labour agreements.
For the Caribbean Netherlands, the maximum tax-free mileage allowance for commuting will increase by 2 dollar cents to 22 dollar cents per kilometre.
Reduction of motor vehicle tax (MRB) for entrepreneurs with vans
For entrepreneurs using a van with a so called ‘grey’ licence plate, motor vehicle tax will be temporarily reduced by 50 percent from 1 July until 31 December 2026. This measure is intended to support smaller entrepreneurs who do not always benefit from the higher tax-free travel allowance.
Reduction of motor vehicle tax (MRB) for trucks to nil
For the same period, from 1 July to 31 December 2026, motor vehicle tax for trucks will be reduced to a nil rate. In addition, the cabinet will start up talks with the transport sector on temporary tailor-made measures within the tax system for trucks, including measures to help the sector transition to more electric driving.
On 23 April 2026, the Lower House adopted a motion to postpone the introduction date of the truck levy from 1 July 2026 to 1 January 2027.
Increase in the Energy Investment Allowance (EIA)
Businesses will receive additional support for implementing sustainability measures through an increase in the deduction percentage for the Energy Investment Allowance (EIA) from 40 percent to 45.5 percent as of 1 January 2027. This will make it more attractive for entrepreneurs to invest in energy-saving measures or sustainable energy.
Sustainability subsidies for businesses
Additional support will be made available for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to implement energy-saving measures.
The Guarantee Scheme for Entrepreneur Financing (GO) will be extended by five years as of 1 July 2026, and the guarantee component of the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (BMKB) will be increased for one year to strengthen business resilience. These changes are intended to help ensure that viable businesses have access to sufficient financing.
Subsidy for private purchase of electric cars
The private vehicle fleet will be electrified more quickly because the trade-in scheme for fuel-powered cars will be fast forwarded to the end of 2026. This scheme is intended for households with lower and middle incomes, enabling them to scrap an old fossil-fuel car (emission class 1 to 4) and purchase a second-hand electric car with a subsidy.
Energy measures for vulnerable households
Private individuals will be helped to save energy through greater scope for loans from the National Heat Fund, rapid deployment of energy fixers, increased sustainability subsidies for owners’ associations (VvEs), and support for sustainability improvements in the most vulnerable neighbourhoods through additional funding for the National Programme for Liveability and Safety (NPLV).
For the most vulnerable households with high energy bills, the cabinet is preparing an energy emergency fund and reserving EUR 195 million for that purpose. Eligibility will be determined on the basis of income and the level of the energy bill.
Funding of the measures
On the revenue side, the funding will come from measures intended to contribute to improving the tax system. Below is an explanation of each financing measure.
Start-up deduction
The start-up deduction will be abolished from next year. The policy evaluation shows that this scheme is not effective in stimulating entrepreneurship and entails relatively high implementation costs.
Small projects investment credit (KIA)
The small-scale investment deduction has been assessed as having limited effectiveness and efficiency and will be scaled back. The maximum investment amount for which KIA can be claimed will be reduced. The cabinet also intends to consider how the scheme can be reformed. In doing so, it will take into account the structural funds resulting from scaling back the KIA for more effective use in encouraging investment and thereby strengthening the economy.
On 23 April 2026, the Lower House adopted a motion to prevent the scaling back of the KIA.
Excise duty on alcohol
Finally, an indexation mechanism will be introduced within the excise duty system for alcoholic beverages.
EU developments: AccelerateEU
On 22 April 2026, the European Commission announced a wide range of measures to protect Europeans from the fossil energy crisis and to accelerate the transition towards home-grown clean energy. This AccelerateEU package is built on five pillars:
- Closer EU coordination
- Protection of consumers and businesses
- Increase in the production of green energy within the EU
- Strengthening the energy grid system
- Encouragement of investment
Among the measures under the fourth pillar is a legislative proposal regarding grid tariffs and taxes. This proposal is expected to be published in May 2026 and aims to provide incentives for optimal and cost-efficient use of the electricity grid, to promote system-friendly consumption, to clarify the framework for targeted reductions in network costs and for energy-intensive industries, and to enable Member States to reduce energy taxes for specific users – such as energy-intensive industries and vulnerable households – or even to abolish them. The intention is to tax electricity less than fossil fuels.
Windfall profits
Taxing the “windfall profits” of energy companies – similar as in 2022 – is also mentioned as an option to absorb the energy shock. The measures taken in 2022 to skim off windfall profits were largely based directly on European regulations. In the Netherlands, these included the solidarity contribution (i.e. EU Regulation 2022/1854) and the inframarginal levy. In addition, as an extra national measure, the state profit share under the Mining Act was temporarily increased. The state profit share is a separate levy under the Mining Act imposed on revenue generated from the extraction of oil and gas.
All three of these measures have led to many legal proceedings both in the Netherlands and elsewhere. These include various arbitration proceedings, national law proceedings (objection/appeal against tax assessments) and proceedings brought directly before the Court of Justice of the European Union against the regulation itself. When these measures were introduced in 2022, we identified a number of key issues in our (Dutch) article: ' Tijdelijk plafond marktinkomsten elektriciteits-producenten'.
These proceedings underline the importance of ensuring that both European and national measures have a firmer legal basis than was the case in 2022. The cabinet also notes that it cannot comment substantively on these matters because they are still pending. It is important to realise that there is now more time and room for a more refined, politically balanced design of measures than there was during the abrupt introduction of the emergency measures in 2022.
Issues in the design of a windfall profits tax
Dutch Parliament previously adopted two motions requesting an examination of whether and how (oil) companies that may be realising windfall profits as a result of rising energy prices could contribute to cushioning the effects of those price increases or to providing temporary targeted support to vulnerable households. The cabinet considers the introduction of an additional levy on possible higher profits, on top of corporate income tax, undesirable at this stage. It also notes that determining what constitutes “windfall profit” is not straightforward, as there is no standard criterion available.
If for instance windfall profit is defined as profit exceeding 120% of the average profit of previous years, it must first be determined which years were “normal” profitable years and whether compensation should be given for incidental proceeds. Another option would be a more stable, objective benchmark such as a rate of return on invested capital. Would such a levy this time apply only to windfall profits from fossil-based energy production (oil, gas, coal), or rather to electricity generation with low marginal costs (solar, wind, hydro), as was the case with the inframarginal levy? And over what period would there be “exceptional circumstances” justifying more far-reaching levies?
In addition to the complexity of defining windfall profit, further issues concern determining the exact scope of an additional tax, identifying who would be taxable, and setting the duration of the measure.
The cabinet has indicated for several products and services whether it sees grounds for taxing windfall profits in those areas.
Gas: Given the relatively limited increase in natural gas prices, the cabinet currently sees no reason to assume that there are windfall profits in the gas market.
Oil: In the oil market, the cabinet sees indications that revenues from oil extraction and refining have increased as a result of recent price rises. However, developments in costs are currently unknown. Any extra profits are in large part likely to be realised abroad, given that almost no oil is produced in the Netherlands.
Refining: For Dutch refineries, it is still too early to conclude that additional profits are being made. Moreover, any increased profits at Dutch refineries would, to the extent that they are in a taxpaying position, already lead to higher corporate income tax revenues.
Petrol stations: At present, the cabinet does not expect additional profits to be made at the end of the fuel supply chain, such as at petrol stations.
