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From 1 January 2027 Dutch employers pay an extra tax of 12% of the catalogue price per year on a petrol, diesel or hybrid company car that an employee also uses privately or for commuting. Business.gov.nl, the government’s information site for businesses, says the law has been passed. The levy is for the employer: it may not be passed on to you. Fully electric cars are exempt.
The levy runs through the employer’s payroll taxes as a so-called pseudo final levy (pseudo-eindheffing). Two details make it broader than the bijtelling you may know. The 500 km rule does not apply: even if you drive less than 500 private kilometres a year, your employer still pays. And commuting counts as private use. For cars older than 25 years the 12% is charged on the market value instead of the catalogue price.
Cars with emissions that an employer already provided before 1 January 2027 fall under a transitional rule. The official sources do not agree on the end date. Business.gov.nl and Ondernemersplein say the levy applies to those cars from 1 January 2031, moved from 17 September 2030. The Rijksoverheid Q&A page still says employers pay nothing extra for them “until 16 September 2030”.
What does this mean for you?
Your own tax does not change because of this levy. The bijtelling, the taxable benefit added to your salary, stays a separate matter: the standard rate is 22% of the catalogue value, according to the Rijksoverheid, and electric cars get a lower rate.
What changes is the cost for your employer. A model example: a new petrol lease car with a catalogue price of €40,000, provided in 2027, costs the employer 12% × €40,000 = €4,800 a year on top of the lease, or €400 a month. The Rijksoverheid gives its own example: €3,600 a year for a €30,000 car. For an electric car of the same price the employer pays no levy. The stated aim of the measure, according to Ondernemersplein, is to move company cars to zero-emission models.
Already driving a petrol or diesel company car you received before 2027? Then the transitional rule covers that car for now.
What can you do now?
- Starting a new job with a lease car in 2027? Ask your employer which cars the lease policy allows and what your bijtelling will be. Our guide to electric driving, bijtelling and lease explains the taxes, and car leasing options for expats compares lease routes.
- Choosing electric? Plan how you will charge. Our guide to charging an electric car at home and in public covers chargers and energy contracts.
- Driving your own car instead of a lease car? Compare cover in our car insurance guide for expats.