What changed in Dutch business tax in 2026?

Less than the headlines suggest. Corporate income tax rates stayed where they were. VAT on short stays moved from the reduced rate to the general rate, the research credit rates and its first bracket were set higher, the allowance scheme for foreign staff was narrowed, and one change is already set for the year after.

This page lists the changes a foreign-owned company in the Netherlands actually notices, with the body that published each one. Only measures with a primary source are listed. Anything that was proposed and not confirmed is left out.

Sources:
Belastingdienst, Veranderingen vennootschapsbelasting 2026 (in Dutch)
Ministerie van Financien, Belangrijkste wijzigingen belastingen 2026 (PDF, in Dutch)
RVO, Handleiding WBSO 2026, page 4 (PDF, in Dutch)
Rijksoverheid, Expatregeling hoogopgeleide buitenlandse werknemers (in Dutch)

What stayed the same

The headline rate. The Tax Administration states in as many words that the corporate income tax rate was not changed in 2026, and the bracket is unchanged too. The general VAT rate stayed at 21% and the reduced rate at 9%, so the lodging change is a move between two existing rates rather than a new rate.

That matters for anyone reading a tax summary written elsewhere. A company budgeting for the Netherlands this year uses the same two corporate income tax percentages it used last year, and the year table is in the Dutch corporate income tax rate in 2026.

Sources:
Belastingdienst, Veranderingen vennootschapsbelasting 2026 (in Dutch)
Ministerie van Financien, Belangrijkste wijzigingen belastingen 2026 (PDF, in Dutch)

What moved for a company doing research here

The research credit got more generous at the top of its first bracket. For 2026, RVO publishes a first bracket of 36%, a starter rate of 50% on that same bracket, and 16% on everything above it, with the upper limit of the first bracket at EUR 391,020. The limit was raised for this year, so a figure copied from an older page will understate what a research-heavy company can claim.

A separate change hits groups that fund their Dutch company with a loan from the parent. The interest limit named in the list above is a real constraint on that pattern, and it is one of the first things a Dutch tax adviser will test. What the research credit is worth over a full year is set out in what WBSO is worth in 2026.

Source: RVO, Handleiding WBSO 2026, page 4 (PDF, in Dutch)

What moved for a company bringing people over

The allowance side, not the visa side. Extraterritorial costs are the extra costs an employee has because they work in another country, and a Dutch employer may reimburse them tax free. From 1 January 2026 that scheme no longer covers extra costs of living such as meals, gas, water and electricity, nor extra call costs for contact with the home country.

The bigger change is the year after. The expat scheme, widely known as the 30% ruling, stays at 30% for 2026 and drops to 27% of wages tax free from 1 January 2027, with a higher salary standard alongside it. Companies planning an arrival around the turn of the year usually model both versions. What else changes for foreign staff next year is collected in what changes for foreign staff in the Netherlands in 2027.

Sources:
Ministerie van Financien, Belangrijkste wijzigingen belastingen 2026 (PDF, in Dutch)
Rijksoverheid, Expatregeling hoogopgeleide buitenlandse werknemers (in Dutch)

Sources

1. Belastingdienst, Veranderingen vennootschapsbelasting 2026 (in Dutch), checked 22 September 2026
2. Ministerie van Financien, Belangrijkste wijzigingen belastingen 2026 (PDF, in Dutch), checked 22 September 2026
3. RVO, Handleiding WBSO 2026 (PDF, in Dutch), checked 22 September 2026
4. Rijksoverheid, Expatregeling hoogopgeleide buitenlandse werknemers (in Dutch), checked 22 September 2026

Checked on 22 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules change: check the official source, or ask an adviser, before you act on it.