Netherlands: Exchange of information obligation

As of 1 January 2022, companies that qualify as a withholding agent for Dutch wage tax and so-called collective administering organisations (in Dutch: collectieve beheersor­ganisaties) are obliged to notify the Dutch tax authorities of payments made to per­sons who are not on the payroll. This notification obligation is called the “exchange of information”.

Several exemptions are in place, such as for payments to qualifying volunteers, free­lancers that invoice their services including VAT, artists and sportspersons. Note that different wage tax regulations already apply to artists and sportspersons.

If payments are being made to persons that do not meet the exceptions above, a notification obligation may exist. Notifications to the Dutch tax authorities have to be made on 31 January of each year. The notification should consist of the following information: Dutch social security number, date of birth, initials, surname, address information and country.

Tax-free travel allowance

Employers are permitted to provide a tax-free travel allowance for employees. As of 1 January 2023, the maximum tax-free travel allowance is increased from EUR 0.19 to EUR 0.21 per kilometre. It is proposed to further increase to EUR 0.22 in 2024.

Increase of tax-free budget in work-related cost rules scheme

Employers can use the discretionary margin under the work-related cost rules scheme to provide and reimburse their employees with regard to tax-free items. For 2023, the discretionary margin for each employer is set at 3% of the first EUR 400,000 of the wage bill and 1.18% over the excess of EUR 400,000.

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