In its 2025 Spring Memorandum, the Dutch government announced a new tax scheme for employee participation, specifically aimed at start-ups and scale-ups. This measure is intended to strengthen the Netherlands’ business climate for innovative growth companies and to help them attract and retain talent by making stock options a more attractive part of the employee compensation package.
The proposed scheme includes two fundamental changes:
- Reduced tax rate: Employees will no longer pay the standard top rate of 49.5% on stock options under Box 1 of the income tax, but instead benefit from a reduced effective tax rate of up to 32.17%.
- Deferral of taxation: Tax will no longer be due at the moment the shares become tradable, but only upon actual sale. This avoids liquidity issues for employees and better aligns the Dutch approach with international tax practices.
The legislative proposal is currently under development, with targeted implementation for January 1, 2027.
Sources: Rijksoverheid.nl (Beljaarts: ondernemers maximaal ontzien bij rekening Voorjaarsnota | Nieuwsbericht | Rijksoverheid.nl)
