Can I Claim Motor Vehicle and Company Car (Bijtelling) as a Business Expense in Netherlands?
Company car costs are fully deductible for VPB. If the car is also available for private use, a taxable benefit in kind (bijtelling) at 22% of catalogue value is added to the DGA's or employee's wage. A no-private-use declaration (verklaring geen prive gebruik) eliminates the bijtelling if private use is genuinely nil.
What Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax and Customs Administration) says
Wet LB 1964 Art. 13bis: bijtelling percentage applied to catalogusprijs (22% standard, 16% on first EUR 30,000 for electric vehicles in 2025). Wet VPB 1969 Art. 8: vehicle costs deductible as business expense. BTW wet Art. 15 lid 6: maximum 50% BTW recovery on cars with any private use.
When you can claim
- Depreciation or lease payments, fuel, insurance, road tax, maintenance, and repairs on a company car
- Full BTW recovery on a company car where no private use occurs and a verklaring geen prive gebruik is filed
- EUR 0.23 per km tax-free mileage allowance for employees using their own car for business (2025)
When you cannot claim
- More than 50% of BTW on a company car that has any private use
- Bijtelling avoidance without filing the verklaring geen prive gebruik with the Belastingdienst
Good to know
Pro tip: If the company car is an electric vehicle, the reduced bijtelling on the first EUR 30,000 of catalogue value can significantly reduce the personal tax cost. Compare the total cost (VPB saving less personal IB cost) of a company car versus a personal car with EUR 0.23/km reimbursement at your expected annual business mileage.
Important: Bijtelling is based on the vehicle's original manufacturer catalogue price (catalogusprijs) including all options, not the actual purchase price. This applies even for a used car bought at a large discount.
Stop guessing what you can claim in Netherlands
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