As at every New Year, taxes are going up and coming down, new rules come into force and old regulations are being phased out. Here’s a round-up.

Self employment

The tax office has pledged to start implementing legislation first approved eight years ago and aimed at stopping sham self-employment. Freelancers will have to meet a number of conditions – including setting their own working times and having their own tools – to continue to qualify as self-employed.

Employers making use of freelancers will be the first to be targeted and officials have said they will not be issuing any fines to start with.

Redundancy package

The maximum redundancy package payable to people who are losing their jobs will rise to €98,000.

More take home pay

Most workers will get an increase in take-home pay in 2025 but some part-timers will not benefit, according to calculations by salary processing company ADP Nederland.

Everyone who earns more than €2000 a year will have more to spend, excluding the impact of pay rises, ADP said. In particular, people earning the minimum wage and working a 40 hour week will have €58 more in disposable income.

The change is due to the introduction of a new tax band which means people will pay 35.82% rather than 36.97% tax on the first €38,441 of their income. The second tax band is higher – 37.48% up to €76,817 – and there is no change to the third, which remains 49.5%.

However, people earning between €1000 and €2000 a month will have around €30 a month less to spend because of the cut in the general tax discount, ADP said.

Minimum wages and pensions

The minimum wage for an adult over the age of 20 is going up 38 cents an hour to €14.06. The state pension (AOW) will rise by a similar percentage to net €1497.77 for a single person or € 1,081.50 for one half of a couple. The state pension age remains 67 next year.

Benefits

The maximum housing benefit will rise to €481 for a single person and €389 for a couple, while healthcare benefits will go up to €131 for a single person and €250 for a couple. Both benefits are income dependent.

Child benefit and extra help to pay for childcare, are also going up, again, depending on income. Welfare payments will be a maximum €1,345.45 for a childless single person or €2,053.48 for a couple.

Student grants will rise to €125.99 for a home student and €314 for those who live away from home in September, at the start of the next academic year.

Household bills

Network costs will rise by some €60 a year as grid operators invest in expanding capacity, but energy costs will go down slightly – although not enough to offset the rise in transport costs.

Drinking water is likely to cost around €12 more per year per person, while local authority taxes are rising by an average of 4.8%.

Health insurance costs are rising by an around €11 to an average of €158 per month.

More on health insurance

Stamps for the Netherlands will cost seven cents more, or €1.21, while international stamps will rise to €1.90.

Train tickets are going up by an average of 6%, while renting an OV bicycle will cost an additional 10 cents for 24 hours, or €4.65.

Taxes

The tax on gambling will rise from 30.5% to 34.2%.

There is no change in the tax on petrol, LPG or diesel but traffic fines will rise from February 1.

The tax on savings will remain 36% of the annual return, above the tax free limit of €57,684. Couples get double that. The tax on other Box 3 assets is going up to

Parents can give their children €6,713 next year, without the offspring having to pay tax on it. The ceiling for donations to others is €2,690.

More on tax changes

Buying a property

Single people, for example, will be able to borrow an extra €17,000, up from €16,000, to help them get a foot on the housing ladder. Couples are not eligible, as the idea is to partly offset the impact of having two salaries.

Another financial benefit for younger buyers is the exemption from paying the 2% property transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting) for under-35s purchasing their first property. This goes up to €525,000 in 2025, an increase of €15,000 compared to 2024.

The mortgage guarantee scheme (NHG) will also cover more expensive homes next year, with the maximum coverage increasing by €15,000 to €450,000.

More housing market news

Rental housing

The social housing threshold will rise to €900.07 in 2025, while “mid market” rentals are those up to €1,184.82.

People living in rent-controlled property with a rent of between €900 and €1184 this year will face an increase of 7.7% in July, while social housing will become up to 5% more expensive. Tenants in more expensive properties face a 4.1% rise.

Landlords will have to provide tenants with a document detailing how many “points” their property is worth. Those points are used to determine the rent. Local authorities will also have more power to intervene if landlords are overcharging.