In 2026 the Netherlands adds 22% of the catalogue value to your income for a company car, or 18% on the first EUR 30,000 for an electric car, fixed for 60 months. Belgium taxes catalogue value × 6/7 × a CO2 percentage, with a minimum of EUR 1,690, and no longer lets companies deduct fossil cars or hybrids ordered from 2026. Luxembourg adds 0.5% of the price per month for an electric car and 2% for a new combustion car. For owner-directors, an electric company car is usually the cheapest option in all three countries.
Three countries, three ways to tax the car you drive home
A company car is a car that your company owns or leases and that you may also use privately. The tax rules do not tax the car itself; they tax the private use. Each country turns that private use into a fixed annual amount, the benefit in kind, and adds it to your salary. You pay income tax on it at your marginal rate, while the company deducts the running costs. Whether that is a good deal depends almost entirely on one choice: the fuel type.
In 2026 all three countries favour electric cars, at different speeds. Belgium has gone furthest: a company that orders a petrol or diesel car from 1 January 2026 can no longer deduct any of its costs, while an electric car ordered in 2026 stays 100% deductible for life.
For an owner-director with a Dutch B.V. or a Belgian BV, the question is practical: company car or private car, and does the fuel type change the answer? Below are the 2026 rules, examples at EUR 50,000 and a calculator.
22% / 18%
Bijtelling on catalogue value; EV rate up to EUR 30,000.
6/7 × CO2 %
Minimum EUR 1,690; new fossil cars not deductible.
0.5% to 2% a month
Flat benefit on the new price incl. VAT.
Fuel type
An EV halves or quarters the tax cost.
The Dutch bijtelling in 2026
In the Netherlands the private use of a company car is valued at a percentage of its catalogue value, the list price of the new car including VAT, BPM and factory options, but excluding registration costs. Discounts do not reduce it. The percentage depends on the CO2 emissions and on the year in which the car was first registered. For a director-major shareholder (DGA) the B.V. withholds wage tax on it through payroll.
| Car | Bijtelling 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid | 22% of catalogue value | Applies to every car with CO2 above 0 g/km |
| Electric, first registered in 2026 | 18% up to EUR 30,000; 22% on the part above | Maximum saving EUR 1,200 a year compared with 22% |
| Hydrogen or qualifying solar car | 18% of the full catalogue value | Solar: at least 1 kWp integrated cells, no lead battery |
| Electric, first registered in 2025 | 17% up to EUR 30,000; 22% above | Fixed for 60 months |
| Youngtimer (older than 16 years in 2026) | 35% of the value in economic traffic | Replaces the catalogue value; the age limit rises from 2027 |
| No more than 500 km private per year | No bijtelling | Proof required, usually a full trip log |
The 60-month rule matters more than the headline rate. The percentage that applies when the car is first registered is fixed for 60 months, starting on the first day of the month after registration. An electric car registered in 2026 keeps 18% on the first EUR 30,000 until 2031, even though new electric cars registered in 2027 get 20% and those registered from 2028 the full 22%. A used car keeps the date of its first registration. When the 60 months end, the rate is reset to the one in force at that moment.
The 500 km rule is the only way to avoid the bijtelling with a car available for private use. You must prove that you drove no more than 500 km privately in the calendar year, in practice with a complete trip log kept from the first day. A reconstruction rarely survives an audit.
A DGA drives an electric car with a catalogue value of EUR 50,000, first registered in March 2026. The bijtelling is 18% × EUR 30,000 + 22% × EUR 20,000 = EUR 9,800 a year. At the top rate of 49.5% that costs EUR 4,851 a year, about EUR 404 a month. The same car in a petrol version gives a bijtelling of 22% × EUR 50,000 = EUR 11,000 and a tax cost of EUR 5,445. The difference is EUR 594 a year: real, but small compared with the difference in running costs and, in Belgium, in deductibility.
Law and practice: Income Tax Act 2001, Article 3.20 (entrepreneurs) and Wage Tax Act 1964, Article 13bis (employees and DGAs); 60-month period and the 2026 rates as published by the Belastingdienst for 2026 (belastingdienst.nl, "Bijtelling privégebruik auto 2026"). The rate of 20% on the first EUR 30,000 for electric cars first registered in 2027 and 22% from 2028 follow from the Tax Plan 2026 as adopted; the Tax Plan 2027 proposes further changes to the youngtimer age limit.
VAT, MRB, BPM and what the B.V. deducts
When a B.V. owns or leases the car, it deducts all costs from its taxable profit: depreciation or lease instalments, insurance, maintenance, fuel or charging, road tax and parking. With corporate tax at 19% on the first EUR 200,000 of profit and 25.8% above, every EUR 1,000 of car costs saves the B.V. EUR 190 or EUR 258. There is no Dutch cap on deductible car costs comparable to Belgium's.
VAT works differently. The B.V. deducts the VAT on the purchase or lease and on running costs, but must correct it for private use at the end of the year. Commuting counts as private use for VAT. With a trip log the correction follows the actual private share. Without one, the Belastingdienst applies a flat 2.7% of the catalogue value including VAT and BPM, or 1.5% from the fifth year after the year in which the car was first used. For a EUR 50,000 car that is EUR 1,350 of VAT a year, reported in the last VAT return of the calendar year. In the first four years the correction cannot exceed the VAT deducted on running costs in that year plus one fifth of the VAT deducted on purchase.
| Tax | Who pays | 2026 position |
|---|---|---|
| Bijtelling (income or wage tax) | The driver, through payroll | 22%, or 18% up to EUR 30,000 for electric |
| VAT correction for private use | The B.V. | Actual private share, or 2.7% (1.5% from year five) of catalogue value |
| Road tax (MRB) | The registered holder | Electric cars pay 70% of the normal rate (30% discount); plug-in hybrids the full rate |
| BPM (registration tax) | At first registration | Zero-emission EUR 687; petrol by CO2 band; diesel surcharge above 69 g/km |
| Corporate tax deduction | The B.V. | All car costs, at 19% or 25.8% |
BPM is paid once, when the car is registered in the Netherlands, and is part of the catalogue value on which the bijtelling is calculated. Since 2025 electric cars pay BPM too, but only the base amount of EUR 687 in 2026. A petrol car emitting 130 g/km pays EUR 2,727 plus EUR 181 for each gram above 100: EUR 8,157. A diesel pays an extra EUR 114.83 per gram above 69 g/km.
The alternative is a private car with a tax-free allowance for business kilometres, raised for 2026 to EUR 0.25 per kilometre by policy decision, retroactive to 1 January. Ten thousand business kilometres give EUR 2,500 tax-free, but you pay the car itself from taxed income.
Law and practice: VAT Act 1968 and the Implementing Decree, Article 4 (private use correction); Belastingdienst guidance "Btw en privégebruik auto van de zaak"; Motor Vehicle Tax Act 1994 (MRB discount for zero-emission cars 30% in 2026 to 2028, as published on rijksoverheid.nl); BPM Act 1992, 2026 tariffs as published by the Belastingdienst; Wage Tax Act 1964, Article 31a (tax-free travel allowance).
The Belgian benefit in kind formula
Belgium values the private use of a company car with a formula that combines the catalogue value, the CO2 emissions and the age of the car. The same formula applies to employees and to company directors, including the self-employed director of his own BV. The benefit is added to taxable income; for an employee it is also reported on payroll, for a director on the director's remuneration slip.
The formula is: catalogue value × 6/7 × CO2 percentage × age coefficient. The catalogue value is the list price of the new car with options and the VAT actually paid, without discounts. The CO2 percentage is 5.5% at the reference emission, plus 0.1% for every gram above it and minus 0.1% for every gram below, with a floor of 4% and a ceiling of 18%. Electric cars always take 4%. The age coefficient reduces the value by 6% per year after first registration, down to 70% after five years. The result can never be lower than the annual minimum.
| Item | Income year 2026 |
|---|---|
| Reference CO2, petrol, LPG, natural gas | 70 g/km |
| Reference CO2, diesel | 58 g/km |
| CO2 percentage | 5.5% ± 0.1% per gram; minimum 4%, maximum 18%; electric 4% |
| Minimum annual benefit | EUR 1,690 |
| Age coefficient | 100% in the first year, minus 6% per year, minimum 70% |
| Fake hybrids | Plug-in hybrids above the threshold use the CO2 of the fuel version, or CO2 × 2.5; threshold raised to 75 g/km for Euro 6e-bis cars |
The references fall almost every year, so the same petrol model gives a slightly higher benefit each year.
A director of a Belgian BV drives a new car with a catalogue value of EUR 50,000. Electric: 50,000 × 6/7 × 4% = EUR 1,714 a year, just above the EUR 1,690 minimum. At 50% income tax that costs about EUR 857 a year before the municipal surcharge. Petrol at 130 g/km: CO2 percentage 5.5% + 6.0% = 11.5%; benefit 50,000 × 6/7 × 11.5% = EUR 4,929, tax about EUR 2,464. The petrol car costs the director almost three times as much, and, ordered in 2026, its costs are not deductible for the company at all.
Law and practice: Income Tax Code 1992 (WIB/CIR), Article 36 (benefit in kind for company cars); 2026 reference emissions and the minimum benefit of EUR 1,690 as published for income year 2026 (see BDO Belgium, "Benefit in kind company car: CO2 emission reference for 2026"). The fake hybrid threshold of 75 g/km follows from the law on miscellaneous provisions approved in December 2025.
Deductibility, the phase-out and the solidarity contribution
The company's side is the deductibility of car costs, where Belgium has made the sharpest turn in the Benelux. Deductibility follows the date the car was ordered or the lease signed, not the delivery date.
| Car ordered or leased | Deductibility of car costs for a company |
|---|---|
| Fossil fuel, before 1 July 2023 | Old formula: 120% − 0.5% × fuel coefficient × CO2; minimum 50%, maximum 100% (40% at 200 g/km or more) |
| Fossil fuel, 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2025 | Capped: 75% in 2025, 50% in 2026, 25% in 2027, 0% from 2028 |
| Fossil fuel or plug-in hybrid, from 1 January 2026 | 0%: no deduction of purchase, lease or running costs |
| Electric, ordered in 2026 | 100% for the whole life of the car |
| Electric, ordered in 2027 / 2028 / 2029 / 2030 / 2031 | 95% / 90% / 82.5% / 75% / 67.5% |
| Light commercial vehicles (vans up to 3.5 t) | Outside this regime |
Plug-in hybrids caused the most debate. The law on miscellaneous provisions, approved on 11 December 2025, kept a limited regime for self-employed individuals taxed in their own name: up to 75%, temporarily up to 100% in 2026 and 95% in 2027 for low-emission models, falling to zero for hybrids acquired from 2030. Companies, company directors and professionals working through a company are excluded. For a BV, a plug-in hybrid ordered in 2026 is treated like a petrol car: not deductible.
Two more costs stay with the company. First, disallowed expenses: the company adds 17% of the benefit in kind to its taxable profit, or 40% when it pays the fuel or charging. Second, the CO2 solidarity contribution, a social security charge paid by the employer for cars made available to employees. It is calculated monthly from the CO2 emissions, indexed every year, with a minimum of EUR 33.93 a month from 1 January 2026. For fossil and hybrid cars ordered from 1 July 2023 the result is multiplied by 4.00 in 2026 and 5.50 in 2027. A self-employed director who is not on the payroll does not trigger it, but staff cars do.
A Belgian BV orders a EUR 50,000 petrol car in 2026 and spends EUR 12,000 a year on lease and running costs. None of it is deductible, so at 25% corporate tax the company loses EUR 3,000 of tax saving each year, on top of the director's EUR 2,464 tax on the benefit. The same budget spent on an electric car is 100% deductible for life. Over a four-year lease the gap easily exceeds EUR 20,000.
Law and practice: Law of 25 November 2021 on the fiscal and social greening of mobility; Income Tax Code 1992, Articles 66 and 198bis; law on miscellaneous provisions (bill 56/0963), approved on 11 December 2025, for plug-in hybrids and the fake hybrid threshold; Royal Decree on the CO2 solidarity contribution, ONSS/RSZ amounts for 2026. Kilometre allowance for private cars used for business: EUR 0.4761 per km from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 (federal civil service rate).
Luxembourg: a flat monthly percentage
Luxembourg uses the simplest system of the three. The private use of a company car is valued at a fixed percentage of the new catalogue price including VAT and options, per month. The rate depends on the drive train and, for older cars, on CO2 emissions. The employer adds the benefit to monthly salary, so it is taxed at your marginal rate and also counts for social security contributions.
| Car | Monthly benefit in 2026 | Annual benefit at EUR 50,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Electric, up to 18 kWh/100 km | 0.5% | EUR 3,000 |
| Electric, above 18 kWh/100 km | 0.6% | EUR 3,600 |
| Combustion or hybrid, registered from 2025 | 2% | EUR 12,000 |
| Combustion or hybrid, older contracts | 0.8% to 1.8% by CO2 | EUR 4,800 to EUR 10,800 |
The flat 2% for new combustion and hybrid cars has applied since 1 January 2025, for cars without a lease or order signed before the end of 2024. The reduced electric rates were extended to the end of 2026. For 2027 the government has proposed to keep 0.5% and 0.6% for electric cars until 2030 and to give plug-in hybrids emitting no more than 50 g/km a reduced 1% rate for four years. These are proposals in a draft regulation; check the final text before you sign a lease that starts in 2027.
At Luxembourg's top rate of 45.78% (42% plus the 9% surcharge), a EUR 50,000 electric car costs the driver about EUR 1,373 a year; the petrol version EUR 5,494. For the company, car costs are business expenses, deducted at 23.87% combined in Luxembourg City.
Law and practice: Income Tax Law (LIR), Article 104; Grand-Ducal Regulation of 23 December 2016 on the valuation of benefits in kind, as amended; Circular L.I.R. no. 104/1; Council of Ministers decision of 29 November 2024 extending the electric car rates to the end of 2026; draft regulation of 2026 for the rates from 2027.
Owner-directors: EV or petrol at EUR 50,000
For an owner-director the choice is not company car or nothing. It is company car, private car with a kilometre allowance, or a mix. The table compares the annual tax cost of the benefit in kind for a new EUR 50,000 car in 2026, at the top rate in each country, with the company's position on the costs.
| Netherlands | Belgium | Luxembourg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxable benefit, electric | EUR 9,800 | EUR 1,714 | EUR 3,000 |
| Tax on it at top rate | EUR 4,851 (49.5%) | EUR 857 (50%) | EUR 1,373 (45.78%) |
| Taxable benefit, petrol 130 g/km | EUR 11,000 | EUR 4,929 | EUR 12,000 |
| Tax on it at top rate | EUR 5,445 | EUR 2,464 | EUR 5,494 |
| Company deducts costs, electric | Yes, 100% | Yes, 100% if ordered in 2026 | Yes |
| Company deducts costs, petrol | Yes, 100% | No, if ordered from 2026 | Yes |
Three conclusions follow. In the Netherlands the gap between electric and petrol in the bijtelling is small, because the EV discount only applies to the first EUR 30,000. The real Dutch advantage of an electric car sits in BPM, road tax and running costs. In Belgium the gap is large on both sides: the director pays three times less tax on an electric car, and the company can deduct its costs, while a new petrol car is a pure cost. In Luxembourg the benefit for a new petrol car is four times that of an electric one, which makes Luxembourg the country where the fuel type changes the driver's tax bill the most.
A private car can still win for a cheap or old car, low annual mileage, or a director who already owns a car outright. The B.V. then pays up to EUR 0.25 per business kilometre tax-free in the Netherlands; a Belgian company can reimburse business kilometres at the civil service rate.
Company car: what the private use costs you
The result updates with each change. It shows a new car in its first year, without personal contributions, and ignores social security on the benefit.
Company car: what the private use costs you
Pick the country, enter the catalogue value and the fuel type. You see the annual taxable benefit, the tax it costs you and how the company treats the car costs.
An electric car cuts the tax on private use in all three countries.
New fossil cars and company hybrids are not deductible from 2026.
NL fixes the bijtelling for 60 months from registration.
A trip log saves VAT and can remove the bijtelling.
Company car tax: frequent questions
What is the bijtelling for an electric company car in 2026?
For a zero-emission car first registered in 2026 the bijtelling is 18% of the catalogue value up to EUR 30,000 and 22% on the part above. The rate is fixed for 60 months from the month after first registration. Hydrogen cars and qualifying solar cars get 18% on the full catalogue value.
Can I avoid the Dutch bijtelling altogether?
Yes, if you drive no more than 500 km privately in a calendar year and can prove it, normally with a complete trip log, and you hold a declaration of no private use (verklaring geen privégebruik) where required. Commuting counts as private use for VAT, but not for the 500 km test in wage and income tax.
Is a petrol company car still deductible in Belgium?
Not if it was ordered or the lease was signed on or after 1 January 2026: the costs of new fossil-fuel cars are no longer deductible for companies. Cars ordered between 1 July 2023 and 31 December 2025 are phased out: 50% in 2026, 25% in 2027 and 0% from 2028. Older cars keep the CO2 formula with a minimum of 50%.
What is the minimum benefit in kind for a company car in Belgium in 2026?
EUR 1,690 a year. The formula is catalogue value × 6/7 × CO2 percentage × age coefficient, with a CO2 percentage of 4% for electric cars and 5.5% at the reference emission (70 g/km for petrol, 58 g/km for diesel in 2026), plus or minus 0.1% per gram, within a 4% to 18% range.
How is a company car taxed in Luxembourg?
Usually with a flat monthly benefit: 0.5% of the new catalogue price including VAT for an electric car using up to 18 kWh per 100 km, 0.6% above that, and 2% for combustion and hybrid cars registered from 2025. Older cars keep the CO2-based rates of 0.8% to 1.8%. The benefit is added to salary and taxed at your marginal rate.
Does the plug-in hybrid still make sense?
In the Netherlands it pays the full 22% bijtelling. In Belgium a company that orders one from 2026 cannot deduct its costs; only self-employed individuals taxed in their own name keep a limited regime. In Luxembourg a hybrid registered from 2025 pays the 2% monthly rate. In most owner-director cases a hybrid is now the most expensive option.