Fiscal changes for entrepreneurs as of 2023

In an earlier blog, you could read about the most important changes that the government planned to implement in 2023. The proposed legislative changes were not final at the time. In the meantime, the bills have been reviewed by the Senate. Lupacompany lists an overview of the changes that will take effect in the first quarter of 2023, and that may have consequences for your activities as an entrepreneur. 

Increasing tax rates on borrowings Director major shareholders
DGA's who borrow money from their own private company may pay more tax as a result of the 'current account (RC) measure'. Debts higher than € 700,000 are taxed with 26.9% income tax in box 2.

VAT on sales of solar panels decreases from 21% to 0%
Where private individuals were previously able to recover the VAT on solar panels from the tax authorities, the purchase of solar panels will be VAT-free as of 2023. From now on, suppliers of solar panels may invoice their customers with the 0% VAT rate.

Collective discount health insurance abolished
If you give  staff the opportunity to make use of a collective basic health insurance, these employees  will no  longer receive a collectivitydiscount on the premium as of 2023.

Fiscal Retirement Reserve (FOR) abolished
Until 1 January, as an entrepreneur you were allowed to reserve a part of your profit annually (deduct from the tax) for a retirement provision. From 2023, this FOR scheme has been abolished.

Normal wage scheme for shareholders (DGA) to 100% in line with the marketFor directors of private limited companies, the standards of the usual wage scheme have been tightened: It must now be 100% of someone with a similar position (was 75%), or equal to the highest paid employee or a fixed amount of at least € 51,000.

Innovative startups pay more income tax
The exception to the usual wage scheme that applied to employees with a significant interest in innovative startups until 1 January 2023 has been lifted.   As a result, you can no longer declare the statutory minimum wage as a taxable wage.

Offices with energy label D or lower prohibited
Office buildings must have at least energy label C. A lower label can lead to a fine or closure. Exceptions to this rule are made for, for example, buildings that are smaller than 100 m2, or are demolished within two years.

Discount price 'earlier-vs-now' should not be misleading
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets can now take stricter action against fake discounts. From now on, the old price is the lowest price that a product had in the 30 days before the discount. In this way, artificial 'van' prices can be avoided.

Nitrous oxide (lachgas) sales for recreational use prohibited
As of 2023, it will no longer be allowed to import, export, sell or have nitrous oxide.  Exceptions to this prohibition apply to nitrous oxide for medical and technical purposes and as an addition to foodstuffs.

Payroll tax on stock option may be paided later by employer
If your staff are paid partly in stock  option rights, you can choose whether you pay payroll tax on this at the time the option rights are converted, or at the time the shares can be traded. Previously, this choice was not there: before 2023, the payroll tax had to be paid as soon as the employee converted the rights into shares.

More corporate tax for SMEs with bv or nv
The limit of the first bracket of corporate income tax (vpb) has been reduced to € 200,000. That was €395,000. As a result, a smaller part of your profit falls under the low corporate income tax rate.  At the same time, the low corporate income tax rate (bracket 1) has increased from 15% to 19%.

Income tax averaging scheme disappears
As an entrepreneur, do you have (strongly) fluctuating income every year, and did you make use of the averaging scheme? This possibility is abolished. The last period on which you can apply the averaging is the period 2022 to 2024.

Minimum wage raise of 10.15%
From 2023, the minimum wage will increase from € 1,756.20 to € 1,934.40 gross per month. The high rate of increase for employers should benefit the spending space of low-income workers.

Converting pension contributions to annuity possible for longer
If you have accrued pension in your own bv, it is now possible to convert the ODV into an annuity, annuity account or annuity investment right  after  5 years after the AOW entitlement age.

Untaxed travel allowance increases
The government is responding to increased travel costs by increasing the maximum tax-free/deductible travel allowance from € 0.19 to € 0.21 per kilometer.

Transfer tax on business premises becomes 10.4%
If you, as an entrepreneur, buy a business premises, or invest in real estate, the increased rate for transfer tax has applied to the purchase value since 1 January 2023. Until then, it was 8%.

Price cap ensures lower energy bills
The much-discussed price ceiling for energy has come into effect for small consumers as of 2023. Most SMEs fall - as you can read on your energy bill - in this category. The tariffs for small users are set at 1.45 per m3 of gas (up to 1200 cubic meters per year), 0.40 per kWh of electricity (up to 2900 kWh annually) and 47.38 per GJ of district heating (up to 37 GJ). Above the annual standard, you pay the full rate of your provider on that consumption. If 7% or more of your turnover goes to energy costs, you can qualify for the Energy Costs Allowance Scheme (TEK) (in Dutch) as of 1 November 2022.

UBD (Statement payment third parties) changes
Declaration to tax authorities of amounts paid to third parties has changed. Do you make payouts to people who are not entrepreneurs? Then you must provide the data about Amounts paid to Third Parties (UBD) in a new way from now on.

Sellers on platforms: Tax authorities receive data
By 2023, digital platforms must pass on information about sellers who earn money via their platforms to the tax authorities. This concerns data concerning income, name and address and the account number of the selling party.

Exempt emission space has become smaller
As a result, industrial companies that emit a lot of CO2 will pay more tax. Your ma will emit less CO2 for free by 2023 and will have to pay for it earlier.

Self-employed deduction will decrease faster to € 900 in 2027
The self-employed deduction will decrease by € 1,280 from € 6,310 in 2022 to € 5,030 in 2023. Self-employed people may receive less discount on their income tax.

Read more?

You can find a more comprehensive overview of fiscal changes for entrepreneurs as of 2023, here. If you have any further questions about what legal or fiscal changes imply for your specific situation, please contact us. We are happy to help!