Explanation: company car (business asset)
Buying a new car? You can choose to put the car on your business. This choice can only be made at the time of purchase. If you already owned the car before starting your business, it’s not that easy to move it to the business afterward. If the car is registered as a business asset, you can record all car-related expenses.
Do you drive more than 500 km per year privately? Then a correction is applied at the end of the year for private use of your business car. This is called the “bijtelling” (private-use addition).
Declaration of business-only use (less than 500 km private use)
A correction is made for private use (both on costs and VAT). This addition is a percentage of either:
the list price (cars < 15 years), or
the current market value (cars > 15 years),
and is added to your profit.
The correction depends on:
the list price (original selling price), and
the first registration date of the car.
You can find this information via a license plate check on the RDW website.
You can find the applicable percentage on the Dutch Tax Authorities website based on the car’s year of manufacture.
Private use (bijtelling) is a correction on the actual car expenses.
Example:
If you have €5,000 in car expenses and the correction is €4,000, you can only deduct €1,000.
If your expenses are €5,000 and the correction is €6,000, you don’t have to pay extra, but you simply cannot deduct any car expenses.
Youngtimer scheme (> 16 years)
Want to save on costs? A car older than 16 years (a “youngtimer”) can be attractive. These cars are often cheaper to buy and also more favorable for bijtelling: you pay the addition based on the current value instead of the original list price.
If your car turns 16 during the year, part of the year may be calculated using the list price and part using the market value.
If your car is 16 years or older, it qualifies as a youngtimer.
The private-use correction is 35% of the current market value.
This is still a correction on actual costs (including depreciation), but the private-use charge is relatively low.
If your actual costs are lower than the correction, we adjust to the actual costs.
Additionally, a VAT correction is applied for private use of the car:
If you deducted VAT when purchasing the car → correction is 2.7% of the list price
If you did not deduct VAT → correction is 1.5% of the list price
Note: for the VAT correction, it does not matter whether the car is a youngtimer.
Explanation: private car
Do you use a privately owned car for business purposes? Then you can record a fixed amount per business kilometer as an expense. In 2026, this is €0.23 per km. This is essentially a reimbursement from your business to you as a private individual.
Important:
You are NOT allowed to record separate car expenses like fuel or parking.
Using a mileage registration, you can determine the ratio between business and private use. This is also used to determine how much relates to taxable or exempt turnover.
In some cases, it can be more beneficial to keep the car private and claim the €0.23 per km allowance.
Processing your car in your administration
We handle the calculations for you. You only need to:
Provide the car details (including license plate) when you become a client or purchase a car
Provide the list price when we prepare your annual accounts and income tax return
Costs:
Business car → record all car expenses
Private car → submit your business kilometers
List price (catalog value)
According to the Dutch Tax Authorities, the list price is the official new price of the car at the time of first registration. This includes:
VAT
BPM (Dutch vehicle tax)
Accessories added by or on behalf of the manufacturer/importer before registration