“We can give you a car” is one of the nicer sentences to hear from a Dutch employer. It is also one of the most misunderstood, because a company car is taxed as income, and the mechanism, bijtelling, surprises a lot of expats on their first payslip. Worse, “a car through work” sometimes means a private lease that is really personal debt. Here is the Dutch and the maths to check before you say yes.
Bijtelling: the perk that is also income
If you drive a company car privately, the tax office treats that private use as a benefit and adds an amount to your taxable salary. That addition is bijtelling. As the Belastingdienst explains private use of a company car, a percentage of the car’s cataloguswaarde (catalogue value) is added to your income, and you pay income tax on it.
The 2026 rates:
| Car | Bijtelling 2026 |
|---|---|
| Standard (petrol/diesel) | 22% of catalogue value |
| Electric, up to 30,000 euro catalogue value | 18% on that portion |
| Electric, value above 30,000 | 22% on the excess |
The rate is locked for 60 months from the car’s first registration, after which the standard 22% applies, part of a multi-year tightening of company-car tax that advisers have mapped out. So a 40,000 euro petrol car adds 8,800 euros a year to your taxable income, you pay tax on that, not the full amount, but it is a real monthly hit.
How to lower it
Two legitimate levers:
- The 500 km rule. If you drive 500 km or less privately per year and prove it with a sluitende rittenregistratie (watertight trip log), you can avoid bijtelling altogether. The log has to be airtight.
- Eigen bijdrage. An eigen bijdrage (your own contribution for private use) reduces the bijtelling, but, as tax guidance notes, only if it is documented in writing as being specifically for private use.
The private-lease catch
Here is the part that catches people. “Getting a car through work” can mean two very different things:
| Type | What it really is |
|---|---|
| zakelijke lease (company lease) | The employer leases the car; you get bijtelling |
| private lease | You personally lease the car, a long-term contract in your name |
A private lease, even one offered via a salary scheme, is your personal financial obligation. It is registered as a personal debt (it shows up in credit records) and can reduce your borrowing capacity, for example when you apply for a hypotheek (mortgage). So the friendly “car through work” can quietly become your debt rather than a tax-only perk. Always ask which one is on the table.
Where it fits
A car in the Netherlands is a web of Dutch admin and money. If you imported your own car instead, you met the BPM shock; keeping any car healthy means the garage and APK lexicon; and the role that came with the car may have run you through a corporate assessment first. The driving side starts with converting your foreign licence.
The bottom line
A company car is a taxed benefit. Bijtelling adds a slice of the cataloguswaarde to your income, 22% standard or 18% for cheaper EVs in 2026, fixed for 60 months. You can cut it with a watertight trip log under 500 private km or a written eigen bijdrage. And before you celebrate, check whether the offer is a zakelijke lease or a private lease, because the second is personal debt that can shadow your mortgage. Learn bijtelling, cataloguswaarde, and eigen bijdrage, read the contract, and the perk stays a perk.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches the financial Dutch a car-from-work involves, bijtelling, cataloguswaarde, eigen bijdrage, private lease by real situation in five-minute lessons, so you can read the offer and the payslip impact instead of discovering the catch after you sign.
Frequently asked questions
What is bijtelling on a company car in the Netherlands?
Bijtelling is the taxable benefit added to your income when you also use a company car privately. A percentage of the car’s catalogue value is added to your taxable salary, so you pay income tax on it. In 2026 the standard rate is 22%, with a reduced 18% for fully electric cars up to a 30,000 euro catalogue value (22% above that). The rate is fixed for 60 months from first registration.
How can I reduce or avoid bijtelling?
Two main ways. First, if you drive 500 km or less privately per year and can prove it with a sluitende rittenregistratie (watertight trip log), you can avoid bijtelling. Second, an eigen bijdrage (your own contribution for private use) reduces the bijtelling amount, but only if it is documented in writing as being specifically for private use. An electric car with a low catalogue value also lowers the rate.
What is the private-lease catch with a company car?
A company lease (the employer leases the car) and a private lease (you personally lease it, sometimes via a salary scheme) are very different. A private lease is your own long-term financial obligation: it is registered as a personal debt and can affect your borrowing capacity, for example for a mortgage. So ‘getting a car through work’ can mean taking on personal debt rather than a tax-only perk. Read which one is on offer.
What is the best app to learn Dutch for a company car and lease contract?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it teaches the financial Dutch a car-from-work involves, bijtelling, cataloguswaarde, eigen bijdrage, private lease, in five-minute lessons, so you can read the offer and the payslip impact instead of discovering the catch after you sign.
