Netherlands Travel Allowance and Per Diem Tax Guide

Reiskostenvergoeding — Travel Allowance

• €0.23 per km tax-free (2026): The employer can reimburse the employee €0.23 per kilometre for business travel (zakelijke reizen — travel between the employee's home and the employer's office, travel to client sites, and travel between work locations). The rate applies regardless of the transport mode: car (including fuel, insurance, maintenance — the €0.23 covers all car costs), bicycle (€0.23 per km — the bicycle travel allowance is also €0.23 per km), public transport (€0.23 per km — the employer can also provide an OV-business card instead). The €0.23 rate is the maximum tax-free reimbursement under the WKR. If the employer reimburses more than €0.23 per km, the excess is treated as taxable wage (loon) under the WKR (the excess uses the vrije ruimte).
• NS-Business Card and OV-business card: The employer can provide a business class NS-Business Card or OV-chipkaart to the employee for unlimited public transport. The card is tax-free if the employee uses it exclusively for business travel (zakelijk gebruik). If the employee also uses the card for private travel (privégebruik), the private use is taxed as loon under the WKR. The employer can limit the private use by providing the card in the company's name and requiring the employee to settle private travel costs. The annual subscription (the NS-Business Card abonnementskosten) is also tax-free if the card is used predominantly for business.

Thuiswerkvergoeding — Home Office Allowance

• €2.15 per day (2026): The employer can pay a tax-free thuiswerkvergoeding (home office allowance) of €2.15 per day (2026) to employees who work from home. The allowance covers: electricity, heating, internet, coffee, and office supplies. The allowance is tax-free under the WKR — the employer does not need to provide receipts. The allowance is payable per day that the employee works from home (the employee must actually work from home — the thuiswerkdag — at least 2 consecutive hours at home). The allowance is not payable on days the employee works at the employer's office. The €2.15 per day is indexed annually with the consumer price index (CPI). The thuiswerkvergoeding is not payable to ZZP'ers (self-employed) — the self-employed deduct actual home office costs as business expenses.

Verblijfskosten — Per Diem and Subsistence

• Actual subsistence costs — tax-free with receipts: The employer can reimburse actual verblijfskosten (subsistence costs) for overnight business travel tax-free. The costs must be supported by receipts (bonnetjes): accommodation (hotel, Airbnb), meals (restaurant receipts), and incidental expenses (taxi, parking, tips). If the employee does not have receipts, the employer can use the WKR vrije ruimte to provide a per diem allowance (the forfaitaire vergoeding — the fixed allowance without receipts is taxable under the WKR if it exceeds the vrije ruimte). The zakelijke verblijf (business overnight stay) must be at least 20 km from the employee's home or office (the 20-kilometer grens — the minimum distance for overnight subsistence).

WKR — Werkkostenregeling

• 1.92% vrije ruimte — tax-free pool: The WKR (Werkkostenregeling — the work-related costs rules) is the framework for all employer-provided benefits and reimbursements. The employer calculates the vrije ruimte (free space) as 1.92% of the total wage bill (the totale loonsom — the total gross wages paid to all employees, before the 30% ruling and other adjustments). The vrije ruimte covers: travel reimbursements (the €0.23 per km, OV-business cards), home office allowances (€2.15/day), subsistence costs, gifts (geschenken — the €50 per year per employee tax-free), and other work-related benefits (training, equipment, company events). If the total WKR benefits exceed the vrije ruimte, the excess is taxed at 80% (the eindheffing — the final levy payable by the employer). The 80% levy is a very high rate — employers must carefully budget the WKR benefits to avoid exceeding the vrije ruimte.

For the full payroll tax system and the loonheffing tables, see our Payroll Tax Guide →. For the hiring employees process (the loonheffing registration and the werknemersverzekeringen), see our Hiring Employees Guide →. For the cross-border travel rules (the 183-day rule and the treaty allocation of travel days), see our Cross-Border Tax Guide →. For the business expense deduction rules for self-employed (ZZP — the autokosten and the reiskosten for the onderneming), see our Business Expenses Guide →.