18/April/2025

As follows from the 2025 Spring Memorandum, published today, the Dutch government is preparing legislation to make the tax treatment of stock options for employees of startups and scale-ups more attractive. The proposal focuses on two key changes:

• Lower tax rate: The current top rate of 49.5% (Box 1) will be reduced to an effective maximum of 32.17% (by lowering the tax base to 65%).
• Deferral of taxation: Instead of taxing employees when shares become tradable, tax will now be due only upon sale of the shares.

The proposed effective date for the new regime is 1 January 2027.