The WKR and employee gifts: 2% free space, 80% above it, €25 for a personal attention
Dutch employers give gifts through the werkkostenregeling: in 2026 the free space is 2% of the first €400,000 of the wage bill and 1.18% of the rest, and anything above it costs the employer an 80% final levy. A small personal attention of up to €25 is not wages at all. Here is how each case works, with the Belastingdienst page for every figure.
How Dutch payroll tax treats gifts to employees
The free space. Under the werkkostenregeling an employer designates gifts and other benefits as final-levy wages and pays no tax on them within the free space. In 2026 the free space is 2.00% of the taxable wage bill up to €400,000 and 1.18% above that: a company with a €2 million wage bill has €26,880. A cadeaubon and a kerstpakket are typical items charged to it. Benefits of up to €2,400 per employee per year are treated as customary without further proof.
The €25 personal attention. A small gift is not wages at all, and so uses no free space, when three conditions hold: it is a personal attention in a situation where others would also give one, it is not money or a voucher, and its invoice value including VAT is no more than €25. Flowers on a birthday qualify. A kerstpakket, a chocolate letter or flowers on the first working day do not, because they are aimed at the employee rather than the person.
Above the free space. The employer pays an 80% final levy on the amount above the free space, declared at the latest with the payroll return for the second period of the following year. The designation as final-levy wages must be plausible from the administration, for instance a separate ledger account, and cannot be made retroactively: an undocumented gift from a previous year is treated as taxable wages of the employee.
Anniversaries, and 2027. A one-off gift at 25 or 40 years of service is exempt up to one month’s wage, in cash or in kind, without using the free space. No targeted exemption covers an ordinary gift. From 1 January 2027 the first band of the free space rises to 2.16%; the exemption for staff discounts on own products ends the same day, and a change to the 80% rate was only considered, not enacted.
This is general information as of 2026, not tax advice. Your payroll provider or tax adviser decides how each gift is treated.
Three gifts, three payroll treatments
The same company, one year, three decisions.
€20 of flowers on a birthday
A personal attention others would also give, not money, under €25: not wages. No free space used, nothing to designate.
A €75 Christmas gift for everyone
Aimed at the employee, so not a personal attention. Designated as final-levy wages within the free space: nothing for the employee, nothing to pay, as long as the designation is visible in the administration.
€30,000 of gifts on a €2 million wage bill
The free space is €26,880. The €3,120 above it costs 80%, €2,496, paid by the employer and declared at the latest with the return for the second period of 2027.
What Mojo Gift gives Dutch payroll
The value and date per gift, so the free space is a running total, not a year-end surprise.
Value, date and recipient per gift
Every Mojo Moment is logged with recipient, value, occasion and delivery date, and exports in one file, so the designation as final-levy wages is plausible from day one.
A running free-space total
Occasion values are agreed at setup against your wage bill, so you know in March what December will cost, and whether anything will reach the 80% levy.
Non-cash by design
The recipient chooses an experience or a product, never cash, and the amount is never shown to them.
One programme, 190 countries
Colleagues outside the Netherlands get the same programme, with the record their own country's payroll needs.
Built for the finance question
A programme that answers the payroll query before it is asked.
A record the administration can show
Free space planned, not discovered
No expiry
A human concierge
Dutch employee gift tax, answered
Is a cadeaubon tax free for the employee?
A voucher is never a personal attention, so it is wages. Within the free space the employer designates it as final-levy wages and the employee pays nothing; above the free space the employer pays the 80% levy. If it is not designated, it is taxed with the employee.
What is the free space in 2026 and 2027?
In 2026, 2.00% of the taxable wage bill up to €400,000 and 1.18% above it. From 1 January 2027 the first band rises to 2.16%; the second band stays at 1.18%.
Do we have to notify the Belastingdienst when we use the free space?
No. The designation has to be plausible from the administration, for example a separate ledger account or an entry in the personnel records, and it must be made at the time, not afterwards. The 80% levy on any excess is declared at the latest with the return for the second period of the next year.
What counts as a small gift of €25?
A personal attention in a situation where others would also give one, such as flowers for a birthday or a get-well gift, not money or a voucher, with an invoice value including VAT of no more than €25. A kerstpakket or a welcome gift on the first day does not qualify, whatever its value.
Is a 25-year anniversary gift tax free?
A one-off payment or gift at 25 or 40 years of service is exempt up to one month's wage and does not use the free space. The same gift at 10 or 12.5 years is ordinary wages, so it goes through the free space or is taxed with the employee.
What does Mojo Gift cost, and does it decide whether a gift is taxable?
€25 per Mojo Moment per year, from 50 Moments (€1,250 a year), £25 for UK-billed programmes, invoiced in EUR, GBP or USD; gift value is funded on top at face value. One-off campaigns are €6,250 per 250 Moments. Mojo Gift does not decide the tax treatment: each gift carries its recipient, value, occasion, country and date, and your payroll provider or accountant applies the rule.
Know in March what December will cost
Book a 30-minute call. We map your occasions to the free space for your wage bill and show the record each gift carries.
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