Company car: business or private?

Work out the bijtelling, the cap at your actual car costs and the VAT correction, and see whether your car belongs in the business or in private ownership. With a 2026/2027 switch.

Calculator: company car or private car?

Enter your own figures. The tool works out the bijtelling, the cap at your actual car costs, the VAT correction and the alternative (private car with a mileage deduction), and shows which route works out better for you.

Tax yearFuel typeYear the car was first registeredShown on your vehicle registration card, next to 'date of first registration'. You can also look it up by number plate on rdw.nl.Month first registeredThe month decides when the 60-month term of your bijtelling regime ends. That term starts the month after first registration, so a car from December 2021 keeps the old percentage throughout 2026. If you don't know the month, leave it empty; the tool then works in whole calendar years and says so.Catalogue value (list price incl. VAT and BPM)The list price incl. VAT and BPM. Look it up via the number plate on rdw.nl, or check your original purchase invoice.Actual annual car costs (incl. depreciation, excl. VAT)Add up fuel, maintenance, insurance, road tax and depreciation for this year; found in your bookkeeping or annual overview.Business kilometres per year (incl. commuting)Total business kilometres this year, including commuting, from your mileage log.Of which commuting kilometresThe portion of your business kilometres that is commuting, also from your mileage log.Complete mileage recordsWith those, the VAT correction may be based on actual private use instead of the flat rate. Without records the flat rate is compulsory.VAT deducted on purchase (EUR)Only needed within four years of purchase. The correction never exceeds the VAT on maintenance and use plus one fifth of this amount.Share of costs carrying VAT, excluding depreciation (%)55% by default. Only change this if you know a larger or smaller share of your car costs carries VAT.Private kilometres per yearThis year's total mileage, minus the business kilometres from your mileage log.Annual profit, before entrepreneur deductions and car costsYour business profit before the entrepreneur deductions, the SME profit exemption and the car costs - the profit at the bottom of your profit-and-loss account. The tool subtracts those items itself. It assumes you meet the hours criterion and have no other income or state pension.VAT deducted on purchaseYes if you reclaimed the VAT on the car's purchase in your VAT return.Year of purchaseThe date on your purchase invoice. The tool uses it to find your revision year: in the year of purchase the full purchase VAT is revised against your private use, in each of the four following years one fifth.Month of purchaseCar bought less than 5 years agoOnly needed while you leave the purchase date empty. Fill that in and the tool works this out itself.

In this year the car does not qualify as a youngtimer; the normal bijtelling applies.

Car on the business

Regime: Standard: 22% of the catalogue value

Bijtelling per the percentage: €7,700
Bijtelling after the cap at actual car costs: €6,500
Still deductible from profit: €0
Income tax and healthcare contribution saving: €0
VAT on car costs you reclaim: €751
VAT private-use correction: - €751
Net tax benefit, company car: €0

As an income-tax entrepreneur the addition can never exceed the car costs in your books, including depreciation.

Private car, claim kilometres

€0.25 × 15,000 km

Mileage deduction: €3,750
Income tax and healthcare contribution saving: €1,842
VAT on car costs you reclaim: €429
Net tax benefit, private car: €2,271

For the private car, the VAT deduction is based on the ratio you entered. Without evidence of your actual use - a mileage log or other proof of the ratio - that is an estimate the tax authority can dispute.

In this scenario the private car works out better

Difference per year: €2,271 · Marginal rate used: 49.12%

The 60-month term has expired, so the rate of the selected year applies. The VAT correction is capped at the VAT you actually deducted; the flat rate would be higher.

Commuting counts as business travel for income tax but as private use for VAT. The VAT reclaim is therefore based on business kilometres excluding commuting. Insurance, road tax and depreciation carry no VAT: depreciation is not an invoice, and the VAT on the purchase is handled separately through the purchase amount. The 55% default is an estimate of the share of your total car costs that does carry VAT - fuel, maintenance, tyres, repairs. If you know the actual figure from your books, adjust the percentage.

Indicative calculation based on the rules known on 6 September 2026. The marginal rate includes the SME profit exemption, the taper of the general and employment tax credits, and the healthcare contribution. It excludes any own contribution, the financing structure and boxes 2 and 3. For 2027 only the bijtelling percentages and the youngtimer threshold are known; the 2026 brackets and mileage allowance are used as an approximation. Always have your own situation calculated properly.

An indication, not an assessment

This tool uses the 2026 rules and amounts as known at the time of publication, and deliberately leaves several things out — box 2 and box 3, allowances, home ownership and personal circumstances that can change your outcome. The result is therefore an indication to think and budget with, not a calculation you should base a decision on without discussing it. Only the assessment from the Belastingdienst is binding. Have your situation worked through before drawing conclusions from it.

Read the background article