Vehicle expenses are strictly monitored by the Dutch Tax Authority (Belastingdienst). The deductibility depends on whether the vehicle is a business asset or a privately owned car used for business purposes.
🚗 Business Asset Vehicles
If the vehicle is registered as a business asset, you can:
✔ Deduct fuel, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and other costs as business expenses.
✔ Reclaim VAT on fuel and maintenance costs.
✔ Private use is taxed (bijtelling) if the vehicle is used for private trips more than 500 km per year.
🚙 Privately Owned Vehicles
If you use your private car for business purposes:
✔ You cannot deduct fuel, maintenance, or VAT as business expenses
✔ Instead, you can deduct €0.23 per business kilometer driven.
✔ A detailed mileage logbook is required to prove business use.
How to Justify Business Use?
For business asset vehicles, keep:
- All invoices (fuel, maintenance, insurance, lease payments, etc.).
- A logbook of private trips if you drive more than 500 km privately per year.
For privately owned vehicles, keep:
- A kilometer registration (date, destination, purpose, and distance of each business trip).
- A list of clients and appointments proving the necessity of travel.
Summary of Deductibility
Vehicle Type | Expense Deduction (Income Tax - IB-aangifte) | VAT Deduction | Home-to-Work Travel (commuting) |
Business asset vehicle | ✅ Full deduction of fuel, maintenance, insurance, etc. | ✅ VAT can be reclaimed for business-use | ✅ Fully deductible |
Privately owned vehicle | ✅ €0.23/km for business use | ❌ No VAT reclaim and keep those invoices separately | ✅ €0.23/km deductible |
💡 Important: If you use a business vehicle for private trips over 500 km per year, you will have to pay ‘bijtelling’ (private use tax).