The Netherlands Ministry of Finance has ruled in favour of thousands of businesses that objected to corporate income tax interest charges dating back to October 2020, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down the higher interest rate calculation method as disproportionate and unlawful. Tax authorities now have six months to reduce the contested charges in line with the standard rate.
The Netherlands Ministry of Finance has published a collective decision, which was published in Official Gazette No. 8286 of 25 February 2026 on 25 February 206, addressing the widespread objections to corporate income tax interest charges dating back to 1 October 2020. To handle the high volume of complaints efficiently, the State Secretary of Finance had previously issued a mass objection instruction on 7 February 2025.
On 16 January 2026, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling that fundamentally changed how tax interest should be calculated. The court determined that Article 1(b) of the Tax and Collection Interest Decree violated core legal principles of proportionality and equality, rendering it non-binding and invalid.
The judgment establishes that affected parties must revert to the standard provisions under Article 1(a) of the decree. This means corporate income tax interest should be calculated using the regular rate applicable to other taxes, rather than the previously increased percentage.
The Dutch Tax Inspector declared all designated mass objections well-founded based on the Supreme Court’s ruling. Tax authorities must now reduce the contested tax interest decisions to appropriate levels within 6 months of this notification, as required under Article 25e, paragraph 4 of the General Tax Act.
This collective decision is final and cannot be appealed.
Earlier, on 16 January 2026, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that the increased tax interest rate for corporate taxpayers, established under the Tax and Recovery Interest Decree, is invalid. The Court held that the measure unjustly discriminates against companies by imposing a heavier financial burden than on other taxpayers.
