Staff party and the WKR

For 2025 the free space percentages are set as follows:

• Up to €400,000 wage bill: 2.00% free space

• Above €400,000 wage bill: 1.18% free space

Are you going to go over that free space? Then, as an employer, you pay a final levy of 80% on the excess.

From 1 January 2027, the free space for the first €400,000 of the wage bill will increase to 2.16%. That's good news: it gives employers just a little more fiscal space to invest untaxed in, for example, a staff party, Christmas package or company outing. This change makes it easier to do something extra for your people — without directly running into tax limits.

The nature of the party you plan affects the tax treatment. Below is a summary and their respective tax effects under the Work Costs Scheme (WKR).

1. Staff party with a predominantly festive character

If the staff party is mostly festive, you can drop it within the flat*, the free space, so that you can organize the party unburdened. Provided that there is sufficient space in the package. If you divide the party as a salary in kind, you pay 80% final tax.

2. Staff party with a predominantly business character

A business meeting with your staff may be considered a business expense. There is a targeted exemption for this. Even when your staff meeting ends with a snack, a drink and an informal evening. You must clearly indicate which business objectives you link to the program. Fortunately, the tax authorities support meetings to maintain and improve the knowledge and skills necessary for work.

3. Workplace staff party

If you do organize a staff party without an overwhelmingly substantive or educational character, there is an exception that makes the party outside the package: organize the staff party at the workplace. The workplace is where you, as an employer, are responsible for health and safety. This can also be the car park, where, for example, you can place a tent where the party will be held. Or the staff canteen or a hall or warehouse.

In the context of the work costs scheme (WKR) in the Netherlands, the term “lump sum” refers to the free space that employers have to provide benefits and benefits in kind to employees without having to pay payroll tax on them. This lump sum is a percentage of the total tax salary of all employees within a company.

In concrete terms, this means that an employer can provide up to a certain percentage of the total salary bill tax-free allowances and benefits to employees, such as Christmas packages, company parties, or a company bike. If the total value of these benefits and benefits exceeds the lump sum, the employer must pay a final levy of 80% on the excess. This lump sum is therefore used to determine the amount up to which benefits in kind may remain untaxed.

For 2025, the free margin was set at 2% up to a wage bill of €400,000 and 1.18% for the salary above. More information can be found on the website of the Tax authorities.

No rights can be derived from the information on this page. For more information or questions or the WKR, visit the website of the tax authorities.

For more than 25 years, effect group* has been designing and producing corporate events and staff parties. For the fourth year in a row, we have been named beste eventmarketingbureau van Nederland (bron: MT1000).

We are fully aware of the latest WKR regulations and are happy to think strategically with you to organize your event in a memorable and fiscally optimal way. Feel free to contact us for customized advice.