Working partner's abatement

If you run a business in the Netherlands, and your fiscal partner performs work for your business, you may be eligible for working partner's abatement (meewerkaftrek, in Dutch). If you use this facility, you will pay less tax on profits. The amount of abatement permitted depends on the profits generated and on the number of hours your fiscal partner works for the business.

When do you qualify?

You are a business owner who is liable for income tax in the Netherlands.
You meet the hours criterion (i.e. you work 1,225 hours per year in your business).
Your fiscal partner spends at least 525 hours a year working without pay for your business or the remuneration amounts to less than €5,000.

Corona crisis: relaxation of hours criterion

As a result of the corona crisis you may not have been able to meet the hours criterion in 2020 to be eligible for the working partner's abatement (meewerkaftrek). Therefore the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration has relaxed the hours criterion for the months March throught September 2020. In general this means that you may presuppose that you worked for at least 24 hours per week in your business. Read more on the relaxation of the hours criterion (Versoepeling urencriterium, in Dutch).