What are limited deductible business costs?
Some business costs count only partly against your profit. The Belastingdienst calls these limited deductible business costs¹. Advisors also call them gemengde kosten (mixed expenses), because they have a private side too.
Two groups of costs belong to this category². The first is food, drink and stimulants: a client lunch, the coffee you serve, a box of cigars. The second is representation, congresses, seminars and study trips, with the travel and accommodation around them.
The limit applies to these two groups only. And what you eat or drink yourself is not deductible at all, not even partly.
Idris runs a one-person business as a software architect in Rotterdam. He takes clients to lunch, goes to one congress a year and throws a reception for his network. Every figure below is his. Start with the six points that decide your route.
In short
Two groups only. Food, drink and stimulants make up the first. Representation, congresses, seminars and study trips make up the second.
€5,700 threshold. In 2026 the first €5,700 of these costs is not deductible. The 2025 figure was the same.
Or 80%. You may deduct 80% of these costs instead of applying the threshold.
€28,500 is the tipping point if both groups share one threshold. Below it the percentage route deducts more. Above it the threshold route does. In a bv it is about €21,509 on the €5,700 floor.
€1,500 cap. Travel and accommodation for a congress or study trip stop at €1,500, unless attending was necessary for your work.
In a bv (private limited company) it is 73.5%. The threshold there is €5,700 or 0.4% of all taxable wages if that is higher.
Which mixed expenses belong to this category?
The limit covers exactly two groups of costs. Most other costs are either fully deductible or not deductible at all.
The first group is food, drink and stimulants². A business gift of any of them counts here too. A client lunch or dinner counts, tip included. So do coffee, tea, milk and soft drinks. Cigarettes and cigars count as stimulants.
The second group is representation, congresses, seminars and study trips². Receptions belong here and so do promotional gifts. The travel and accommodation you book around a congress or a study trip come with it. A €1,500 cap applies to that travel and accommodation.
The costs just outside the two groups matter as much. Advertising is a business expense in full, even though it can look like representation. Professional literature is fully deductible. General literature is not deductible at all. Work clothing counts in full when it is a uniform or carries a business logo of at least 70 square centimetres².
Two boundaries are worth marking. A congress or a study trip belongs in the second group. A course to learn something new does not. The rule for study costs has its own page. A private car driven for the business is a different rule again at €0.25 per kilometre in 2026³. Larger purchases follow the depreciation rules for business assets.
Your broader question may be which cost is deductible and how much of it. The general answer is on what business costs are deductible. This page picks up where that one stops. The table sets the two groups and their neighbours side by side.
| Cost | Deductible? |
|---|---|
| Business lunches and dinners with clients, tip included | Limited |
| Coffee, tea, milk and soft drinks for clients | Limited |
| Business gifts of food, drink, cigarettes or cigars | Limited |
| Representation, receptions, congresses, seminars and study trips | Limited |
| Travel and accommodation around a congress or study trip | Limited, max €1,500 |
| Food, drink and stimulants you consume yourself | Nothing |
| Fines, personal care and general literature | Nothing |
| A vessel you keep for representation | Nothing |
| Advertising, professional literature and briefcases | In full |
| Business travel outside a congress or study trip by public transport, taxi or plane | In full, with proof |
Threshold or 80%: which route should you choose?
Take the percentage route while your limited deductible business costs stay under €28,500. Above that figure the threshold route deducts more.
The two routes work differently. On the threshold route the first €5,700 of these costs drops out and you deduct the rest¹. On the percentage route you skip the threshold and deduct 80% of the whole amount¹. The same 80% applies to income from other activities, not only to profit from a business².
The tipping point is arithmetic, not policy. The threshold route gives you the total minus €5,700. The percentage route gives you 0.8 times the total. Those two are equal when 0.2 times the total is €5,700, which puts the total at €28,500. Run it on your own figure and you get the same answer.
One thing the Belastingdienst does not spell out is how far the choice reaches. Its wording says you may choose the percentage instead of the threshold. It does not say whether both groups share one €5,700 threshold. Nor does it say whether each group has its own. That point is open, so bring it to your advisor with your own totals before you file.
If your costs sit near €28,500, the difference between the two routes is small and the choice barely matters. Further away from it the gap widens fast. Working out which side of €28,500 you are on takes one afternoon or one conversation. The €28,500 figure assumes one shared threshold for both groups.
What does the choice look like on real figures?
Idris deducts €4,080 more on the percentage route. His limited deductible business costs come to €8,100 for the year, which sits well under the tipping point.
He spent €2,100 on client lunches and dinners and €1,900 on a congress fee. The travel and accommodation for that congress cost €2,200. A reception for his network cost €2,600. Attending was not necessary for his work. The €1,500 cap applies to the travel and accommodation, so €700 drops out before he picks a route. That leaves €8,100 inside the limit.
The threshold route takes €5,700 off that and leaves him €2,400 to deduct. The 80% route gives him €6,480. He elects the percentage and the difference is €4,080 of extra deduction.
The example works with one combined total, because the scoping question above stays open. If the two groups turn out to have separate thresholds, the arithmetic changes and the percentage route wins by more.
The table below sets out each step, with our advisor’s take right after.
| Cost item | How it counts | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Client lunches and dinners | Food and drink | €2,100 |
| Congress fee | The fee itself, not capped | €1,900 |
| Travel and accommodation for that congress | €2,200 spent, capped at €1,500 as attending was not necessary | €1,500 |
| Reception for his network | Representation | €2,600 |
| Total inside the limit | Sum of the four rows above | €8,100 |
| Threshold route | €8,100 minus €5,700 | €2,400 |
| Percentage route | 80% of €8,100 | €6,480 |
| Extra deduction on the percentage route | €6,480 minus €2,400 | €4,080 |
“Almost everyone reaches for the threshold, because that is the rule they have heard of. On the numbers a one-person business actually books, the percentage route usually wins by a wide margin. We work out both and take the better one, every year.”
How does this work in a bv?
A bv deducts 73.5% of these costs, not 80%. The threshold route exists there too and the threshold itself can be higher than €5,700.
Take Idris again. If he ran the same business through a bv, he multiplies €8,100 by 73.5%. That gives about €5,954 on the percentage route¹. The threshold route would still take €5,700 off and leave €2,400. The percentage route wins there as well, though by a smaller margin.
The threshold in a bv is not a flat number. It is €5,700 or 0.4% of the combined taxable wages of everyone on the payroll if that comes out higher.¹ A bv with one director on a modest salary stays on the €5,700 floor. A bv with staff only goes above it once its taxable wages pass €1,425,000.
A higher floor moves the tipping point up with it. On the €5,700 floor the two routes meet at about €21,509 of these costs. With a higher wage-based floor, divide that floor by 0.265 and you have your own figure. The 0.265 is 100% minus 73.5%.
One exception is worth knowing. Where a cost counts as taxable wage for the employee, you deduct it in full. The limit does not touch it.
Have your advisor confirm the threshold against your own payroll before you file. The table below sets out the bv rules, with the 2026 change underneath it.
| In a bv | What applies |
|---|---|
| Percentage route | 73.5% of the costs inside the limit |
| Threshold route | €5,700 or 0.4% of all taxable wages if that is higher |
| Break-even on the €5,700 floor | About €21,509 of these costs |
| Break-even on a higher floor | That floor divided by 0.265 |
| Costs that count as taxable wage | Deductible in full |
What does this mean for your own books?
Keep these costs on their own ledger line and the choice makes itself. You cannot pick a route on figures you have not separated.
Three things are worth doing before you file. Apply the €1,500 cap to travel and accommodation first. Then add up everything that falls in the two groups for the year. Run both routes and take the higher deduction.
Two questions here need your own figures and a second pair of eyes. Whether the two groups share one threshold is the first. Whether your congress travel was necessary for your work is the second. Neither is a number you can look up and both change what you may deduct.
Cost deduction is only the first layer of the calculation. The self-employed deduction comes after it, once your profit stands. We handle the whole self-employed tax return as well, from the cost ledger to the filing. Idris ran both routes once and the €4,080 followed from his own ledger.
¹ belastingdienst.nl, Drempel beperkt aftrekbare kosten 2026 · Accessed
² belastingdienst.nl, Overzicht mogelijk aftrekbare zakelijke kosten · Accessed
³ belastingdienst.nl, Verhoging onbelaste kilometervergoeding (nieuwsbericht) · Accessed
⁵ wetten.overheid.nl, Wet op de vennootschapsbelasting 1969, article 8(5), text as of 1 January 2026 · Accessed
Common questions about limited deductible business costs
How much of a business lunch can I deduct?
It depends on the route you elect, not on the lunch itself. Your lunches count with your other limited deductible costs in one total. You then deduct that total minus €5,700. The percentage route gives 80% of the total instead. Whether both groups share one threshold is still open, so check it with your advisor. Until that question closes, the figures on this page use one combined total.
What is the threshold in 2026?
€5,700, the same as in 2025. Costs up to €5,700 do not count as deductible this year. You deduct what is left above it.
Can I take 80% instead of the threshold?
Yes, the percentage route is open to every entrepreneur. If both groups share one threshold, it usually deducts more below €28,500 of these costs. In a bv the percentage is 73.5% instead of 80%. On the €5,700 floor, the tipping point in a bv is about €21,509.
Does the €1,500 cap apply to every congress?
No. It falls away when attending was necessary for your work. Otherwise travel and accommodation around a congress or study trip stop at €1,500. Whether a trip meets that test is a judgement call.
Do the rules work differently in a bv?
Yes. The percentage is 73.5% and the threshold can be higher than €5,700. For a company with staff it is €5,700 or 0.4% of the combined taxable wages if that is higher. That only happens above €1,425,000 in taxable wages. Have your advisor confirm it against your own payroll.
Are advertising costs limited too?
No. Advertising is a business expense in full. Booking a reception or a promotional gift as advertising is the mistake to avoid. Professional literature is fully deductible too, though general literature is not.
Can I deduct VAT on a business lunch?
No, you cannot deduct VAT on food and drink at a restaurant. That also applies to a business lunch. The costs themselves do count toward the threshold or the 80%.