Environmental taxes and fees; environmental accounts
Explanation of symbols
Table explanation
The government charges several taxes and fees to support and finance environmental policy. This table presents an overview of the revenues of the environmental taxes and fees, classified in four categories: energy, transport, pollution and natural resources.
The revenues of environmental taxes and fees can be attributed by taxpayer, distinguishing private households, industries and non-residents.
The above mentioned revenues of environmental taxes and fees are presented in the following variables:
- value in current prices, million euros.
The table is part of the environmental accounts. The environmental accounts quantify the relationship between economy and environment. In order to arrive at a consistent statistical description of this relationship, the environmental accounts are in line with the classifications, definitions and revision strategy of the environmental accounts. As a result, environmental figures from the environmental accounts deviate in a number of cases from the environmental figures elsewhere on the CBS website, and in some cases, from the national accounts themselves.
Data available from: 1995
Status of the figures:
The figures for the reporting years 2024 and 2025 are provisional. The figures for the reporting years 1995 through 2023 are final.
Changes as of 2 October 2026:
The figures for the reporting years 2024 and 2025 have been updated. The ‘Environmental taxes and levies’ selection has been converted into separate topics to improve the table's presentation.
Additionally, the levies ‘other CO2 levies’ and ‘inframarginal electricity levy’ have been added.
When will new figures be published?
New figures are published annually, around October.
The revenues of environmental taxes and fees can be attributed by taxpayer, distinguishing private households, industries and non-residents.
The above mentioned revenues of environmental taxes and fees are presented in the following variables:
- value in current prices, million euros.
The table is part of the environmental accounts. The environmental accounts quantify the relationship between economy and environment. In order to arrive at a consistent statistical description of this relationship, the environmental accounts are in line with the classifications, definitions and revision strategy of the environmental accounts. As a result, environmental figures from the environmental accounts deviate in a number of cases from the environmental figures elsewhere on the CBS website, and in some cases, from the national accounts themselves.
Data available from: 1995
Status of the figures:
The figures for the reporting years 2024 and 2025 are provisional. The figures for the reporting years 1995 through 2023 are final.
Changes as of 2 October 2026:
The figures for the reporting years 2024 and 2025 have been updated. The ‘Environmental taxes and levies’ selection has been converted into separate topics to improve the table's presentation.
Additionally, the levies ‘other CO2 levies’ and ‘inframarginal electricity levy’ have been added.
When will new figures be published?
New figures are published annually, around October.
Description topics
- Environmental taxes and fees
- Total environmental taxes and levies (excluding energy tax reduction)
- Energy-related taxes
- Total energy-related taxes
- The total of energy-related taxes
- Excise duties petrol and oth. minerals
- Consumption tax levied on petrol and other mineral oils, such as diesel, LPG, heavy fuel oil and methane. The main energy products for transport are petrol and diesel. Energy products for consumption on location also include other mineral oils.
In 2004, part of the fuel tax was included in the excise duties on mineral oils.
According to the guidelines of the Environmental Accounts, excise duties on petrol and other fuels used in transport belong to energy taxes, and not to transport taxes.
- Energy tax
- Tax on the use of electricity and natural gas.
- Sustainable energy surcharge
- Surcharge on the use of electricity and natural gas, of which the income is used to subsidise the production of sustainable energy.
- Emission permits
- Companies that participate in the EU ETS (emissions trading system) have to surrender emission permits equal to their greenhouse gas emissions. Emission permits are either freely allocated, traded or auctioned off. The government revenue from emission permits that are auctioned off is classified as a tax.
- Other CO₂ levies
- This category comprises only a CO₂ levy for the greenhouse horticulture sector. This levy is part of an agreement aimed at accelerating energy saving and sustainability within the sector. Consequently, an individual CO₂ levy applies from 1 January 2025, contributing to the reduction of emissions.
- Levies on stocks of petroleum products
- Levies on the stocks of petroleum products.
- Fuel tax
- Tax payable by persons who extract, produce, or import coal, and then use it as fuel or supply it to others. The purpose of the tax is to combat environmental pollution and reduce energy consumption. No fuel tax is payable on coal used to generate electricity.
As of 2004, this tax has been largely included in the energy tax and the excise duty on mineral oils. The fuel tax will continue to apply to coal. The fuel tax is a product tax and is part of the taxes levied by the government for environmental purposes.
- Inframarginal electricity levy
- The inframarginal electricity levy (IME) was a one-off levy that capped the revenues of electricity producers (usually at €130 per MWh) insofar as they utilized inframarginal energy sources. In the Netherlands, this primarily concerns wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, biogas, waste, and nuclear energy. Electricity generation from coal was also subject to the IME. The levy applied retroactively to revenues generated between 1 December 2022 and 1 July 2023. The payment was recorded in 2024.
- Transport-related taxes
- Total transport-related taxes
- The total of transport-related taxes
- Passenger car and motorcycle registr.tax
- Passenger car and motorcycle registration tax.
Passenger cars, motorcycles and delivery vans that are bought or imported into the Netherlands have to be registered at the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW). The passenger car and motorcycle tax is a one-off levy that has to be paid when the vehicle in question is registered for the first time.
- Motor vehicle tax
- Tax levied on the ownership of a vehicle, such as a passenger car, motorcycle, delivery van, trailer or lorry. This tax includes both the tax that is levied by the State, as well as the surcharge that is levied by the provinces.
- Air travel tax
- Tax levied on airline tickets of passengers departing from the Netherlands. The air travel tax was implemented in 2008 and abolished in 2010. An air travel tax is again introduced in 2021.
- Polluting activities
- Total taxes/levies on polluting activiti
- The total of taxes and levies on polluting activities
- Wastewater treatment charge
- Charge levied by the State and public water boards for the disposal of wastewater into the sewer or into the surface waters managed by the State and public water boards. The proceeds are used to finance the treatment of wastewater.
- Sewerage charges
- Sewerage charges are levied by municipalities to finance the collection, transport and processing of domestic wastewater, industrial wastewater and run-off rainwater. Sewerage charges must be paid by users of a property from which wastewater is drained via the sewer network.
- Waste tax
- Waste tax is charged for waste dumped in landfills. Its objective is to stimulate the most environmentally friendly way of waste processing. Waste tax is one of the product taxes and is part of taxes by government for environmental purposes.
- Waste disposal charges (State)
- Tax on waste disposal that goes into landfills or that is incinerated, paid by the owners of the waste disposal establishments.
Please note that there is also a waste collection charge that is levied by municipalities and local intergovernmental organisations. In accordance with ESA 2010, this charge is however not classified as a tax, but as a payment for non-market output, and therefore not included in this table.
- Packaging tax
- Tax levied on packaging materials that are introduced onto the Dutch market for the first time. The packaging tax was implemented in 2008 and replaced in 2013 with a compulsory contribution that goes directly to the Packaging Waste Fund.
- Civil aviation noise pollution tax
- Tax levied on the owners of civil aircrafts that are used for landing and take-off from airfields. Proceeds from this tax are used to soundproof the residential areas surrounding these airfields.
- Manure surplus tax
- Levies imposed on manure producing companies for production above the allowed quantities and on companies that supply animal manure. Various types of mineral levies have been in force since the end of the 1980s. The revenues of this environmental measure are no longer spent on solving the manure issue and go to the general resources of the government. That is why the mineral levies are formally considered environmental taxes and not environmental fees. Since 2017, the revenues of the phosphate reduction plan have been included.
- Groundwater and landfill tax (Provinces)
- Provincial tax levied on the extraction of groundwater and on the operators of landfills.
- Taxes on raw materials use
- Tap water and groundwater taxes
- The tap water tax (which was introduced in 2000) must be paid by companies or households that receive water via a connection, whether or not of drinking water quality. The tap water tax was introduced with the idea that by levying this tax, less water will be consumed. The tap water tax is a product tax and is part of the taxes levied by the government on an environmental basis.
The groundwater tax was a tax levied up to 2012 by the government on the extraction of large quantities of fresh groundwater from the soil by means of a facility as referred to in the Groundwater Act. This did not apply to private individuals who extract smaller quantities of water. The groundwater tax was also a product tax and was part of the taxes levied by the government on an environmental basis.
- Other items
- Reduction on energy tax
- The reduction in energy tax was introduced in 2001. Part of energy consumption is considered as a basic need. That is why the government reduces the energy tax due by a fixed amount per year per electricity connection. The reduction only applies to immovable property with a residential function (such as a house or office).
In accordance with the guidelines for environmental accounts, the reduction on energy tax is not classified as an environmental tax or levy, because it is recorded as an income transfer in the national accounts.