Dutch Holiday Allowance (Vakantiegeld) Explained for 2026

Once a year, usually in May, a noticeably larger amount lands in your Dutch bank account: the vakantiegeld, or holiday allowance. It is worth at least 8% of your gross annual salary, reserved through the year and paid as a lump sum. This guide explains where it comes from, the period it builds up over, why the net you keep is less than the gross 8%, and what counts toward the base, with a worked example at 36,000 EUR gross.

What vakantiegeld is

Vakantiegeld (also called vakantietoeslag) is a statutory holiday allowance set by Dutch law. The legal minimum is 8% of your gross salary over the year. Your employer sets this money aside every month and pays it out in one go. Some employers or collective agreements (CAOs) are more generous, with a higher percentage or a monthly payout, but 8% paid in May is the standard arrangement. It exists so that everyone has a financial buffer for a holiday, separate from their normal monthly pay.

The reservation period and the May payout

The allowance accrues over a fixed reservation period that runs from 1 June to 31 May. Each month you build up another slice of the 8%, and the total accumulated over those twelve months is paid out in May. That is why it arrives as a single lump sum rather than appearing on every payslip. If you change jobs partway through the period, your old employer settles the vakantiegeld you accrued up to your leaving date.

Why the net is lower than 8%

The 8% figure is the gross allowance. What you actually keep is lower, because vakantiegeld is taxed as bijzonder loon (special pay). Special pay is withheld at your marginal Box 1 rate, the rate on your last euro of income, rather than the lower average rate you see on your normal monthly salary. The reason is that the heffingskortingen (tax credits) are already applied against your regular pay, so they do not soften the tax on the allowance. The result is that the net vakantiegeld is taxed at your full bracket rate.

Worked example: 36,000 EUR gross

Take a gross annual salary of 36,000 EUR, below AOW age. The holiday allowance is 8% of that, which is 2,880 EUR gross, and your employer reserves 240 EUR toward it each month. At 36,000 EUR you sit in the first Box 1 bracket, so the marginal rate is 35.75%. Applying that rate to the allowance, the tax is about 1,029.60 EUR, leaving a net vakantiegeld of about 1,850.40 EUR. The higher your salary, the higher the marginal rate, so a salary in the second bracket would have the allowance taxed at 37.56% instead.

What counts toward the 8%

The 8% is calculated over your gross salary including most fixed allowances, such as a fixed shift allowance or a regular performance allowance. It generally excludes overtime pay, expense reimbursements, and the employer pension contribution. In practice the base is close to your gross annual salary, which is what the calculator uses. If your situation includes large variable components, your exact allowance can differ a little from the simple 8% figure.