Netherlands drops the plan to end the 9% VAT rate for flowers and plants from the Belastingplan 2027; balloon rides still face 21%
This change is proposed and is not law. The rules below describe what would change if it is adopted.
This page records one dated change. For the rules in Netherlands as they stand today, see the Netherlands guide →
- Jurisdiction
- Netherlands
- Tax
- VAT (BTW)
- Change type
- Rate change
- Status
- Proposed
- Impact
- FYI
- Announced
- 4 November 2026
- Authority
- Rijksoverheid (Government of the Netherlands)
- Systems
- Tax engine, Invoicing, POS
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Growers, wholesalers and retailers of cut flowers, plants and flower bulbs (who keep the 9% rate under the amended bill), and hot-air balloon ride operators, who still face 21% from 1 January 2028 if the bill passes.
No change for ornamental horticulture: keep applying 9%. Balloon-ride operators should still plan for 21% from 1 January 2028 if the bill passes.
Tax engineInvoicingPOS
The Dutch cabinet has removed the abolition of the reduced 9% VAT rate for ornamental horticultural products (sierteelt: cut flowers, plants, flower bulbs; Table I, item a, post 48 of the Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968) from the Belastingplan 2027 bill. The Derde nota van wijziging (Kamerstuk 37 022, nr. 29, received by the Tweede Kamer on 4 November 2026) deletes the proposal to abolish that reduced rate from 1 January 2028 and defers the decision to the Belastingplan 2028. Ornamental horticulture therefore stays at 9% under the bill. The separate proposal to move hot-air balloon rides from 9% to 21% from 1 January 2028 remains in the bill, which the Tweede Kamer was scheduled to vote on 12 November 2026; both chambers must still approve it. This supersedes nl-ornamental-horticulture-vat-2028, which reported both measures as proposed.
What changed in detail
This changes a bill, not the law: the Belastingplan 2027 still has to pass both chambers. Under the amended bill, cut flowers, plants and flower bulbs stay at the reduced 9% VAT rate. The Derde nota van wijziging on the Belastingplan 2027 (Kamerstuk 37 022, nr. 29), received by the Tweede Kamer on 4 November 2026, deletes from the bill the proposal in Article XXII, part A, to abolish the reduced rate for ornamental horticulture (sierteelt) — Table I, part a, item 48, of the Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968 — from 1 January 2028.
The explanatory note says the cabinet took the measure out of the bill following talks with the BBB and has deferred the decision to the Belastingplan 2028. The budget table in the note books the change at -76 (EUR million) in 2028, and the cabinet’s budget path assumes the measure will be part of the Belastingplan 2028.
The separate proposal to move hot-air balloon rides from 9% to 21% from 1 January 2028 remains in the bill. Rijksoverheid’s page on the plans now covers balloon rides only and states that the Tweede Kamer and the Eerste Kamer still have to approve the plans; the Tweede Kamer was scheduled to vote on 12 November 2026.
This replaces the earlier record nl-ornamental-horticulture-vat-2028, which described both measures as proposed in the bill as submitted on 15 September 2026.
What it means
For florists, growers and garden centres nothing changes: keep charging 9%. But the measure was deferred, not abandoned — the cabinet has said it will decide in the Belastingplan 2028 and its budget path still counts on the revenue, so the 21% risk for sierteelt returns next Prinsjesdag. Balloon-ride operators are in a different position: their increase is still in the bill, and because the 21% rate applies to all rides from 1 January 2028 even when booked and paid earlier, 2028 bookings taken now should be priced with that in mind.
Proof
Het kabinet heeft, naar aanleiding van gesprekken met de BBB, besloten om de afschaffing van het verlaagde btw-tarief voor sierteelt uit het wetsvoorstel Belastingplan 2027 te halen en de besluitvorming uit te stellen naar het Belastingplan 2028.Following talks with the BBB, the cabinet has decided to remove the abolition of the reduced VAT rate for ornamental horticulture from the Belastingplan 2027 bill and to defer the decision to the Belastingplan 2028.
Source snapshot of the official page. Open full size ↗Met deze wijziging wordt geregeld dat het in artikel XXII, onderdeel A, opgenomen voorstel om het verlaagde btw-tarief voor sierteelt (tabel I, onderdeel a, post 48, van de Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968) per 1 januari 2028 af te schaffen, vervalt in het wetsvoorstel.This amendment provides that the proposal in Article XXII, part A, to abolish the reduced VAT rate for ornamental horticulture (Table I, part a, item 48, of the VAT Act 1968) from 1 January 2028 is deleted from the bill.
Source snapshot of the official page. Open full size ↗Het kabinet wil de btw op ballonvaarten vanaf 2028 verhogen van 9% naar 21%.The cabinet wants to raise VAT on balloon rides from 9% to 21% from 2028.
Source snapshot of the official page. Open full size ↗