The Dutch Draft Safe-Harbour Bill to Amend the Minimum Tax Act 2024

On June 16, 2026, the Dutch Ministry of Finance opened an internet consultation on the Draft Safe Harbours Bill. The consultation closes on 14 July 2026 and includes draft legislation to implement the OECD Side-by-Side package into the domestic law.

The draft will be submitted to the House of Representatives as part of the 2027 Tax Plan package.

Overview

The draft bill includes five key aspects.

First, it extends the existing Transitional CbCR Safe Harbour in Article 8.8 WMB 2024 by one year. Current Article 8.8 applies to fiscal years beginning on or before 31 December 2026 and ending before 1 July 2028. The draft replaces those dates with 31 December 2027 and 1 July 2029, respectively, and adds 2027 to the years for which the 17% transitional ETR rate applies.

Second, it replaces the current permanent simplified-calculation safe harbour in Article 8.11 with a new Simplified Effective Tax Rate Safe Harbour. Proposed Article 8.11 would deem the top-up tax for a tested jurisdiction to be nil if the filing constituent entity elects into the rule and, for that jurisdiction and fiscal year, either the simplified ETR is at least the minimum tax rate or there is a simplified loss.

Third, it introduces a Qualifying Equivalent Minimum Tax System Safe Harbour in proposed Article 8.15. This is the Dutch implementation of the Side-by-Side Safe Harbour for groups whose ultimate parent entity is located in a jurisdiction with a qualifying equivalent minimum tax system.

Fourth, it introduces a UPE Safe Harbour in proposed Article 8.16. This addresses the UTPR exposure of entities located in the ultimate-parent jurisdiction, provided that jurisdiction has a qualifying domestic tax system in force and applicable on 1 January 2026.

Fifth, it introduces a Qualifying Fiscal Incentive Scheme Safe Harbour in proposed Article 8.17. This is the Dutch version of the OECD’s Substance-based Tax Incentives Safe Harbour, allowing qualifying expenditure-based and certain production-based incentives to be treated, within limits, in a manner that neutralises the top-up tax attributable to those incentives.

The draft also contains a targeted amendment to the temporary UTPR safe harbour for 52/53-week fiscal years. This reflects the OECD’s May 2026 guidance that addresses an unintended gap for groups with 52/53-week fiscal years in the transition from the temporary UTPR safe harbour to Side-by-Side or UPE safe-harbour relief. The Dutch draft amends Article 8.14 by changing the relevant end date to on or before 3 January 2027.

Extension of the Transitional CbCR Safe Harbour

Current Article 8.8 WMB 2024 allows the filing constituent entity to elect for the top-up tax in a jurisdiction to be nil during the transitional period if one of three tests is satisfied: a de minimis test based on total revenue below EUR 10 million and profit before income tax below EUR 1 million; a simplified ETR test; or a routine-profits test comparing profit before income tax with the substance-based income exclusion.

The current simplified ETR calculation under Article 8.8 uses simplified covered taxes reported in qualifying financial statements divided by profit before tax reported in the qualified CbC report. The transitional rates are 15% for fiscal years beginning in 2023 or 2024, 16% for 2025, and 17% for 2026.

The draft’s one-year extension is therefore gives groups an additional year of CbCR-based relief for fiscal years beginning on or before 31 December 2027 and ending before 1 July 2029. The draft also extends the 17% transition rate to 2027.

The extension does not eliminate the need to prepare for a post-CbCR regime. Current Article 8.9 contains exclusions, including a ‘once out, always out’ rule for jurisdictions where Article 8.8 was not applied in an earlier year, unless no group entities were located in that jurisdiction in that year. Groups should therefore treat the extension as a bridge to the Simplified ETR Safe Harbour rather than as a reason to defer data remediation.

The new Simplified ETR Safe Harbour