NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Nathalie Idsinga and Mignon de Wilde, Arcagna
income, but as of 1 January 2025, the deduction for periodical gifts to ANBIs is capped at EUR1.5 million per taxpayer per calendar year. To qualify as a peri - odical gift, the donation must consist of at least five fixed and regular payments, made by notarial deed or private written agreement. For resident companies, gifts to ANBIs are deduct - ible for corporate income tax purposes. Such gifts – including those made in connection with a share - holder’s charitable wishes – are deductible up to 50% of the company’s profit, with an absolute cap of EUR100,000. If total gifts exceed this threshold, the excess may be treated as a (deemed) distribution to the shareholder and taxed in Box 2. Gifts received from an ANBI are exempt from gift tax, provided the gift is made in the interest of the ANBI’s charitable purpose. The Dutch tax authorities grant ANBI status upon application. To qualify, an organisation must meet specific requirements, the most important of which is that its activities are primarily for the general benefit. ANBIs must also comply with public disclosure obli - gations, including publishing the composition of the board, a current report of past and planned activities and a financial report. 10.2 Common Charitable Structures In the Netherlands, the most common form of charita - ble organisation is the ANBI (see 10.1 Charitable Giv- ing ). To qualify as an ANBI, a key requirement is that assets must be spent in line with the organisation’s charitable objectives and may not be accumulated as (investment) assets. If a charitable organisation holds (long-term) investments, the Dutch tax authorities may consider that it does not meet the “spending require - ment”.
Following discussions on impact investments held by ANBI’s, further guidance on ANBI investments was provided in a decree issued on 15 March 2024 by the State Secretary for Finance. To qualify as being in the public interest, an investment must meet the following conditions: • the primary purpose of the investment is to directly achieve or promote one or more of the ANBI’s public benefit objectives as set out in its articles of association; • the investment is not a business activity primarily aimed at generating profit; • the recipient must use the entire proceeds of the investment for activities related to the ANBI’s objectives; • neither a director (nor any person associated with a director) of the ANBI is involved as founder, direc - tor, shareholder, capital provider or employee of the recipient organisation; and • the ANBI clearly records the investment as a public interest investment in its financial records and policy plan. For investments that do not meet these conditions and therefore do not qualify as public interest expenses, the “spending requirement” necessitates an assess - ment of whether the investments are otherwise rea- sonably necessary for the continuity of the ANBI’s planned activities in line with its objectives. The decree of the State Secretary of Finance of 26 June 2025 once again addresses the “spending require - ment”, this time in a more general sense. This decree focuses on practical guidelines for ANBIs, including examples of permitted types of financial reserves held by ANBIs and more detailed guidelines for endow - ment capital ( stamvermogen ) and its expenditure.
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