Netherlands: temporary 22.3% discount on heavy-goods toll until 31 December

Anyone crossing the Netherlands on the way to Benelux or northern Europe pays less toll between now and the end of the year than they did in September. The Dutch government is applying, from 1 September until 31 December 2026, a 22.3% discount on every component of the vrachtwagenheffing — the Dutch per-kilometre toll for heavy goods vehicles, in force since July, which adds the infrastructure charge to the external-cost charges for pollution, noise and CO₂.

What changes, in numbers

The average rate drops from €0.191 per kilometre to €0.148 per kilometre. Minister Karremans estimates collective savings of €80 million for hauliers over the four months of the discount.

The measure was decided by government policy decree (beleidsbesluit), with retroactive effect from 1 September, after the Dutch Parliament passed, on 23 April 2026, two motions (by MPs Flach and Eerdmans) calling for toll relief in response to the sharp rise in diesel prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East. The government confirms it will formally enshrine the discount in the 2027 Tax Plan (Belastingplan), with the measure already being applied in practice.

Deadline to mark: 1 January 2027

The discount does not renew automatically. From 1 January 2027, the rate returns to the normal value indexed under the Vrachtwagenheffing Act — above the current €0.148 per kilometre. Anyone planning regular routes through the Netherlands early next year should budget for the increase now, rather than carrying forward the last-quarter-2026 cost.

For hauliers leaving the Iberian Peninsula bound for Germany, Belgium or further north via the Dutch network, the current four-month window represents a real reduction in the cost per kilometre driven on Dutch territory — worth reflecting in cost planning from October to December, without assuming it will still apply in January.