The VAT on energy is temporarily lower, the minimum wage is going up (slightly), landlords are allowed to raise the rent and retirees get something extra. As of July 1, there will be some changes that affect your wallet. We have listed the most important changes for you.
1. Minimum wage goes up slightly
The minimum wage will increase slightly on July 1. If you are 21 years or older and work 36 hours, then from next Friday you will be compensated for at least 11.26 euros per hour. The minimum hourly wage is currently 11.06 euros gross.
Youth wages and benefits also increase, because they are linked to the minimum wage. You can find out exactly how much that is in your situation on the site of the national government.
This time it is therefore an increase of only 20 cents, but next year the minimum wage will increase faster. It has been agreed in the coalition agreement that it will be increased step-by-step by 7.5 percent. According to current expectations, the minimum wage would thus be EUR 13.18 in 2025.
Due to the current high inflation, the government will not start this until 2024, but already next year. In 2023 this concerns an increase of 2.5 percent to 11.94 euros.
2. Taxes on energy going down
One of the most important changes from the beginning of next month is the reduction in VAT on energy. The VAT rate goes from 21 to 9 percent. This applies to electricity, gas and district heating and will remain in effect for the time being until the end of this year. The VAT on fuels remains at 21 percent. However, the excise duty on petrol and diesel, among other things, was lowered earlier this year.
The cabinet is lowering VAT on energy because energy prices have risen sharply recently and there are fears that many people will no longer be able to pay their bills. For households with an average consumption, the VAT reduction would amount to a saving of approximately 140 euros.
The question is whether every consumer will notice this immediately in their wallet. For example, the Consumers’ Association pointed out earlier this month that not all suppliers settle the lower VAT on 1 July. Some only do this with the final settlement at the end of the year.
3. Rents can go up again
To spare tenants during the corona crisis, the rents of social housing were not allowed to be increased in the past year. That will change as of 1 July: housing associations may again add 2.3 percent.
A study by Aedes, the association of housing associations, showed that the average rent increase for social housing is 2 percent. A majority of the surveyed housing associations (63 percent) do not implement a maximum increase.
For homes in the free sector, the rent increase may not exceed 3.3 percent. The rent may be increased once a year.
4. Child benefit increases: 20 euros more
In fact, child benefit was not supposed to increase this year, but because of the high inflation, the cabinet has reversed that decision. And that is good news for parents: the child benefit will increase by about 20 euros (per child, per quarter) as of 1 July.
For a child up to five, the amount will soon be 249 euros, for the category six to eleven, 302 euros and for a child from twelve to eighteen, it will be 356 euros.
Please note: this increased child benefit will only be paid after the third quarter, ie on 1 October. The child benefit that is paid on 1 July is therefore still the old amount.
5. Big companies should pay entrepreneurs faster
Self-employed persons or small companies that carry out assignments for large companies will receive their money earlier: the legal payment term will increase from sixty to thirty days from 1 July.
Small and medium-sized business owners have reported that they often get paid later and that large companies seem to decide for themselves when they pay a bill. Since the corona crisis, a payment term has also become increasingly common unilaterally extended by large companies, the government reported. To prevent small businesses from getting into trouble, the payment term has now been shortened by law.
6. Smoke detectors are mandatory
From next Friday it is mandatory to have a smoke detector on every floor in your house.
If you don’t have it yet, you’ll have to buy it. On average, a smoke detector costs about 16 euros.
8. Many pensions are going up for the first time in years
Some large pension funds will increase pension benefits in July. Among others, the civil servants fund ABP, the largest fund in the Netherlands, gives pensioners an additional 2.4 percent. It is the first time since 2008 that ABP has increased pensions.
Several other funds, including metal fund PME, have also announced an increase. Incidentally, as with ABP, this is an increase that lags considerably behind current inflation. Despite this, many elderly people will be happy that they are finally getting more pension.
9. No more paper notification from PostNL
Anyone who orders something online and is not at home when PostNL delivers the package will no longer receive a paper notification in the bus from next month.
From now on, the postal company will only let you know by e-mail or the PostNL app that the deliverer has come and where customers can pick up the package.
10. Stricter advertising rules for influencers
Anyone who regularly makes videos for a large audience on social media must comply with stricter advertising rules from 1 July. These so-called influencers on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, for example, must be clear about who sponsors them and whether they are paid to show certain products.
In the beginning, it is only about creators who have at least half a million followers. This threshold may be lowered later. Anyone who does not follow the rules can be fined.
11. Temporary corona rules for cross-border workers will expire
At the start of the pandemic, social security rules were temporarily adjusted for those living in the Netherlands and working in Belgium or Germany. Germans and Belgians who work in our country can also use these adjusted rules. This is important, because due to the corona crisis, many cross-border workers have started working from home.
Working from home would normally have had consequences for social security, such as the payment for unemployment benefits and the Sickness Benefits Act. But due to the adjustment of the rules, the situation remained the same for cross-border workers who started working from home.
This temporary adjustment will expire on 1 July. Depending on the personal situation of a frontier worker, this can have consequences for social security. The Social Insurance Bank (SVB), which has a Overview has made of the possible consequences in different situations.
12. Library is free for kids
Many libraries already had it, but from 1 July it will also be official: the library is free for everyone under the age of eighteen. Officially, libraries were still allowed to charge half the price for an adult.
Secretary of State Gunay Uslu (Media and Culture) reported on the amendment to the law: “For young people, costs should not be a barrier to going to the library.”
