Inframarginal electricity levy - Tax return deadline April 1, 2025
The inframarginal electricity levy (IME) is temporary legislation capping the revenue of electricity producers for the period December 1, 2022 through July 1, 2023 insofar as they make use of inframarginal energy sources. For the Netherlands, this mainly concerns electricity produced from wind energy, solar energy, hydropower, biomass fuels, biogas, waste and nuclear energy as well as electricity production from coal. The levy is relevant for energy producers using a Dutch power plant with an installed capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) or more. This not only includes wind parks, solar parks and waste incinerators, but also buildings equipped with a large number of solar panels. A producer can be a natural person or legal entity that generates electricity in the Netherlands or in the Dutch exclusive economic zone and supplies it to the electricity grid or via a direct line. This concerns the person or entity generating the electricity and bearing the risk of the generation, irrespective of whether they own the power plant.
Producers falling under the levy must remit 90% of their taxable market revenues. These revenues are only taxed insofar as they exceed the exempted market revenues. The exempted market revenues per megawatt hour (MWh) differ per energy source, but in most cases involve an exempt amount of EUR 130 per MWh. Electricity producers must calculate their taxable market revenues and include these in a market revenues report, which the Netherlands Emissions Authority (NEA) monitors. In determining the market revenues, taxpayers can opt to use the relatively straightforward day-ahead method, or the more complex accounting method. An auditor’s report is required if the accounting method is used.
If the IME applies, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration must have received the tax return and any tax due by April 1, 2025 at the latest. It is therefore essential to ascertain whether you fall under this one-off levy and what formal requirements apply for the tax return. The Dutch inframarginal electricity levy is expected to affect some 1,500 power plants.
Your Meijburg advisor can help you identify and deal with the consequences of the inframarginal electricity levy.
