Do you work with Odoo and wonder what the Werkkostenregeling (WKR), the Dutch scheme for tax-free employee benefits, means for your salarisadministratie — your payroll administration? The WKR gives employers real advantages, but it can also be complex. In this article we explain how to apply and automate the WKR in Odoo, so you save costs and keep your staff satisfied.
What is the Werkkostenregeling (WKR) and how do you apply it in Odoo?
The Werkkostenregeling (WKR) lets employers give employees benefits free of tax. Those benefits can also cover things your staff enjoy privately, such as laptops, smartphones or even gym memberships. If you work with Odoo, you can build the WKR straight into your administration. In Odoo you can, for example, easily:
1. Extend your chart of accounts and post the main WKR categories separately, so you keep an eye on the vrije ruimte — the tax-free allowance — and stay within the WKR limits.
2. Import a payroll journal entry and automate the WKR postings.
3. Monitor and post employee expense claims efficiently through Odoo's Expenses module.
The vrije ruimte within the WKR, and how to manage it in Odoo
The most important category within the WKR is the vrije ruimte. This is a percentage of your employees' total taxable wage bill (in 2024: 1.92% up to a wage bill of €400,000 and 1.18% on the part above €400,000). It lets you offer benefits free of tax. Examples include:
- Canteen meals and refreshments, in so far as they are not covered by a gerichte vrijstelling (a specific exemption).
- Allowances for phone costs, for example.
- Staff parties.
- Gifts to staff.
It matters that you track the vrije ruimte properly, so you do not cross the limit by accident and end up paying tax after all. Or find out too late that you had enough room to give your staff a net bonus at the end of the year, for instance.
With Odoo's accounting module you can integrate your salarisadministratie and manage the vrije ruimte from one place. That way you see when you are close to the limit. You stay within the rules and avoid surprises at filing time.
Odoo and the other cost categories within the WKR
In principle, everything you provide to an employee counts as wages. To keep the value of certain provisions out of the vrije ruimte, the WKR has other categories as well. The main ones are below:
- Nihilwaarderingen en gerichte vrijstellingen - These benefits are free of tax and do not count towards the vrije ruimte. A nihilwaardering — a nil valuation — applies for instance to an allowance for work clothing that is specifically meant for the job and that your employee wears at the workplace.
Examples of gerichte vrijstellingen are allowances for training courses, seminars, field trips or a working-from-home allowance. Some gerichte vrijstellingen also carry a cap. A well-known example of the latter is a cap (in 2024: €0.23) on the mileage allowance per business kilometre.
- Intermediaire kosten (intermediary costs) - This covers reimbursements for costs employees pay up front on your instruction. Such costs are not wages and can be reimbursed free of tax.
- Geen of vrijgesteld loon (no wages, or exempt wages) - This one can be confusing. The Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax administration, speaks of "benefits outside the employment relationship". These are payments that fall outside the employer-employee relationship, such as a fruit basket for a sick employee or a funeral wreath for the family of an employee who has died. For these gestures not to count as wages, you have to meet three conditions: (1) the gesture is personal and in line with what others would give, (2) it is not money or a voucher and (3) the invoice value is a (small) amount.
- Noodzakelijkheidscriterium (the necessity criterion) - Allowances for tools and equipment fall under a gerichte vrijstelling if they meet the noodzakelijkheidscriterium: (1) the provision is necessary for the employee to do the job properly, (2) you pay the cost and it is not passed on to the employee and (3) the employee has to return the item or pay its residual value once it is no longer needed. Examples are mobile phones including the subscription (where necessary) and laptops and desktops.
In Odoo you can post all of these benefits automatically from the payroll journal entry, so they are recorded and processed the right way. You can also enter certain costs in Odoo and reimburse them to staff automatically through Odoo's Expenses module. That prevents errors and makes sure all costs are processed according to the rules.
Odoo and your salarisadministratie: why automate the WKR?
Running the salarisadministratie and applying the Werkkostenregeling (WKR) matters for every company. By using Odoo you can automate these processes and make sure benefits and costs are posted correctly. The result:
- Satisfied staff, thanks to benefits free of tax.
- A lighter administrative load.
- Full compliance with the tax rules, which keeps surprises away.
Conclusion: optimise the Werkkostenregeling in Odoo
By integrating the Werkkostenregeling (WKR) fully into your Odoo administration, you benefit as an employer from reimbursements that stay free of tax. You keep a grip on the vrije ruimte and make sure benefits are posted automatically and correctly. This helps you save costs and keeps your staff satisfied with what you offer them.
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