Beer · Explainer
How much excise duty is there on a bottle of beer?
Since 1 January 2024 the Netherlands has levied beer excise duty per percent by volume: 8.12 euro per hectolitre per percent alcohol, with a minimum of 26.13 euro per hectolitre. A bottle of 33 centilitres with 5 percent alcohol therefore carries about 13 cents of excise duty. For a tripel of 8 percent that is about 21 cents. On top of the excise duty comes 21 percent VAT.
In brief
The key figures
| Beer rate | 8.12 euros per hectoliter per percent by volume |
|---|---|
| Minimum rate | 26.13 euro per hectolitre |
| Reduced rate for small breweries | 7.51 euro per hectolitre per percent alcohol by volume |
| Excise duty threshold | more than 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume |
| Alcohol-free beer | excise duty of 26.13 euro per hectolitre |
| Tipping point to the minimum rate | about 3.2 percent by volume |
| VAT | 21 percent, calculated on the price including excise duty |
| Wine above 8.5 percent ABV | 95.69 euros per hectolitre |
How is the beer excise duty calculated in the Netherlands?
The beer excise duty has followed the alcohol percentage since 1 January 2024: 8.12 euro per hectolitre for each percent by volume of alcohol.
Before 2024, the Netherlands used degrees Plato, the extract content of the wort. Since then, the effective alcohol by volume counts. A hectolitre is one hundred litres, so a bottle of 33 centilitres is 0.0033 hectolitres. That works out at 2.7 cents of excise duty per percentage point of alcohol by volume. Multiply 2.7 cents by the alcohol percentage and you have the excise duty per bottle.
Why does a light beer pay proportionally more excise?
Below about 3.2 percent alcohol by volume, the rate per percent does not apply, but the minimum amount of 26.13 euro per hectoliter.
26.13 divided by 8.12 comes to 3.22. A beer of 2 volume percent therefore pays as much excise duty as a beer of 3.2 volume percent: 8.6 cents per bottle of 33 centilitres. For session beers and radler the excise duty therefore weighs heavier per percent of alcohol than for a pilsner.
Does alcohol-free beer also pay tax?
Alcohol-free beer falls outside excise duty, but not outside taxation: it bears consumption tax of 26.13 euro per hectolitre.
Voor de accijns is een drank pas bier boven 0,5 volumeprocent alcohol. Daaronder valt de fles in dezelfde groep als limonade, frisdrank en vruchtensap. Een flesje alcoholvrij bier van 33 centiliter draagt daarmee 8,6 cent belasting, precies evenveel als het lichtste bier met alcohol. NIX18 blijft gelden voor bier met alcohol, ook bij het laagste tarief.
How much excise duty is on a crate of pilsner?
A crate of 24 bottles of 30 centilitres of pils with 5 percent alcohol by volume carries about 2.92 euros of excise duty.
A crate of 24 bottles of 33 centilitres comes to about 3.21 euro. A 50 litre keg of pils carries about 20.30 euro of excise duty. VAT is then also calculated on that amount, because VAT is charged on the price including excise duty.
How does beer excise duty compare to wine and spirits?
Wine above 8.5 percent alcohol by volume carries 95.69 euro excise duty per hectolitre, whereas a pilsner of 5 percent alcohol by volume comes to 40.60 euro per hectolitre.
Wine up to and including 8.5 percent by volume is taxed at 47.95 euros per hectolitre. Other alcoholic products, including spirits, are taxed at 18.27 euros per hectolitre per percent by volume of alcohol at 20 degrees Celsius. For wine, the amount therefore does not depend on the alcohol percentage within the bracket, whereas for beer and spirits it does.
From the shop in Bathmen
Which lighter beers are there in Bathmen?
In the shop in Bathmen there are 244 beers from 115 different brands from 18 countries. Prices range from € 0.90 to € 199.99. The alcohol percentage ranges from 0.2% to 5.5%.
- 't Zwarte Schoap Meisterschoap Weizen NEIPA 5.5% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap Vriendschoap Dunkelweizen 5.2% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Aardig Geitje 5% · 75 cl · Belgium
- Affligem Belgisch Wit 4.8% · 30 cl · Belgium
- Alfa Edel Pils 5% · 720 cl · Netherlands
- Amstel Bright 5% · 27 cl · Netherlands
- Asahi Super Dry 5.2% · 33 cl · Japan
- Averbode Extra 4.8% · 33 cl · Belgium
- Ayinger Bräuweisse 5.1% · 50 cl · Germany
- Bacchus Frambozenbier 5% · 37 cl · Belgium
Related questions
How many bottles of drink do you need for a party?How many glasses of beer are there in a keg?How many millilitres is a fluitje, a vaasje and a pint?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- Does a tripel pay more excise than a pils?
- Yes. Beer excise duty is levied per volume percent, so a tripel of 8 volume percent carries about 21 cents per 33 centilitres against about 13 cents for a pils of 5 volume percent.
- Is the excise duty already included in the shop price?
- Yes. The excise duty is included in the shelf price, and the 21 percent VAT is then calculated on that price including excise duty.
- May you brew beer at home without paying excise duty?
- Private individuals may make beer at home for their own consumption without excise duty. As soon as the beer is sold or handed over, the excise obligation does apply.
- What is a degree Plato?
- Degrees Plato indicate the extract content of the original wort. The Netherlands used that measure until 1 January 2024 for beer excise duty and has since calculated with the alcohol volume content.
The reasoning
Sources
- Handboek Accijns, bier: accijnstarieven en berekening, Douane (accessed 7 September 2026)
- Tarievenlijst accijns en verbruiksbelasting, Douane (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Handboek Accijns, bier: alcoholpercentage en Platogehalte, Douane (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Accijns, Trimbos-instituut, Expertisecentrum Alcohol (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Warenwetbesluit Gereserveerde aanduidingen, Overheid.nl (accessed 2026-09-07)
This page was written and checked by ’t Bockje Bathmen, wine & spirits shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Last updated on 27 September 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.