The 30% ruling — officially the Expat Scheme (extraterritoriale kosten- or 30%-regeling) — is a Dutch payroll tax facility for employees recruited from abroad with skills that are scarce in the Netherlands. When it applies, your employer may pay you up to 30% of your gross salary as a tax-free allowance, instead of reimbursing your actual relocation and extraterritorial costs. That tax-free portion lowers your taxable income in Box 1, so your net pay rises.
It is granted by the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax authority), and you cannot apply alone: the employer and the employee must apply jointly and agree in writing that the ruling applies to the employment. The rules below reflect the current 2024–2027 framework — including the move to a 27% maximum from 2027 — not the older guidance you may still find elsewhere online.
Rules and figures on this page follow current Belastingdienst and Business.gov.nl guidance and are reviewed each tax year.
All of the following conditions must be met. We assess each one before you commit, so you don't pay for an application that can't succeed.
You must have been hired or seconded from outside the Netherlands. You cannot already be living and working here when the contract is agreed.
Your employer must be a withholding agent registered with the Belastingdienst for wage tax (loonheffingen).
Employer and employee must agree in writing — usually in the employment contract or an addendum — that the 30% ruling applies.
You must bring expertise that is scarce or unavailable on the Dutch labour market. In practice this is evidenced by meeting the minimum salary threshold, which the Belastingdienst treats as proof of scarcity.
Your taxable salary after the tax-free allowance must be at least €48,013 in 2026. The threshold is indexed each year and rises to roughly €50,436 in 2027.
If you are under 30 and hold a qualifying Dutch or equivalent foreign master's degree, the lower 2026 threshold of €36,497 applies (around €38,388 in 2027).
For at least 16 of the 24 months before your first working day, you must have lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border — so residents of Belgium, Luxembourg, large parts of Germany and northern France usually do not qualify.
Take a skilled migrant earning €70,000 gross per year. With the ruling, €21,000 of that salary is paid tax-free, so only €49,000 is taxed in Box 1.
| Without the ruling | With the 30% ruling | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross annual salary | €70,000 | €70,000 |
| Tax-free 30% allowance | €0 | €21,000 |
| Taxable income (Box 1) | €70,000 | €49,000 |
| Indicative tax saved per year | — | ≈ €7,800 |
| Indicative extra net per month | — | ≈ €650 |
Because the tax-free allowance is taken off the top of your salary, it removes income that would otherwise be taxed at your highest marginal rate. That is why the saving is largest for higher earners — and why leading with a concrete number, rather than a vague percentage, is the honest way to show the value.
Illustrative only, using 2026 brackets. Your actual benefit depends on your salary, marginal rate and personal circumstances, and is limited by the salary cap (see below).
The 30% ruling runs for a maximum of five years from the start date stated in your Belastingdienst decision (beschikking). Any earlier period you spent in the Netherlands — including a previous spell under the ruling — is normally deducted from those five years, so a returning expat rarely receives a fresh full term.
The rate you receive depends on when your ruling started. For 2024, 2025 and 2026, the maximum tax-free allowance is the full 30% of your gross salary. From 1 January 2027 that maximum drops to a flat 27% for the remainder of your term — but only if your ruling started on or after 1 January 2024. If your ruling began before 1 January 2024, transitional law applies and you keep the full 30% for your entire five-year period.
There is no longer a tapering schedule. An earlier proposal (the "30-20-10" rule) would have reduced the allowance in stages across the five years, but it was withdrawn before it ever took effect. Your rate is flat for your whole remaining term — 30% or 27% depending on your start date — not stepped down year by year.
The tax-free allowance only applies up to a maximum salary, known as the WNT norm (formerly the "Balkenende norm"). For 2026 this cap is €262,000, which means the largest possible tax-free amount is €78,600 per year. Salary above the cap does not attract the tax-free portion. A transitional exception for people who started before 1 January 2023 has ended, and the cap now applies to everyone from 1 January 2026.
The 30% ruling has changed more in the last two years than in the decade before it, and several changes are still rolling in. Here is what matters if you hold the ruling now or are about to apply.
From 1 January 2027 the maximum falls from 30% to 27% for anyone whose ruling started on or after 1 January 2024. Rulings that began before 2024 keep the full 30% for their whole term. If you are planning a move or a hire for late 2026, build a little headroom into the salary package — the minimum thresholds also rise in 2027, to roughly €50,436 (standard) and around €38,388 for employees under 30 with a qualifying master's degree.
Separately from the 30% allowance, employers could reimburse certain actual extraterritorial costs tax-free. From 1 January 2026 this is curtailed: everyday cost-of-living items such as gas, water, electricity and private phone calls to your home country can no longer be reimbursed tax-free. If your package relied on these, expect a slightly higher taxable wage.
Until the end of 2024, ruling holders could elect to be treated as a non-resident taxpayer for Box 2 (substantial interest) and Box 3 (savings and investments). In practice that meant most foreign savings, investments and crypto fell outside Dutch tax. That option was abolished from 1 January 2025. If you hold foreign savings, investments or crypto, those Box 3 assets may now be taxable in the Netherlands where they previously were not. The one exception: if you were awarded the ruling in the last payroll period of 2023, you can still use partial foreign tax liability for one final year, until the end of 2026.
If any of this affects your situation, it is worth a short consultation before your next aangifte — the Box 3 impact in particular can be significant and is easy to miss.
Sources: Belastingdienst, Business.gov.nl, and the 2026 Tax Plan (Prinsjesdag 2025).
While the ruling applies, you and household members at the same address can exchange a foreign driving licence for a Dutch one without sitting the Dutch theory and practical exams — a privilege not otherwise available to most newcomers.
The fixed 30% (or 27%) allowance replaces the need to track and substantiate individual extraterritorial costs, which keeps your payroll cleaner and reduces disputes with the tax authority.
Because the allowance is a flat rate for your whole remaining term, you and your employer can plan net pay with certainty rather than estimating reimbursements each year.
We handle the 30% ruling end to end — eligibility, paperwork, and submission — and stay involved after approval. This service covers new applications, transfers to a new employer, and re-applications for returning ruling holders; we'll tell you upfront which situation you're in.
We review your contract, start date, salary, qualifications and residence history against every condition, and confirm in writing whether you qualify before any fee is due.
We prepare the joint application, draft the required written agreement for your employer, and assemble the supporting documents.
We coordinate with your employer or their payroll provider so the ruling is applied correctly from the right payroll period.
We submit to the tax authority and track the decision. A decision typically takes around 10–14 weeks; once granted it applies retroactively to your start date if filed within four months of starting work.
After approval we can verify each year that your employer has applied the ruling correctly on your payslips and in your annual tax return — a check we already run for our personal tax clients.
Covers new applications, employer transfers and returning-holder re-applications.
Combining the application with your personal tax return? Ask about a bundled price.
Straight answers to the questions expats ask most before applying.
The Belastingdienst typically issues a decision within about 10 to 14 weeks, though busy periods can be longer. If you apply within four months of your first working day, an approved ruling applies retroactively to your start date; apply later and it only starts from the month after you file.
When the five-year term ends, your full salary becomes taxable in Box 1 and your net pay falls accordingly. Separately, from 1 January 2027 the maximum allowance drops from 30% to 27% for rulings that started on or after 1 January 2024. We can model the change so you and your employer can plan for it.
Possibly, but any earlier period in the Netherlands is deducted from the five-year maximum, and you must still meet the 150-kilometre distance test for the 24 months before your new contract. Returning expats often qualify for a shorter remaining term rather than a fresh five years.
Yes. The tax-free allowance applies to your regular wage including bonuses and holiday allowance, as long as they count as current employment income — up to the WNT salary cap of €262,000 in 2026. Income above that cap does not attract the tax-free portion.
The 30% ruling is a payroll benefit that makes part of your salary tax-free. Partial foreign tax liability was a separate election that let ruling holders be treated as non-residents for Box 2 and Box 3, keeping most foreign savings and investments outside Dutch tax. That election was abolished from 1 January 2025, with a transitional exception until the end of 2026 for those awarded the ruling in the last payroll period of 2023.
Yes, but it is not automatic — a new joint application is required, and the gap between jobs must generally be no more than three months to preserve continuity. The remaining term carries over; you do not get a fresh five years. We handle the transfer application for you.
Typically your employment contract, passport or ID, BSN, proof of your address history for the 24 months before you started, your CV and diplomas (especially for the under-30 master's threshold), and your employer's payroll tax details. We send you a precise checklist once we confirm your eligibility.
Yes. In 2026 your taxable salary after the allowance must be at least €48,013. If you are under 30 with a qualifying master's degree, a reduced threshold of €36,497 applies. Both figures are indexed annually and rise again in 2027.
Send us your start date and salary and we'll tell you — before you pay anything.
Dutch Tax Point advisory team
NBA-registered tax advisers
Our advisers specialise in expat taxation — the 30% ruling, M-form migration-year returns, and Box 3 — and work in English, Dutch and Ukrainian. Every 30% ruling application is prepared and reviewed by a qualified adviser, not a form-filler.
Tell us about your situation. We'll reply within one business day — by email or phone — and point you to the right next step. For 1-on-1 professional advice, book a paid tax consultation.
A €300 fixed fee, an eligibility check before you commit, and a team that handles the Belastingdienst for you. Start online, or talk to an adviser first.
Prefer to talk first? Call, WhatsApp or message us — we reply in English, Dutch and Ukrainian.