30-tax-ruling-netherlands
Dutch 30 percent tax ruling

The 30% ruling in the Netherlands is a tax facility for expats or – to be more precise – for incoming employees (migrants) who come to work in the Netherlands and who have expertise that is scarcely available in the Netherlands.

The tax advantage consist of a tax free allowance of maximum 30% of the salary which is subject to Dutch payroll tax. The remaining 70% will be taxed based on the standard tax brackets. The tax free allowance is supposed to cover the extraterritorial costs which the employee faces due to the international assignment.

The 30% ruling is granted when the appropriate requirements are met.

Requirements 30% tax ruling

  • the employee has specific expertise or skills that are scarce on the Dutch labour market;
  • the employee’s salary is at least EUR 37,000 per year (exceptions apply for employees under the age of 30 who have obtained a master degree (EUR 28,125) and for people who are conducting scientific research at a research institution (salary amount is not relevant)) – if the salary requirement is met, it is assumed that the employee has a “specific expertise”;
  • the employee lived at least 150 kilometres from the Dutch border during more than 16 months of the 24 months prior to the employee’s first day of work in the Netherlands;
  • the employee is recruited from abroad or is transferred from abroad to the Netherlands;
  • the employee works for an employer that is registered with the Dutch tax office and pays payroll tax; and
  • employer and employee have to agree in writing that the 30% tax ruling is applicable.

The 30% ruling can be granted for a maximum of 8 years. This term can be reduced with the periods of previous stay in the Netherlands, unless these periods ended more than 25 years ago.

If the employee has a 30% ruling and changes employer it is possible to transfer the ruling to a new employer. This is only possible when the employee got employed within 3 months after leaving the former employer.

Assistance on filing an application for the 30% ruling

If you would like to have more information regarding the 30% ruling, such as requirements and obligations, please contact us via info@wearelawyers.nl or call us at +31 (0)20 210 11 99 or leave us a message via the contact form below. We will be happy to take care of the application process with the Dutch tax authorities.

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