The 30% ruling lets your employer pay up to 30% of your gross salary tax-free for up to five years, which adds roughly €1,000 a month to net pay at an €80,000 salary. In 2026 your taxable salary after the tax-free part must exceed €48,013 (€36,497 if you are under 30 with a master’s), and the tax-free amount is capped at a salary of €262,000.
What is the 30% ruling in the Netherlands?
The 30% ruling is a tax facility for skilled employees recruited from abroad. Your employer may reimburse extraterritorial costs, such as the extra expense of living away from home, as a flat 30% of your salary without withholding wage tax on it. You do not need to prove the actual costs. The ruling applies for a maximum of five years and has to be requested jointly by you and your employer, within four months of your start date to get the benefit from day one.
Who qualifies in 2026?
You must be recruited from outside the Netherlands, live more than 150 km from the Dutch border during most of the 24 months before you started, have specific expertise that is scarce on the Dutch labour market (met automatically if you reach the salary norm) and be employed by a Dutch payroll-registered employer. In 2026 your taxable salary after taking out the tax-free 30% has to be more than €48,013, or more than €36,497 if you are under 30 and hold a master’s degree that has been verified in the Netherlands. Scientific researchers and doctors in specialist training are exempt from the norm.
The norm applies to the taxable part, not the total package. That matters: a package of €62,000 with 30% taken tax-free leaves a taxable €43,400, which fails the test. To qualify you need a gross package of about €68,590. The calculator shows that threshold for your chosen norm.
How much is the ruling worth?
Because the allowance sits at the top of your income, it removes income from your highest bracket. For many people on €60,000 to €100,000 that is a gain of 10% to 15% of net pay. Run the same salary through the Netherlands salary calculator with the ruling switched on to see monthly and 4-week figures, or compare scenarios here. A higher base salary does not give a bigger percentage gain, because the cap and the top bracket rate change the picture.
2026 and 2027 changes you should know about
| Item | 2026 | From 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Tax-free percentage | 30% | 27% for new rulings |
| Standard salary norm | €48,013 | Higher, then indexed |
| Reduced norm (under 30, master’s) | €36,497 | Higher, then indexed |
| Salary cap for the allowance | €262,000 | WNT norm for that year |
People whose ruling started before 2024 keep 30% under transitional rules, and the cap applies to them from 2026. Anyone starting in 2024 to 2026 gets 30% in 2025 and 2026 and 27% from 2027 onwards for the rest of the term. If you are planning a move, a start date in 2026 has a real impact on the total benefit.
What the ruling does not change
- Social security premiums are still due on your full salary in the usual way.
- Your mortgage capacity is based on the taxable salary, so lenders see less income. The maximum mortgage calculator helps you check that effect.
- The partial non-resident tax treatment for box 2 and 3 ends after 2026, so check the box 3 calculator if you have savings.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your total gross annual salary, including the part that would be tax-free.
- Choose 30% for the 2026 rules or 27% for the scenario that applies from 2027.
- Pick the standard norm, or the lower norm if you are under 30 with a qualifying master’s degree.
- Compare the two net figures and check the salary-norm line for a green light.
Key figures at a glance
| Tax-free share | 30% in 2026, 27% from 2027 (new rulings) |
|---|---|
| Duration | Maximum 5 years |
| Salary norm 2026 | €48,013 taxable (€36,497 under 30 with a master’s) |
| Salary cap for the allowance | €262,000 in 2026 |
| Distance rule | More than 150 km from the Dutch border |
| Who applies | Employer and employee together |
Frequently asked questions
The taxable salary after removing the 30% tax-free part must be above €48,013, which means a gross package of about €68,590. For under-30s with a recognised master’s the norm is €36,497 taxable, or about €52,139 gross.
Yes. From 1 January 2027 the maximum tax-free percentage drops to 27% for rulings that start in 2027 and later. People who start in 2024, 2025 or 2026 get 30% until the end of 2026 and then 27%.
Up to five years from the start of employment, reduced by earlier periods of work or study in the Netherlands within the past 25 years.
Yes. You pay normal wage tax and contributions on the taxable 70%. The ruling removes the 30% allowance from taxable wages only.
Yes, but the ruling then starts on the first day of the month after your application, unless you apply within four months of your start date, in which case it runs from day one.