The Netherlands 30% ruling, explained

By Skyler Bissell · July 14, 2026 · 6 min read

The 30% ruling is the most talked-about, least understood line in any Dutch job offer. A recruiter mentions it, you picture 30% more money, and you're already spending a raise the tax office never promised you.

Here's what it actually is: a tax-free allowance a qualifying inbound worker gets on part of their pay, for up to five years. It's genuinely valuable on a high salary. It is not a 30% raise, it comes with a salary floor and a cap, and the version people brag about is already smaller than it used to be. Let's take it apart.

What the 30% ruling actually is

The 30% ruling (30%-regeling) is a Dutch tax facility for employees recruited or seconded from abroad who bring skills that are scarce on the local market. Once the tax office grants it, your employer can treat up to 30% of your gross salary as a tax-free reimbursement for the "extraterritorial" costs of relocating, instead of you itemising receipts. In practice it's not about receipts at all. It's a flat allowance that lowers the income your Box 1 tax (the bracket that covers salary) is charged on.

That's the whole mechanism. Your gross doesn't change. The slice paid as an allowance simply isn't taxed, so your effective rate falls and more of the same gross lands in your account.

How the allowance is calculated (and why smaller salaries don't get the full 30%)

This is the part most explainers skip, and it's the part that catches people out. The 30% is not unconditional. Your taxable salary after the allowance has to stay above a legal floor, the salary norm. In 2026 that floor is €48,013 for most people (€36,497 if you're under 30 with a Dutch-recognised master's).

So the allowance is whichever is smaller: 30% of your gross, or however much you can shave off before you hit the floor.

• On €100,000, a full 30% allowance is €30,000, leaving €70,000 taxable. That's well clear of €48,013, so you get the whole 30%.
• On €65,000, a full 30% would be €19,500, leaving €45,500 taxable, which is below the floor. So the allowance is trimmed to €65,000 − €48,013 = €16,987, about 26% of gross rather than 30%.
• Below about €68,600, the floor starts biting and your real percentage slips under 30. The ruling quietly rewards higher salaries.

The tax-free part is also capped at the top. Since 2024 the 30% only applies to gross up to the WNT norm (the "Balkenende norm"), set at €262,000 for 2026. Earn above that and the slice above the cap is taxed normally.

What it's actually worth

"30% tax-free" reads like "+30% take-home." It isn't, and the gap is the whole point. You weren't paying 100% tax on that slice, so exempting it is only worth the tax you skip on it, which is a good deal less than the slice.

Run a single filer through cityparity's Amsterdam engine, income tax only, before living costs:

Both land near 16% of gross. That's a real chunk of money, a daycare bill or a car every year, but it's about half of what "30%" makes you expect. If you want the full line-by-line version, the expat tax breaks explainer works the €150,000 case out step by step, and you can drop your own salary into the calculator to see your number.

The 2026 numbers at a glance

Whether you actually qualify for any of this is a separate checklist: the 150km rule, recruited-from-abroad, the application window. That's its own page: do you qualify for the 30% ruling?

Why it's smaller than it used to be

The 30% ruling has been trimmed steadily, so the deal your colleague got in 2019 is not the deal on the table now.

• 2024: a cap arrived (the tax-free part limited to the WNT norm), and lawmakers introduced a step-down that would have cut the rate to 20% and then 10% over the five years.
• 2025 and 2026: that step-down was scrapped before it really bit. The rate is a flat 30% again for now.
• 2027: the rate becomes a flat 27% for everyone's remaining term, and the salary thresholds rise by roughly 9 to 10% above normal indexation, tightening who counts as "scarce." Anyone who was already using the ruling before 2024 is grandfathered: they keep the 30% rate and the old thresholds, still indexed each year.

One more change worth knowing if you have investments: the "partial non-resident" status that let ruling holders skip Dutch tax on foreign savings and investments (Box 2 and Box 3) was abolished from 2025, with transitional cover into 2026 for people who held the ruling before 2024. If that's you, it's a conversation for an advisor, not a blog.

So, is it worth it?

If you're a high earner moving to the Netherlands and you qualify, yes, plainly, for as long as it lasts. It's one of the better expat regimes in Europe even at 27%. Just size it honestly: about 16% of gross, for a fixed five-year window, not a permanent raise. Budget your rent around the year-six number so the drop doesn't surprise you.

And remember the ruling only moves one line. It makes the offer letter bigger; it does nothing about the childcare, healthcare, and cost lines that actually decide whether a move pays. More often than people expect, a Dutch package comes out ahead once those are counted, and the tax break is the smaller reason why. That's the argument the full expat tax breaks teardown makes with the numbers.

Put in your real salary and your real family and see the whole picture:

• Run your own numbers in the calculator →
• Do you qualify for the 30% ruling? The 150km rule and the 2026 checklist
• Is the 30% ruling actually worth it? Expat tax breaks, decoded, the full comparison against Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Italy
• San Francisco vs Amsterdam, a US tech salary against Amsterdam with the ruling in play
• NYC vs Amsterdam, the same move from New York

FAQ

Is 30% of my salary really tax-free under the Dutch 30% ruling?

Up to 30% of your gross can be paid as a tax-free allowance in 2026, which shrinks the income you're taxed on in Box 1. But "tax-free" describes the slice, not your raise. You were never taxed at 100% on that slice, so the value is only the tax you skip on it, which our engine puts at about 16% of gross, not 30%.

How much is the 30% ruling actually worth?

By cityparity's Amsterdam tax engine, a single filer keeps about €16,300 more a year on a €100,000 salary and about €24,100 more on €150,000. That's roughly 16% of gross in both cases, income tax only, before living costs. Real money, and well short of the full 30% the name suggests.

What is the 30% ruling salary requirement for 2026?

In 2026 your taxable salary after the allowance must be at least €48,013, or €36,497 if you're under 30 and hold a Dutch-recognised master's degree. Both figures are indexed each year. The full eligibility list is on the requirements page.

How long does the 30% ruling last?

Up to five years (60 months) for a new qualifying arrival. Any earlier periods you spent working or living in the Netherlands are subtracted from the clock. When it ends, your take-home drops in the same job, so plan your fixed costs around the post-ruling number.

Is the 30% ruling changing in 2027?

Yes. From 1 January 2027 the rate becomes a flat 27% for the remaining term, and the salary thresholds rise by roughly 9 to 10% on top of normal indexation. Employees who were already using the ruling before 2024 are protected: they keep the 30% rate and the old, indexed thresholds.

Does the 30% ruling reduce my social security or health premium?

The ruling reduces the income your Box 1 tax is charged on. It doesn't remove your mandatory Dutch health-insurance contribution, and it does nothing about employer-side costs. That's part of why the real value lands near 16% of gross rather than the headline 30%.

Take-home figures come from cityparity's per-city engine (income tax, single filer, before living costs) and are rounded. The 2026 thresholds, cap, and 2027 change are current at publication, but tax rules move and depend on personal circumstances, so confirm with an advisor before you decide anything. See the methodology.