Do you qualify for the 30% ruling?

By Skyler Bissell · July 14, 2026 · 5 min read

The 30% ruling is generous, and the gate to it is specific. Plenty of people assume "moving to the Netherlands for a job" is enough, then find out at the worst moment that a border-distance rule or a missed deadline shut them out. Here's the actual 2026 checklist, in plain terms.

If you want the mechanics first (how the allowance is calculated, what it's worth, the 2027 change), start with the 30% ruling explained. This page is about one question: are you eligible?

The five things you actually need

1. A Dutch employer that runs payroll here. The ruling is an employer-applied facility, so you need an employment relationship with a Dutch withholding agent. Freelancers billing from their own one-person company generally can't use it; it's built around a payslip.
2. Recruited or seconded from abroad. Your employer has to have hired or transferred you from another country. If you were already living in the Netherlands and simply changed jobs, you're out, with one narrow exception for recent Dutch doctorate graduates (below).
3. The 150km rule. For more than 16 of the 24 months before your first Dutch working day, you must have lived more than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border. This is the one that surprises people: it disqualifies most of Belgium and Luxembourg and big parts of western Germany and northern France, whatever your passport says. Where you lived matters, not where you're from.
4. Scarce, specific expertise, proven by your salary. Rather than judge your skills directly, the tax office uses a salary floor as the test. Clear the norm and you're presumed to have scarce expertise. In 2026 that's €48,013 of taxable salary (after the allowance), or €36,497 if you're under 30 and hold a Dutch-recognised master's. People with a PhD moving into research, and some medical specialists in training, have their own eased tests.
5. A granted ruling. None of the above applies until you and your employer file for it and the Belastingdienst approves. It's a joint application that has to be made and signed off; looking eligible on paper does nothing on its own.

The 2026 salary thresholds

The threshold is the taxable salary that has to remain after the 30% comes off, which is why the gross you need to take the full allowance is higher. Earn between the two and you may still get the ruling on a reduced allowance. Both norms are indexed every year, and they climb again in 2027 for anyone who started on or after 1 January 2024.

Apply within four months, or lose the backdating

This is the deadline that quietly costs people money. File the joint application with the Belastingdienst within four months of your first working day, and the ruling is backdated to that first day. File it later and it only takes effect from the month after approval. The months in between are simply taxed at full rates, and you don't get them back.

The maximum term is five years, but your own clock can be shorter. Any earlier period you spent living or working in the Netherlands in the 25 years before you start is deducted from the five years up front.

The edge cases people ask about

• Changing jobs. The ruling can move with you, but it isn't automatic. You and the new employer file again, usually within three months of the old contract ending, you still have to meet the salary norm, and the five-year clock keeps running from your original start date.
• Dutch PhD graduates. If you did a doctorate in the Netherlands and start a qualifying job within a year of finishing, you can be treated as recruited from abroad even though you were living here, provided you met the 150km rule before you began your studies.
• Dropping below the norm mid-year. If a pay cut, a sabbatical, or parental leave pushes your salary under the threshold for the year, the ruling can lapse. It's tied to clearing the norm each year, not just on day one.
• The 2027 tightening. If you started on or after 1 January 2024, expect a higher salary bar from 2027 and the 27% rate. If you started before 2024, you're grandfathered on both.

Qualifying gets you in the door. It doesn't settle the move.

Say you check every box. Good, but that only tells you the ruling is available. It says nothing about whether the move actually pays. The 30% ruling is worth around 16% of gross in real take-home, and that's one line in a much bigger sum that includes childcare, healthcare, and the cost of living where you're landing. A qualifying offer can still be the wrong offer, and a package with no tax break at all can still be the one to take.

So once you know you're eligible, run the whole thing:

• Put your real salary and family into the calculator →
• The 30% ruling, explained: how the allowance is calculated and what it's actually worth
• Is the 30% ruling actually worth it? Expat tax breaks, decoded: the ruling set against Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Italy
• San Francisco vs Amsterdam: a US tech salary against Amsterdam, ruling included

FAQ

What are the requirements for the 30% ruling in 2026?

You need to be on a Dutch payroll, recruited or seconded from abroad, pass the 150km rule (you lived more than 150km from the Dutch border for more than 16 of the 24 months before your first working day), and earn at least the salary norm: €48,013 taxable in 2026, or €36,497 if you're under 30 with a Dutch-recognised master's. You and your employer then apply jointly to the Belastingdienst.

What is the 150km rule for the 30% ruling?

To count as genuinely recruited from abroad, you must have lived more than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border for more than 16 of the 24 months before you started your Dutch job. This rules out most residents of Belgium, Luxembourg, and large parts of western Germany and northern France, regardless of nationality.

What is the minimum salary for the 30% ruling in 2026?

Your taxable salary after the 30% allowance must be at least €48,013 in 2026, which means a gross of roughly €68,600 or more to take the full allowance. The reduced norm for employees under 30 with a Dutch-recognised master's degree is €36,497. Both are indexed yearly.

Can I get the 30% ruling if I already live in the Netherlands?

Generally no. The ruling is for people recruited or seconded from abroad, so you must have been living outside the 150km zone when you were hired. The main exception is people who come to the Netherlands to earn a doctorate and take a qualifying job shortly after; a normal local job switch after you've already settled here does not qualify.

How do I apply for the 30% ruling?

You and your employer file a joint request with the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst). Apply within four months of your first working day and the ruling is backdated to day one. Apply later and it only starts from the month after approval, so the delay costs you tax-free months you can't get back.

Do I keep the 30% ruling if I change jobs?

It can carry over, but it isn't automatic. You and the new employer must file a fresh application, usually within three months of the old job ending, and you still have to meet the salary norm at the new job. The five-year clock keeps running from your original start date; changing jobs doesn't reset it.

This is general information about the 30% ruling, not tax or immigration advice. Thresholds and rules are current at publication and indexed or amended yearly, and eligibility turns on your specific situation, so confirm with your employer's tax team or an adviser before you rely on it. See the methodology.