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Netherlands · Tax · Verified September 20, 2026
The Dutch 30% ruling—officially called the Expat Scheme (30% facility)—can allow an employer to pay part of an eligible employee’s salary tax-free as compensation for extraterritorial costs. It is not automatic, not every international hire qualifies, and “30%” is a maximum rather than a guaranteed payment.
2026 thresholds at a glance
| Category | 2026 taxable annual wage threshold |
|---|---|
| Standard specific-expertise test | More than €48,013 |
| Under 30 with qualifying Dutch academic master’s or equivalent foreign degree | More than €36,497 |
| Qualifying scientific researchers / doctors training as specialists | No salary threshold under the stated exception |
The main conditions
- You are in paid employment.
- You meet the specific-expertise requirement, usually through the salary threshold.
- You were recruited from outside the Netherlands.
- You satisfy the distance-from-the-border rule.
- You and your employer obtain a valid Tax Administration decision.
The 150km rule
To qualify as an incoming employee under the standard rule, you must have lived more than 150 kilometres as the crow flies from the Dutch border for more than 16 months of the 24 months before your first working day in the Netherlands. This excludes residents of Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of Germany, France and the United Kingdom under the normal test.
How much can be paid tax-free?
The scheme allows an employer to pay up to 30% of salary including the allowance tax-free instead of reimbursing actual extraterritorial costs. Your employer is not required to give you the full 30%; the agreed allowance can be lower.
For 2026, the Tax Administration says the maximum annual tax-free allowance is €78,600. That maximum corresponds to a salary of €262,000 or more when the scheme applies for the full year; part-year use is time-proportioned.
Important 2027 change: the maximum remains 30% in 2025 and 2026. From 1 January 2027, the standard maximum falls to 27% for employees whose expat scheme first applied in 2024 or later. Transitional rules protect some earlier cases: where the scheme was already applied no later than the final payroll period of 2023 and the transition conditions continue to be met, the maximum can remain 30% for the rest of the decision. Salary-standard transition rules also differ by start year, so anyone planning beyond 2026 should check the 2027 rules rather than extrapolating the 2026 thresholds.
How long can the decision last?
The Tax Administration states that a decision can run for up to 5 years. Earlier periods of work or residence in the Netherlands can reduce the duration, subject to the official exceptions.
How do you apply?
You do not apply alone as an employee. The Tax Administration instructs you to complete the application together with your employer. The current application form is available from Belastingdienst, and the Tax Administration says it will normally inform applicants of its decision within eight weeks.
If you change employers outside a connected group and want to continue an existing ruling, current guidance says you must start with the new employer within three months of leaving the old job and submit the new application within four months of starting with the new employer to use the scheme from that first working day.
Five mistakes international hires make
- Assuming the salary threshold alone guarantees approval. Other conditions still apply.
- Using gross salary without understanding the official threshold definition. The stated income standard is taxable annual wage excluding the specific exemption.
- Ignoring the 150km/16-of-24-month test.
- Assuming the employer must pay the full 30%. It is a maximum.
- Using last year’s threshold. The income standards are indexed annually.
Official sources checked
- Belastingdienst — Expat Scheme eligibility and 2026 thresholds
- Belastingdienst — expertise requirement
- Belastingdienst — 2026 application form
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