The Dutch 30% ruling in 2027: what changes and who keeps 30%
The maximum tax-free share drops to 27% — but not for everybody, and not on the schedule that was announced first. Two details decide which rate applies to you.
The Dutch expat scheme lets an employer pay part of your salary free of tax for up to five years. From 1 January 2027 the maximum share falls from 30% to 27%. Two things about that change are widely misreported.
Who actually loses the three points
The reduction applies to people hired on or after 1 January 2024. Anyone hired before that date keeps 30% for the remainder of their five-year period. So the cut is not a flat change to the scheme — it splits recipients into two groups by hire date.
The 30/20/10 phase-down was cancelled
An earlier plan would have stepped the benefit down from 30% to 20% and then 10% over the five years. That plan was scrapped and replaced by the single reduction to 27%. Pages describing the stepped version are out of date, and a surprising number of them still rank.
The income standard is a separate moving part
Eligibility also depends on an income standard, and it is indexed annually. For 2026 it is €48,013 of taxable annual wages, or €36,497 for employees under 30 holding a Dutch master's degree or a recognised foreign equivalent.
One detail is easy to miss: the standard applies to taxable wages excluding the exemption itself, so it is not measured against your full gross salary. The reduced threshold runs until the end of the month in which you turn 30, after which the general one applies.
What is not published yet
At the time of writing the income thresholds for 2027 have not been published. Any page quoting them is guessing. We will add them when the tax administration publishes them, and the check date on our Netherlands pages will move at the same time.
The practical order of checks
- Establish your hire date: before or on/after 1 January 2024. That decides 30% or 27% from 2027.
- Check your taxable wages against the standard for the year in question, excluding the exemption.
- If you are under 30 with a master's degree, check when you turn 30 — the lower standard ends that month.
- Remember the five-year cap runs from the start of the benefit, not from your arrival.
This page is information, not advice. We are not an employer, a recruitment agency, a visa centre or an immigration adviser, and we are not affiliated with any government body. Rules change — confirm against the official source before you act.