Expat scheme (30% ruling)
The Dutch expat scheme lets an employer pay part of your salary free of tax for up to five years. In 2026 the maximum is 30%; from 1 January 2027 it drops to 27% for anyone hired on or after 1 January 2024.
Parameters by year
| Year | Tax-free share | Above the cap | Minimum income | Reduced minimum | Maximum duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30% | — | €48,013 | €36,497 | 5 years |
| 2027 | 27% | — | Not published yet | Not published yet | 5 years |
What changes
- 2026
Порог применяется к налогооблагаемой годовой зарплате без учёта самой льготы. Льготный порог €36 497 — для сотрудников с нидерландской магистерской степенью (или признанным зарубежным эквивалентом) до 30 лет; он действует до конца месяца, в котором сотруднику исполняется 30, дальше применяется общий порог. Порог индексируется раз в год.
- 2027
С 1 января 2027 максимальная необлагаемая доля снижается с 30% до 27% для тех, кто был нанят 1 января 2024 года или позже. Нанятые до 1 января 2024 года сохраняют 30%. Ранее обсуждавшаяся схема поэтапного снижения 30/20/10 отменена. Пороги дохода на 2027 год на момент проверки не опубликованы.
Who qualifies
- Salaried employment with an employer that withholds Dutch payroll tax.
- Recruited from abroad, or transferred within a multinational.
- Lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for at least 16 of the 24 months before the first working day.
- Taxable annual wages above the income standard for the year, excluding the exemption itself.
- The employer and employee apply jointly; applying within four months of the start date makes the scheme retroactive to day one.
More about Netherlands
- Moving to the Netherlands from the US: the number that decides it
For an American the Dutch route turns on one salary figure and one fact about who applies. In 2026 that figure is €5,942 a month — about 1.42 times what a full-time worker in the Netherlands actually earns.
- 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.
- Netherlands income tax brackets: 2024, 2025 and 2026 compared
In 2024 there were two bands; in 2025 there were three. And the falling headline rate is not a tax cut — the national insurance half has not moved since 2024.
- Moving from the Netherlands to Germany
- Moving from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands
- Moving from the Netherlands to Spain
- Moving from Germany to the Netherlands
- Moving from the Netherlands to Portugal
Sources
- 01Expertise requirement (30% facility)Belastingdienst — Netherlands Tax Administration ·
- 0230% ruling: compensation for expats down to 27%Business.gov.nl — Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) ·
Every figure here comes from an official source and carries the date we checked it. How we work with data.
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.