The 30% ruling is a Dutch tax advantage for highly skilled employees hired abroad to work in the Netherlands. It offers compensation for the extra costs that people from abroad make when they live and work in the Netherlands. The employer can pay up to 30% of the salary as a tax-free allowance for up to 60 months (or five years).

From 2024 on, the 30% ruling has a salary cap. The ruling can only be applied to a maximum salary of €233,000. Any income exceeding this limit will not benefit from the tax exemption.

An approved 30% ruling is for 5 years/60 months, however, the percentage is gradually reduced over the years:

– In the first 20 months, a 30% wage exemption applies.
– This is followed by a 20% exemption for the next 20 months.
– Finally, a 10% exemption applies for the last 20 months.

Dutch Tax Authorities give all information on the requirements. The main requirements are being recruited from abroad, former residency on more than 150 kilometers from the Dutch border and a yearly changing salary requirement.

– the employee must (originally, so before the first employment in the Netherlands) have been recruited from abroad.
– the employee must have lived on a distance of more than 150 kilometers from the Dutch border in 16 out of 24 for months before she/he arrived in the Netherlands. This has to be proven by documents. 

Past stays in the Netherlands will be deducted from the total length of the ruling (if the employee is eligible after all).

The salary requirement for the 30% ruling changes on a yearly basis. The new criterion is usually published in December. Dutch Tax Authorities call the salary requirement ‘specific expertise’. More on that here.

If the salary is above the minimum amount + 30% the employee will enjoy the full 30% advantage. If the salary is lower, your employee will receive a partial benefit. Some employers choose to only implement full 30% ruling benefits. We always advice to also implement partial 30% rulings, the employee’s salary might rise and with that s/he may be eligible for the full benefit. Besides this, the competition on the labour market is fierce, not implementing a rule in which the employee only get partial benefit may mean the difference to choose for another employer.

People who are up to 30 years of age and hold a master degree that has been valued equally to a Dutch master of science have a lower salary criterion. But be aware! As soon as the employee turns 30 years, the higher criterion will apply.

An application for the 30% ruling might seem like an relatively easy task. However, there are many items that you have to take in to account. Moreover, the risk when the rule has been implemented correctly is high; the ruling may even be stopped in retrospective! Anywr Netherlands has a specialized team that can support with 30% applications.

Anywr Netherlands offers a fast track 30% ruling service, which means implementation can be done immediately after we have let you know that the employee is eligible for the 30% ruling.