The Dutch 30% Ruling in 2026: Who Qualifies and What Changes in 2027

The 30% ruling (30%-regeling, now officially the expat scheme or expatregeling) lets a Dutch employer pay a recruited-from-abroad employee up to 30% of their salary tax-free in 2026, for a maximum of five years. From 1 January 2027 the maximum drops to 27%, and for people who started in 2025 or later a higher salary norm applies too.

The tax-free part is meant to cover the extra costs of moving (extraterritorial costs). It is a joint decision: the employer and the employee apply together, and the employer runs it through payroll.

Who qualifies in 2026

• Recruited from abroad, or transferred within a multinational group.
• The 150 km rule: in the 24 months before starting work in the Netherlands, the employee lived more than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border for more than 16 months.
• Specific expertise that is scarce in the Dutch labour market. This is tested through salary: in 2026 the taxable salary must be more than €48,013 a year, not counting the tax-free allowance.
• Under-30 master's graduates: a lower norm of €36,497 applies to employees under 30 with a Dutch master's degree or a foreign equivalent.
• No salary norm for scientific researchers at certain institutions and doctors in specialist training.

The rate and the cap

In 2025 and 2026 the maximum tax-free allowance is 30% of the salary. Since 2024 it is calculated over a salary of at most the public-sector pay norm, which is €262,000 in 2026. That means the tax-free allowance can be at most €78,600 in 2026. Since 1 January 2026 the cap applies to all expats, including those who were earlier covered by a transition rule.

What changes on 1 January 2027

The law has been passed. Which rules apply depends on when the employee's ruling first applied:

Ruling first applied	2025 and 2026	From 1 January 2027
By 31 December 2023	30%, current salary norm	30% for the rest of the five years, current salary norm
In 2024	30%, current salary norm	27%, current salary norm
From 1 January 2025	30%, current salary norm	27%, new higher salary norm

Business.gov.nl gives the new norm as €50,436 a year, and €38,388 for employees under 30 with a master's degree, and notes that the norms are adjusted for inflation each year. Use the amount the Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) publishes for 2027 when you plan offers.

Note that the government sources word the start date slightly differently: Rijksoverheid applies the new norm to rulings that started from 1 January 2025, while Business.gov.nl mentions employees who started from 1 January 2024. Check the employee's own case with the Belastingdienst.

How long it lasts

A ruling lasts up to five years. Earlier periods of stay or work in the Netherlands in the 25 years before arrival are deducted. A five-year ruling can therefore be much shorter for someone who studied or worked in the country before.

The partial non-resident tax status that used to come with the ruling has gone. Since 1 January 2025 it can no longer be chosen, apart from a transition until the end of 2026 for some employees who already had it at the end of 2023.

Employer obligations

1. Apply in time. File the request with the Belastingdienst within four months of the first working day, so it applies from the start of employment. Business.gov.nl says the answer comes within 8 weeks.
2. Wait for the decision before running the allowance through payroll, or correct payroll once it arrives.
3. Watch the salary. If the salary in a year falls below the indexed norm, the ruling lapses retroactively to 1 January of that year. A pay cut, unpaid leave or a move to part-time can trigger this.
4. Plan for 2027. Tell 2024+ starters their net pay will change on 1 January 2027, and check whether 2025+ starters still meet the new norm.
5. Changing employer. The new employer and the employee must file a new request. There is no automatic transfer, except within a group of related employers or where the business is taken over.

The ruling is a tax decision, separate from immigration. A non-EU hire still needs a residence permit through the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), usually as a highly skilled migrant (kennismigrant) via a recognised sponsor. In 2026 (the IND changes these amounts every 1 January) the monthly salary criterion is €5,942 gross for people aged 30 or older, €4,357 under 30 and €3,122 for recent graduates (excluding holiday pay). See our guide to recognised sponsor status and Dutch work permit compliance risks.

How it compares

Sweden has a similar scheme, the expert tax (expertskatt): 25% of pay is tax-free for seven years, for salaries above SEK 88,800 a month for work starting in 2026. A government proposal from June 2026 would raise it to 30% for work starting from 1 January 2027. Details in our expert tax guide and the Sweden vs Germany vs Netherlands comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 30% ruling still 30% in 2026?

Yes. In 2025 and 2026 the maximum tax-free allowance is still 30% of salary. It drops to 27% on 1 January 2027 for anyone whose ruling first applied in 2024 or later.

What is the 30% ruling salary norm in 2026?

The taxable salary must be more than €48,013 a year, excluding the tax-free allowance. For employees under 30 with a master's degree, the norm is €36,497. Some researchers and doctors in training are exempt.

Who keeps 30% after 2027?

Employees whose ruling first applied by 31 December 2023 keep 30% for the rest of their five years, under the current salary norm. Everyone who started later moves to 27% from 2027.

What happens to the ruling if the salary drops?

If the salary in a year falls below the indexed norm, the ruling lapses retroactively to 1 January of that year. Employers should check every pay change for staff on the ruling.

How Settio helps employers and agencies

Settio helps employers and immigration agencies run every work permit and relocation case in one place, from the first step to the renewal:

• Before the move: a plan for every hire, with each step, owner and deadline counted back from the start date, and documents that check themselves as they come in.
• After arrival: the employee portal shows the new hire their next steps on their phone, in their language, with no account or password.
• For the renewal: permit and salary monitoring tracks every expiry date and flags the extension in good time.

Your first hire is free, and agencies can try a real case for free. See plans and start.

Sources

10 official sources

• Business.gov.nl: The expat scheme (30% ruling)
• Business.gov.nl: 30% ruling: compensation down to 27%
• Rijksoverheid: Expatregeling hoogopgeleide buitenlandse werknemers
• Belastingdienst: Deskundigheidsvereiste (salarisnorm 2026)
• Belastingdienst: Beschikking: geldigheid en toetsen voorwaarden
• Belastingdienst: Inhoud van de expatregeling
• IND: Required amounts income requirements
• Forskarskattenämnden: Remuneration rate for tax relief
• Forskarskattenämnden: About tax relief
• Regeringen: Lagrådsremiss Skatteincitament för forskning och utveckling (June 2026)