1. What Is the 30% Ruling?

The Dutch 30% ruling, officially known as the expat scheme (expatregeling), is a Dutch payroll-tax facility for qualifying employees who come to work in the Netherlands from abroad.

The facility is intended to compensate employees for certain extraterritorial costs — additional costs associated with temporarily living and working in another country.

Instead of reimbursing each eligible cost separately, an employer can use a percentage-based method when all legal conditions are met.

The employer can currently provide a tax-free reimbursement of up to the applicable percentage of the employee’s wages. The maximum percentage is not an automatic entitlement: the employer is not required to provide the maximum amount.

The employer can also choose to reimburse qualifying actual extraterritorial costs instead of using the percentage method. Under the current system, the choice between the percentage-based method and reimbursement of actual qualifying costs is made according to the applicable payroll rules.

The expat scheme is a tax facility. It is separate from immigration programmes such as the highly skilled migrant residence permit. Having a highly skilled migrant residence permit does not automatically give someone the right to use the 30% ruling.

2. What Changes in 2027?

The main planned change is a reduction in the maximum percentage that can be paid tax-free.

*The currently published 2027 income standards are €50,436 for the general category and €38,388 for qualifying employees under 30 with a Master’s degree. The income standards are subject to annual indexation. The planned reduction to 27% and higher income standard are expected to apply from 1 January 2027, but the entry into force remains subject to the legislative process.

The most important point is that not everyone using the expat scheme in 2026 automatically moves to 27% in 2027. Transitional rules apply to people who were already using the arrangement under the earlier rules.

3. 2027 Transition Rules Explained

The date on which the 30% ruling was being applied is important when determining which rules apply in 2027.

The Dutch government specifically publishes this three-part transitional structure. For employees who were already using the expat scheme no later than the last payroll period of 2023, the maximum 30% reimbursement remains available under the transition rules during the remaining term.

For employees who started applying the ruling in 2024, the maximum remains 30% during 2025 and 2026 but changes to 27% from 2027, while the applicable transitional salary standard remains.

For employees who first started using the expat scheme from 1 January 2025, the 27% maximum and the new salary standard are expected to apply from 2027.

The wording of the transition rules matters. It is more accurate to look at when the 30% ruling was actually applied rather than simply asking when the employee received a residence permit or when they physically moved to the Netherlands.

There are also special situations involving interruptions, previous employment and people who return to the Netherlands. These cases should be assessed against the specific transition rules rather than assuming that grandfathering automatically continues.

4. 2027 Salary Thresholds

The salary requirement is one of the most important conditions of the expat scheme.

For most employees, the relevant annual salary is tested excluding the tax-free reimbursement.

The under-30 standard applies to employees who are younger than 30 and who have a qualifying Dutch academic Master’s degree or an equivalent qualification from another country.

Employees carrying out scientific research at a designated research institution, and doctors training to become specialists, have special rules and can qualify without the normal salary requirement.

The salary threshold is not the only condition. The employee must also meet the other requirements of the expat scheme, including the recruitment/transfer and distance requirements.

*The 2027 published figures are subject to annual indexation. Check the final amount applicable to the relevant payroll year before relying on the figure for compliance.

Why is the salary requirement important?

The Dutch Tax Administration uses the salary standard as the main practical test for the required specific expertise for most applicants. The underlying rule concerns expertise that is scarce or difficult to find on the Dutch labour market.

This does not mean that every highly paid foreign employee automatically qualifies. The other conditions must also be satisfied.

5. 30% Ruling Eligibility Checklist

Meeting the salary standard by itself does not guarantee access to the expat scheme.

For a typical employee, check the following:

• ☐ You are employed by an employer in the Netherlands.
  The expat scheme is a payroll-tax facility for employees.
• ☐ You were recruited from abroad or transferred to the Netherlands.
  The rules cover qualifying employees recruited from outside the Netherlands and certain qualifying transfers.
• ☐ You meet the specific-expertise requirement.
  For most employees, the applicable salary standard is used as the main test.
• ☐ You meet the 150-kilometre requirement.
  The relevant residence period before starting work in the Netherlands must satisfy the distance test unless a special rule applies.
• ☐ You meet the applicable salary standard.
  The salary test is performed excluding the tax-free reimbursement.
• ☐ You and your employer make the required application.
  The employer and employee submit the application to the Tax Administration.
• ☐ You have an official 30% ruling decision or are covered by the applicable processing rules.
• ☐ You have enough remaining duration.
  The standard maximum is five years, but earlier Dutch work or residence can reduce the period.

6. The 150-Kilometre Rule

The 150-kilometre rule is one of the most important and most misunderstood eligibility conditions.

Generally, during the 24 months before your first working day in the Netherlands, you must have lived for more than 16 months at a distance of more than 150 kilometres as the crow flies from the Dutch border.

The measurement is taken from the Dutch border, not from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague or another Dutch city.

This means that simply living outside Amsterdam or having a foreign address does not automatically satisfy the condition.

The Tax Administration specifically states that the basic rule excludes people living in Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of Germany, France and the United Kingdom because those areas can be within 150 kilometres of the Dutch border.

There are special rules for certain people who previously worked in the Netherlands and later moved abroad. There are also specific rules involving people who begin doctoral research in the Netherlands.

Because of these exceptions, the basic 150-kilometre test should not be used to make a final determination in unusual cases.

7. How Long Can the Expat Scheme Last?

The maximum standard duration of the expat scheme is generally five years.

That does not mean every employee automatically receives five full years.

The Tax Administration can reduce the duration based on certain previous periods of work or residence in the Netherlands.

The official beschikking states the relevant start and end dates for the ruling.

Some older work periods or incidental stays can be treated differently. For example, the Tax Administration lists exceptions for certain periods that ended more than 25 years before the new employment and certain limited incidental stays in the Netherlands.

The practical lesson is simple:
do not assume that moving to the Netherlands automatically gives you a completely new five-year period.

8. How Is the 27% Reimbursement Calculated?

The phrase “30% ruling” can create confusion because the percentage is not always calculated as simply “30% of my gross salary.”

The Dutch Tax Administration explains that under the percentage-based method, the reimbursement can be calculated as a percentage of wages including the reimbursement itself.

The same principle would apply to the planned 27% maximum, subject to the final legislation.

A simple example

Suppose an employee has a salary of €100,000 excluding the tax-free reimbursement.

At a 27% maximum using the percentage-based method, the reimbursement cannot simply be calculated as €27,000.

The relationship is:

This example illustrates the calculation method only. It is not a prediction of an individual’s net salary and assumes that the employee qualifies, the 27% rule enters into force as planned and no other restrictions affect the calculation.

The employer can also choose to provide less than the maximum percentage.

Alternatively, the employer can reimburse eligible actual extraterritorial costs instead of using the percentage method.

9. The WNT Salary Cap

The expat scheme is subject to a maximum salary amount for the percentage-based tax benefit.

The cap is linked to the maximum remuneration under the Dutch Standards for Remuneration Act (Wet normering topinkomens, WNT).

For 2026, the general WNT remuneration maximum is €262,000.

For 2027, the general WNT remuneration maximum has been set at €273,000.

This means employees with very high salaries should not simply multiply their entire salary by 27% without considering the applicable WNT limit and the detailed payroll rules.

A transitional rule also exists for certain employees who were already using the expat scheme before 1 January 2023. The WNT cap began applying to all expat-scheme users from 1 January 2026.

The exact calculation can become more complicated for people with very high salaries, so the employer’s payroll department or tax adviser should verify the applicable treatment.

10. Who Applies for the Expat Scheme?

The employee does not simply activate the 30% ruling through their personal income-tax return.

The employer and employee apply together to the Dutch Tax Administration.

The current Tax Administration guidance states that the application should be completed together with the employer and that applicants normally receive a response within eight weeks.

The Tax Administration issues a formal beschikking stating the relevant details of the ruling.

There is an important practical nuance: under the applicable rules, the employer can in certain circumstances apply the expat scheme before the formal beschikking has been issued. The application must meet the required timing rules, and the employer remains responsible for applying the payroll rules correctly.

For a new employee, the application should therefore be discussed with the employer as early as possible rather than waiting until after the employee has already started working.

11. What Happens If You Change Employers?

Changing jobs does not automatically mean that you lose the expat scheme.

Changing employers within the same connected group

If you move between employers that belong to the same samenhangende groep inhoudingsplichtigen and you continue to meet the requirements, the existing decision can remain valid and a new application is generally not required.

Ask your employer or payroll department whether the old and new companies qualify as the same connected group under the relevant tax rules.

Changing to a different employer

If your new employer is outside the connected group, you and your new employer may need to request permission for the existing ruling to continue.

The timing is important.

These deadlines can determine from which date the expat scheme may be applied. If you are changing jobs, do not assume that your existing ruling will simply transfer automatically.

12. Partial Foreign Tax Liability: What Changes?

The partial foreign tax liability option (partiële buitenlandse belastingplicht) is separate from the 30% ruling itself.

From the 2025 income tax return, people can no longer newly choose partial foreign tax liability.

However, transitional rules exist for certain employees who were already using the expat scheme before 2024.

Under the transition, qualifying employees can continue to use partial foreign tax liability through their 2026 tax return.

For an expat planning ahead for 2027, this distinction is important:

• Expat scheme / 30% ruling: continues, with the planned 2027 percentage change and applicable transition rules.
• Partial foreign tax liability: the transitional arrangement does not continue into the 2027 tax return.

Partial foreign tax liability affected how certain income in Box 2 and Box 3 was treated for people living in the Netherlands and using the expat scheme. It should not be confused with the tax-free reimbursement itself.

13. Common 30% Ruling Mistakes

Mistake 1: “I am a highly skilled migrant, so I automatically qualify.”

No. The highly skilled migrant residence permit and the expat scheme are separate systems. A residence permit does not automatically establish entitlement to the tax facility.

Mistake 2: “The 2027 salary threshold is simply €50,436 gross.”

The salary standard is tested under the specific expat-scheme rules and excludes the tax-free reimbursement. The applicable amount is also subject to annual indexation.

Mistake 3: “Everyone gets 27% from January 2027.”

Not necessarily. Transitional rules mean that employees who were already using the scheme under the earlier rules can be treated differently.

Mistake 4: “The residence permit date tells me which 30% ruling rules apply.”

Not by itself. The transition rules focus on the application of the 30% ruling and the applicable payroll period, while separate rules determine eligibility.

Mistake 5: “My employer has to give me the full 30% or 27%.”

No. The percentage is the maximum tax-free reimbursement. The employer can agree to provide a lower amount.

Mistake 6: “The 150 km rule means I must have lived more than 150 km from Amsterdam.”

No. The relevant measurement is from the Dutch border, measured as the crow flies.

Mistake 7: “Changing employers automatically ends my ruling.”

Not always. The outcome depends on the relationship between the employers and whether the applicable timing and eligibility requirements continue to be satisfied.

Mistake 8: “A job offer saying ‘30% ruling included’ means it is already approved.”

No. The employer and employee must meet the relevant requirements and submit the application. The formal decision comes from the Tax Administration.

14. Your 30% Ruling 2027 Checklist

Planning to use or continue the Dutch expat scheme in 2027? Use this checklist with your employer or payroll department.

Keep a copy of your beschikking, employment contract, salary information and relevant Tax Administration correspondence. These documents can be useful if your employment situation changes or your payroll treatment needs to be checked.

15. 30% Ruling 2027 FAQ

Will the 30% ruling become 27% in 2027?

The current government and RVO information says the maximum reimbursement is expected to fall from 30% to 27% from 1 January 2027. The effective date remains subject to the legislative process.

What is the 2027 salary threshold for the 30% ruling in the Netherlands?

The currently published 2027 general income standard is €50,436. For qualifying employees under 30 with a Master’s degree, the published figure is €38,388. These amounts are subject to annual indexation.

What is the 2026 salary threshold?

For 2026, the general salary standard is €48,013. For qualifying employees under 30 with a Master’s degree, it is €36,497.

Can I keep 30% in 2027 if I already had the ruling before 2024?

Transitional rules can allow employees whose 30% ruling was already being applied no later than the last payroll period of 2023 to continue with a maximum 30% reimbursement during the remaining period.

What happens if my ruling started in 2024?

For the 2024 transition group, the maximum remains 30% in 2025 and 2026 and is expected to become 27% from 2027, while the applicable transitional salary standard remains.

What happens if I first started using the ruling in 2025?

The planned 27% maximum and new salary standard are expected to apply from 2027, assuming the legislation enters into force as planned and all other conditions continue to be met.

Do I need to live more than 150 km from Amsterdam?

No. The relevant test is more than 150 kilometres as the crow flies from the Dutch border, for more than 16 months during the relevant 24-month period before your first working day.

How long can the 30% ruling last?

The standard maximum duration is five years, but previous work or residence in the Netherlands can reduce the available period.

Can my employer pay less than 27%?

Yes. The percentage is a maximum. The employer is not required to provide the full maximum tax-free reimbursement.

Is the 30% ruling the same as the highly skilled migrant permit?

No. The expat scheme is a tax facility. The highly skilled migrant scheme is an immigration residence permit. They are separate systems with separate requirements.

Can I still use partial foreign tax liability in 2027?

The option can no longer be newly chosen from the 2025 tax return. Certain employees who were already using the expat scheme before 2024 can use the transitional arrangement through their 2026 tax return.

Can I change employers and keep my 30% ruling?

Potentially. If the employers belong to the same connected group and the conditions remain satisfied, the existing decision can remain valid. With a different employer outside the connected group, a new request may be required. Timing rules also apply.

How quickly does the Tax Administration process the application?

The current Belastingdienst guidance says that applicants normally receive a response within eight weeks.