The 30% ruling in 2026: what expats actually get

The 30% ruling lets qualifying international hires receive 30% of their salary tax-free for up to five years. At €90,000 that is worth about €14,268 of extra net pay in 2026. The percentage falls to 27% from 2027, and the taxable rest of your wage must stay at or above the €48,013 salary norm.

Who qualifies

You must be recruited from abroad or transferred by your employer, have lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for most of the two years before starting, and bring expertise that is scarce in the Dutch market, which in practice is tested through the salary norm. Your employer and you apply jointly to the Belastingdienst, and the grant runs at most 60 months, minus any earlier Dutch stays.

The norms and caps for 2026

Your taxable salary after applying the ruling must stay at or above €48,013, or €36,497 if you are under 30 with a qualifying master's degree. The tax-free percentage applies to wage up to the €262,000 public-sector pay norm, capping the benefit at €78,600 of tax-free salary. Between the norm and about €68,600 of gross, the benefit phases in gradually because of the norm floor; the 30% ruling calculator handles this automatically.

What changes in 2027

The enacted plan reduces the flat percentage to 27% from January 2027 and raises the salary norms. Rulings that were already running before 2024 keep transitional rights; everyone else, including grants started in 2025 and 2026, moves to 27%. If you are negotiating now, model your offer at both percentages before you rely on the difference.

Interactions worth knowing

The tax-free part is salary, so holiday allowance and bonuses count in the base. Pension accrual usually follows the full salary. If your ruling was applied in payroll by December 2023, you can still opt for partial non-resident treatment in Box 2 and 3 for 2025 and 2026; that option ends on 1 January 2027 and does not exist for later rulings. None of this page is tax advice; grants are decided by the Belastingdienst.

Frequently asked questions

Does the ruling survive a job change?

Within the same group of companies it carries over. With a new outside employer you need a new joint application, the gap between jobs must stay under three months, and the new salary must still meet the salary norm. The clock keeps running from the original start.

I earn less than the norm. Do I get a partial ruling?

Only the slice above the norm can be paid tax-free. Below the norm itself the ruling gives nothing, which our calculator reflects.

Is the 30% really tax-free money on top?

It is a tax-free portion of your agreed salary, not an employer top-up, replacing the old system of reimbursing actual extraterritorial costs.

2026 parameters per the Belastingdienst payroll newsletter (Uitgave 3). Last updated 2026-11-04.