30% Ruling Extension After 2024 Changes (2026 Guide)

This guide covers exactly what the 30% ruling is in 2026, what was announced in 2024 and then scrapped, what genuinely changes in 2027, eligibility, the 2026 salary norms, the application process, and how to plan your finances around the 5-year window.

💡 For broader tax context see tax filing for freelance expats, crypto tax Netherlands, and salary expectations Netherlands.

Quick answer: in 2025 and 2026 the allowance is a flat 30% of gross salary for the full 60 months. The 30/20/10 step-down from the 2024 Tax Plan was repealed before it took effect and is not law. From 1 January 2027 the maximum becomes 27%, unless your ruling was already being applied on or before 31 December 2023. The 2026 salary norm is €48,013 of taxable salary (€36,497 for under-30s with a qualifying master’s), and the allowance is capped at a salary of €262,000.

What the 30% Ruling Actually Is

The 30% ruling (30%-regeling) is a Dutch tax facility that lets qualifying expats receive 30% of their gross salary tax-free as a “reimbursement for extraterritorial costs” — without having to prove those costs actually exist. In effect, it converts 30% of your salary into a tax-free allowance, dramatically reducing your effective tax rate.

It has been a flat 30% for the entire duration for years, and it still is in 2026. What changed is the timeline ahead of it: a step-down was legislated in 2024 and then repealed, and a real cut to 27% arrives in 2027. Our 2027 guide to the 30% ruling sets out the official transition table and what the drop costs in euros.

Why the 30% Ruling Exists

The Dutch government created the ruling in the 1970s/80s to attract internationally mobile knowledge workers — specifically, people whose specific expertise wasn’t readily available in the Dutch labor market. The argument: these workers face higher costs (international school fees, two-country tax planning, multi-country logistics), so a tax allowance is fair compensation.

In practice, it’s a tool to make Dutch employer offers competitive against offers in lower-tax cities (Singapore, Dublin, Berlin, Switzerland).

The Step-Down That Was Announced and Then Scrapped

In late 2023 the Dutch parliament passed a reform that would have phased the 30% ruling down significantly:

• First 20 months at 30%
• Next 20 months at 20%
• Final 20 months at 10%

It was the most aggressive reduction in the history of the ruling, it was reported everywhere, and plenty of expat blogs and HR intranets still describe it as the law. It is not. After sustained pushback about the Netherlands’ ability to attract skilled staff, the step-down was repealed in the 2025 Tax Plan before it ever produced a lower percentage for anyone. Rijksoverheid states it plainly: in 2025 and 2026 the tax-free allowance remains a maximum of 30%.

So there is no 20% phase and no 10% phase. If you hold the ruling today, your allowance does not drop in month 21.

The 2026 Reality

For people holding or applying for the 30% ruling in 2026:

Duration: 5 years (60 months), unchanged since 2019.

Percentage: a flat 30% in every month of 2025 and 2026.

Salary norm (2026) — applies to your taxable salary, i.e. what remains after the 30% allowance:

• General: €48,013 taxable (~€68,590 gross)
• Under 30 with a qualifying master’s degree: €36,497 taxable (~€52,138 gross)
• Scientific researchers at designated institutions: no minimum norm

Cap: the allowance is calculated on salary up to €262,000 (the Balkenendenorm, 2026), so the tax-free amount stops at €78,600 per year. Above that salary the ruling adds nothing further.

Partial foreign tax liability (Box 2 / Box 3): abolished with effect from 1 January 2025 and no longer available from the 2025 tax return onwards. Only expats who were already using the ruling before 2024 can still elect it, and only up to and including their 2026 tax return. If your ruling started in 2024 or later, your worldwide savings and investments sit in Dutch Box 3.

What Actually Changes in 2027

From 1 January 2027 the maximum percentage becomes 27%. Which version of the rules hits you depends on when the ruling was first applied to your salary — not when you applied, and not when your employment started:

Two caveats worth knowing. First, the grandfathering in the top row lapses if your status as an ingekomen werknemer is interrupted after 31 December 2023 and then restarts; a job gap of up to three months does not count as an interruption. Second, the higher 2027 salary norm is a stated intention that still has to be set by decree — the figures circulating online (€50,436 and €38,338) are expressed in 2024 price levels and will be indexed upwards, so do not plan around them as final numbers. The date the ruling was first applied is on your beschikking.

Who Qualifies for the 30% Ruling

You must meet all of the following:

1. Recruited from abroad: The ruling applies only if you were recruited from outside the Netherlands (more specifically, more than 150km from the Dutch border). You can’t move to Amsterdam, then apply to a Dutch job locally.

2. Specific expertise: Your role must require specialized expertise that is “not readily available” in the Dutch labor market. In practice, this is verified via the salary threshold — meeting the threshold is taken as evidence of specialized expertise.

3. Employee relationship: You must be a regular employee (loondienst). Self-employed (ZZP) doesn’t qualify on its own.

4. Salary norm: your taxable salary after the 30% deduction must meet the annual norm (€48,013 for general workers, €36,497 for under-30s with a qualifying master’s degree, in 2026).

5. Lived 16 of the past 24 months at least 150km from the Dutch border: Confirms you actually came from abroad.

6. Application within 4 months of starting work: Both employee and employer must file within the deadline. Late applications can still succeed but lose retroactive months.

If all conditions are met, the Belastingdienst issues a beschikking (decision) confirming the ruling — typically within 2–6 months of application.

How to Apply

Step 1: Confirm employer support

Your employer must apply jointly with you. Not all Dutch employers know how to do this — small startups and family businesses sometimes need a tax advisor’s help. Ask during the offer stage: “Will the company support a 30% ruling application?”

Step 2: Gather evidence

You’ll need:

• Passport / EU ID
• Residence permit (if non-EU)
• Employment contract
• Proof of address abroad (housing contract, utility bills, tax filings)
• Proof of qualifications (diplomas, work history)
• BSN (you’ll need this fast if just arriving)

Step 3: File via Belastingdienst form

The application form is filed via your employer to the Belastingdienst. Most employers’ HR or payroll partners handle this. Decision typically arrives in 2–6 months. The ruling applies retroactively from your start date once approved, so you don’t lose money during processing — your employer applies the deduction once approved and reconciles back-pay.

Step 4: Onboard with the deduction

Once approved, your monthly payslip shows the 30% as a tax-free reimbursement (27% from 2027 for most holders). Your effective marginal tax rate drops by roughly 10–13 percentage points.

What the 30% Ruling Is Worth in Real Money

For a €70,000 gross salary in 2026:

Without 30% ruling:

• Income tax + social charges: ~€26,500
• Net income: €43,500/year (€3,625/month)

With the 30% ruling (2026 rate):

• Tax-free portion (30%): €21,000
• Taxable portion: €49,000
• Tax + charges on taxable: ~€18,000
• Net income: €52,000/year (€4,333/month)

Annual savings: ~€8,500 or roughly €700/month, in every month of the ruling — there is no drop in month 21.

Over five years at the 2026 rules that is ~€42,500 in extra net income.

For higher salaries the absolute savings rise:

• €100,000 gross: ~€14,800/year savings, ~€74,000 over 5 years
• €150,000 gross: ~€21,000/year savings, ~€105,000 over 5 years
• Above €262,000 gross: capped — the allowance stops at €78,600, so the saving flatlines

If you move to 27% in 2027, each of those annual figures drops by a few hundred to roughly a thousand euros: about €800 less per year at €70,000 gross and about €1,100 less at €100,000. Noticeable, but nothing like the collapse the cancelled 30/20/10 model would have caused. These are simplified estimates — run your own numbers through the 30% ruling calculator.

Planning Around the 5-Year Window

Year 1–2: Maximize Income Volume

You’re paying significantly less tax. This is the time to:

• Push for raises and bonuses (each euro is taxed less)
• Negotiate equity / RSUs (mostly taxed similarly, but some structures interact with the ruling)
• Take stretch assignments and promotions

Year 1–3: Build Liquid Savings and Investments

Ruling holders use the extra €800–€1,200 a month in different ways, for example:

• investing, through a broker such as DEGIRO or Trade Republic or a fund provider such as Meesman;
• lijfrente private pension contributions (tax-deductible up to your jaarruimte; this works alongside the ruling);
• an emergency fund, if it is not yet sized;
• a house deposit, if you plan to buy.

Investing involves risk of loss. This is not investment or tax advice.

Don’t let the extra income inflate your lifestyle to a level you can’t sustain post-ruling.

Year 3–4: Plan the Cliff

Around month 36, start planning life post-ruling. Specifically:

• Will my employer raise my gross salary to compensate for the ruling ending? (Usually no — but some negotiate it.)
• Can I switch to a country with friendlier tax in year 5? (Some highly mobile expats do.)
• Should I switch to ZZP/freelance and structure income differently? (Possible, but ZZP doesn’t get its own tax discount equivalent.)
• Am I going to stay in the Netherlands long-term?

Year 5: The Cliff Hits

Month 60, your ruling ends. Your monthly net income drops by €700–€1,500 depending on your salary. This is jarring. Plan for it.

If staying long-term, you transition to standard Dutch tax — still livable, just less generous. If leaving the Netherlands, time the move to coincide with the cliff to avoid wasting any month of ruling benefit.

Common 30% Ruling Mistakes

Filing late. Application must be within 4 months of starting work. Late filing means losing retroactive months — your ruling clock starts from the application date instead of your job start date. Costly.

Switching jobs without filing transfer in time. 3-month gap maximum. Plan job transitions carefully. If you receive a job offer and resign, ensure the new employer commits to filing the transfer immediately.

Misunderstanding the “salary norm.” The norm applies to the post-ruling taxable salary, not the gross. A €60,000 gross salary becomes €42,000 taxable — below the 2026 norm of €48,013 for general workers. You would fail the test despite having a “good” gross salary. You need roughly €68,590 gross to clear the standard norm. Calculate carefully.

Going ZZP and assuming the ruling continues. It doesn’t. ZZP-only income kills the ruling. Hybrid (part-time employee + part-time ZZP) keeps it on the employee portion only.

Not budgeting for the cliff. People structure their lives around the ruling-era net income, then panic when month 60 hits. Anchor your monthly fixed costs to your post-ruling net, not your ruling-era net.

Letting employer assume responsibility for filing. Some HR teams forget. Track the application yourself. Ask for the Belastingdienst confirmation letter as soon as it arrives.

Forgetting health insurance interaction. The ruling reduces taxable salary, which reduces some health insurance subsidies (zorgtoeslag) thresholds. Generally still net positive, but verify with your specific situation. Compare options via Independer health insurance.

The 30% Ruling and Your Pension

The ruling doesn’t directly affect Dutch state pension (AOW) — your AOW entitlement accrues based on years of Dutch residence, not on tax-paid amounts. Five years on the ruling = five years of AOW accrual.

For employer pension (workgeverspensioen), the contribution is typically based on full gross salary regardless of ruling — but check your employer’s specific pension plan. Some plans calculate on post-ruling salary, which reduces your pension build-up.

For private pension (lijfrente), your jaarruimte (annual deductible amount) is calculated on full gross income, so the ruling doesn’t reduce your private pension contribution capacity.

The 30% Ruling and Buying a House

Banks underwriting your mortgage typically use gross salary for affordability, not post-ruling taxable. So the ruling doesn’t directly increase or decrease your borrowing capacity.

Be aware: when your ruling ends, your effective net income drops. If you stretched on a mortgage based on ruling-era cash flow, the post-ruling cliff can feel tight. Don’t max your mortgage to ruling-era affordability.

What the Ruling Doesn’t Cover

The 30% ruling doesn’t cover:

• BTW on personal purchases (still 21%)
• Property tax (OZB — based on home value)
• Foreign savings and investments in Box 3 (the partial foreign tax liability that used to exclude them was abolished from 1 January 2025, with a transitional group running to the 2026 return)
• Estate tax or inheritance tax
• Local municipal taxes (waterschap, afvalstoffenheffing)

These all remain at standard Dutch rates.

Should You Time Your Move to Optimize?

Realistically, no. Most people move to the Netherlands because of a job opportunity, family, or relationship — the ruling is a benefit on top, not a primary driver of timing. Trying to time your arrival by a few months for marginal ruling differences usually costs more in life flexibility than it saves in tax.

What’s worth optimizing:

• Apply within the 4-month window (mandatory)
• Confirm employer commitment before signing
• Don’t delay your start date past the calendar year if your salary threshold is borderline (a January start date may help meet annualized threshold)

My Bottom Line

The 30% ruling in 2026 is worth more than most people think, because the step-down everyone remembers reading about never happened: it is a flat 30% for the full 60 months, worth roughly €40,000–€105,000 in extra net income over five years at typical skilled-expat salaries. The real diary entries are the 27% rate from January 2027 and the loss of the Box 3 exemption, not a month-21 cliff. Apply on time, check your beschikking for the date the ruling was first applied so you know which transitional row you are in, plan for the end of the 60 months, and invest the savings rather than inflating your lifestyle.

For broader expat-tax planning see tax filing for freelance expats, crypto tax Netherlands, salary expectations, and renting vs buying as expat for the housing piece of the equation. Compare your health insurance annually since the ruling-period cash flow lets you choose more flexibly.

External source: Belastingdienst — BTW info — independent information on this topic.