In this guide
Every autumn “everything that changes on 1 January” articles appear in the Dutch media, and many of the numbers in them are projections that can still change before the year begins. For a reader who cannot easily cross-check the Dutch originals, that is a real problem: you make decisions on figures that were never confirmed.
So this roundup uses three buckets — confirmed, proposed but not yet law, and not yet published — with a source on every item, verified on 20 August 2026 and updated on 24 September 2026 after Prinsjesdag (the 2027 budget and tax package of 15 September). Where a 2027 figure does not exist yet, you get the mechanism and the official page to watch rather than a number.
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💡 Related: the 30% ruling in 2027, box 3 in 2027, health insurance deadline January 2027.
Confirmed: the expat ruling drops to 27%
Rijksoverheid states that the expat ruling’s tax-free allowance stays at a maximum of 30% in 2025 and 2026 and drops to a maximum of 27% from 2027, with a higher salary norm from 2027 for later entrants. The published transition table protects anyone who started using the ruling on or before 31 December 2023: they keep 30% and the current salary norm (rijksoverheid.nl — expatregeling).
For ruling holders this is the item with the most direct effect, because it lands directly in monthly take-home pay. Which row of the transition table you sit in decides whether it affects you at all — the full breakdown, including the 2026 salary norms of €48,013 and €36,497 (under 30 with a qualifying Dutch or equivalent foreign master’s degree), is in the 30% ruling in 2027.
Confirmed: higher minimum youth wage
From 1 January 2027 the minimum youth wage rises for 16 to 20 year olds. Per the cabinet decision announced on rijksoverheid.nl on 17 April 2026, each age band moves to a higher percentage of the adult minimum wage: 20 years to 87.5% (from 80%), 19 to 75% (from 60%), 18 to 62.5% (from 50%), 17 to 50% (from 39.5%), and 16 to 40% (from 34.5%). The youth wage for students in the work-based vocational pathway (bbl) is aligned with the regular minimum youth wage (hoger minimumjeugdloon vanaf 2027).
If you have teenagers with part-time jobs, or you employ young staff, this is a real change rather than an indexation tweak — the jump for 19-year-olds is fifteen percentage points.
Unchanged: the AOW age and box 3’s structure
The state pension age stays at 67 in 2027 — rijksoverheid lists 67 for 2025 through 2027 and 67 years and 3 months for 2028 through 2031, and the age must be fixed five years ahead and cannot change once set (AOW-leeftijd 2025-2031). For expats the build-up rule matters more than the age: AOW accrues per year of residence or insured employment, so years abroad leave a gap — see the Dutch pension system guide and claiming a Dutch pension abroad.
Box 3 also keeps its current shape. Its replacement, the Wet werkelijk rendement box 3, passed the Tweede Kamer on 12 February 2026, but after the plenary debate of 30 June 2026 the Eerste Kamer postponed its vote until announced amendments (a novelle) have been dealt with, so it is not law and could start on 1 January 2028 at the earliest (Eerste Kamer dossier 36.748, checked 24 September 2026). For 2027 the Belastingplan 2027 package presented on Prinsjesdag contains no box 3 measures: it proposes to keep the rate at 36% and to index the 2027 tax-free allowance to €60,098 per person (€120,196 for fiscal partners) (Fiscale sleuteltabel 2027); the Belastingdienst had not yet published the 2027 assumed return on investments when we checked. Parliament still has to adopt the package before 1 January 2027. Details in box 3 in 2027.
Announced for 2027: the eigen risico rises to €400
In the 2027 budget presented on Prinsjesdag (15 September 2026), the government states: “Het verplicht eigen risico gaat in 2027 met de inflatie mee en stijgt van € 385 naar € 400” (rijksoverheid.nl, Prinsjesdag 2026: zorg, checked 24 September 2026). It is the first rise since 2016.
The figure of €455 that circulated over the summer came from a separate bill that would have added €60 on top of indexation (Tweede Kamer, bill on the verplicht eigen risico per 2027). That extra €60 has been postponed by one year to 2028 in the 2027 budget (Miljoenennota 2027, rijksfinancien.nl); the bill itself is still before the Tweede Kamer. The €455 figure is therefore not the 2027 amount. Plan with €400 per adult; any voluntary excess comes on top. How the deductible works, and which care it applies to, is in eigen risico explained.
Not yet published: 2027 health insurance premiums
Insurers must publish their premiums for the coming year by 12 November. The cabinet’s Prinsjesdag estimate is an average premium of about €169 a month in 2027, up €12.50, but that is an average: each insurer sets its own price (rijksoverheid.nl, Prinsjesdag 2026: zorg, checked 29 September 2026).
What is fixed is the calendar: cancel your current policy before 31 December 2026 if you intend to switch, and have the new one in place before 1 February 2027, backdated to 1 January. Insurers must accept you for the basic insurance regardless of health; supplementary cover is where acceptance conditions and waiting periods apply. Acting in December keeps both options open — step by step in how to switch Dutch health insurance, with the deadline detail in the January 2027 deadline article.
When the premiums are out, our 2027 premium comparison sets them side by side, and you can check a single insurer’s 2027 premium directly, for example at a.s.r.
To understand what actually differs between policies before comparing prices, start with how to read a Dutch health insurance policy and the add-ons guide.
Also announced for 2027: childcare allowance, zorgtoeslag and income tax rates
These are announced or proposed figures, not yet final.
Kinderopvangtoeslag. On 21 September 2026 the government announced its plans for 2027: maximum hourly rates of €11.60 for daycare, €10.31 for after-school care (BSO) and €8.77 for a childminder, and the maximum reimbursement percentage for working parents with a joint income up to about €72,000 (€56,412 in 2026). The binding amounts follow in the Besluit kinderopvangtoeslag 2027 (rijksoverheid.nl, 21 September 2026, checked 29 September 2026). What that means for your monthly bill: the childcare cost calculator.
Zorgtoeslag. For single people the cabinet plans to raise the healthcare allowance to a maximum of €140 a month in 2027 (rijksoverheid.nl, Prinsjesdag 2026: zorg, checked 29 September 2026).
Box 1 income tax rates. The Belastingplan 2027 package proposes rates of 36.23% (first bracket), 38.16% (second bracket) and 49.50% (top rate above €78,426) for people below AOW age, against 35.75%, 37.56% and 49.50% in 2026 (Fiscale sleuteltabel 2027; Belastingdienst rates 2026, checked 29 September 2026). Parliament still has to adopt them.
Not yet published: minimum wage and child benefit amounts
The statutory minimum wage is indexed twice a year, on 1 January and 1 July, with the January amounts confirmed in the autumn on the government’s minimum wage amounts page. The amounts for 1 January 2027 had not yet been published there when we checked; until then, the adult minimum is €14.99 an hour gross (from 1 July 2026). Our minimum wage 2027 guide will carry the confirmed figures. Adult indexation is separate from the minimum youth wage increase above.
Kinderbijslag amounts are likewise indexed and published by the SVB before they take effect, and none were available for 2027 on 24 September 2026, so this article quotes none; how the scheme works is in kinderbijslag for expats. Zorgtoeslag and huurtoeslag thresholds are also set each year; the announced 2027 changes to zorgtoeslag and the childcare allowance are in the next section. For the system itself: childcare allowance, the childcare cost calculator, how expats claim Dutch benefits and zorgtoeslag for expats.
Two January bills you can actually influence
Most of the list above happens to you. Two lines you can act on in the same window.
Energy. Besides usage, your contract type determines what you pay. If your fixed contract ends around the turn of the year, check what it rolls over into before the New Year, not after the first cold month.
Our guide to fixed, variable and dynamic contracts explains the choice; to see current tariffs directly, check Eneco or Essent.
For switching without a gap in supply, see the energy contract switching guide and Dutch utilities explained.
Mobile and internet. Many providers adjust prices once a year; if your contract is out of its minimum term, compare before it renews — see the sim-only comparison and the broadband comparison.
My final thoughts
In short, for most internationals here, 1 January 2027 brings: a lower expat-ruling percentage for newer users, a higher minimum wage for teenagers, a €15 higher deductible, planned increases in the childcare allowance and zorgtoeslag, and a list of figures that are still to be published.
Two narrow things are worth doing this autumn. Work out which row of the expat ruling transition table applies to you, because that is the change with a direct monthly effect. And put the health insurance switching window in your December calendar, because it is the one deadline where acting on time is worth money regardless of what the premiums turn out to be.
Everything above verified on 20 August 2026 against rijksoverheid.nl, belastingdienst.nl, tweedekamer.nl and eerstekamer.nl, and updated on 24 September 2026 after Prinsjesdag. We will update the article as the 2027 figures are confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is definitely changing on 1 January 2027?
Two things stand out as published government policy. The expat ruling's tax-free allowance drops from a maximum of 30% to a maximum of 27%, with transitional protection for people who started using it before 2024. And the minimum youth wage rises for 16 to 20 year olds, with each age band moving to a higher percentage of the adult minimum wage. Both are documented on rijksoverheid.nl.
Is the eigen risico going up in 2027?
Yes, by €15. In the 2027 budget presented on Prinsjesdag (15 September 2026) the government states that the mandatory deductible rises with inflation from €385 to €400 in 2027 (rijksoverheid.nl, Prinsjesdag 2026). The extra €60 increase in bill 36943, which would have brought 2027 to about €455, has been postponed by one year to 2028 in the 2027 budget (Miljoenennota 2027, rijksfinancien.nl); the bill itself is still before the Tweede Kamer.
What is the AOW age in 2027?
Unchanged at 67. Rijksoverheid lists 67 for 2025, 2026 and 2027, rising to 67 years and 3 months from 2028 through 2031. The AOW age has to be fixed five years in advance and, once set, cannot be changed — which makes it a figure you can plan around.
When will the 2027 health insurance premiums be known?
Insurers must publish their premiums for the coming year by 12 November. The cabinet's Prinsjesdag estimate is an average premium of about €169 a month in 2027 (up €12.50), but each insurer sets its own price. The deadlines that matter to you are unchanged: cancel your current policy before 31 December and have a new one in place by 1 February.
Is box 3 changing in 2027?
Not structurally. The bill replacing the assumed-return system with taxation of actual returns passed the Tweede Kamer on 12 February 2026, but the Eerste Kamer postponed its vote pending announced amendments, so it is not law (status 24 September 2026) and could start on 1 January 2028 at the earliest. For 2027 the Belastingplan 2027 package proposes to keep the 36% rate and to raise the 2027 tax-free allowance to €60,098 per person; Parliament still has to adopt it.
Why does this article not list the 2027 minimum wage or child benefit amounts?
Because they were not published when it was checked on 24 September 2026. The statutory minimum wage is indexed twice a year and the January 2027 amounts had not yet been published; the SVB publishes new child benefit amounts before they take effect. Rather than print a projection that would be wrong, this article explains the mechanism and links to the official pages where the confirmed amounts appear.