Netherlands Salary Guide 2026: Net Pay, Minimum Wage and the 30% Ruling

This page explains how to estimate your Dutch take-home pay in 2026. It covers the box 1 tax rates, the minimum wage by age, vakantiegeld and the effect of the 30% ruling, with worked examples you can check. For your own figures, start with the Net Salary After Tax Calculator or the 30% Ruling Calculator.

How much of your salary do you keep?

The 2026 box 1 rates for people below AOW age (Belastingdienst) are:

Two tax credits reduce the bill. Both are shown in the tables of the Belastingdienst for 2026 (people who have not reached AOW age):

• Algemene heffingskorting: €3,115 up to an income of €29,736. Above that it falls by 6.398% of the income above €29,736, and it is €0 from €78,427.
• Arbeidskorting: 8.324% of your labour income up to €11,965, then €996 plus 31.009% of the income above €11,965 up to €25,845, then €5,300 plus 1.950% of the income above €25,845 up to €45,592. It then falls by 6.510% of the income above €45,592 from a maximum of €5,685, and it is €0 from €132,921.

Pension contributions, other deductions and other income change the result. Your employer also pays the Zvw contribution, so it does not appear as a deduction on your payslip.

As an example, our calculator logic gives these estimates for a single employee with no 30% ruling and no other income. They are before pension contributions:

Own calculation with the 2026 rates and credits above. Treat it as an estimate, not a payslip.

For your own salary, use the Net Salary After Tax Calculator. For the Dutch tax system in general, see the Dutch Tax System Guide.

Check your salary against the highly skilled migrant threshold

The Salary Checker compares a gross monthly salary, excluding holiday allowance, with the IND amounts for 2026:

The IND publishes new amounts regularly, so check the IND required amounts before you sign a contract. The 30% ruling has its own, separate salary norm at the Belastingdienst (see below).

The 30% ruling and your take-home pay

The 30% ruling lets your employer pay a tax-free allowance instead of part of your salary. The salary left after the allowance must stay above the salary norm of €48,013 in 2026. The norm is €36,497 if you are under 30 with a Dutch academic master’s degree or an equivalent degree from abroad. The allowance is calculated on salary up to €262,000, so the maximum tax-free amount is €78,600 per year. The ruling lasts up to 5 years (Rijksoverheid, Belastingdienst).

The table shows what that does at different salaries. The first row shows the norm limiting the allowance below 30%.

Own calculation with the 2026 box 1 rates and credits above, for a single employee with no other income, before pension contributions. In practice your employer’s payroll software and your tax return decide the final amounts. Use the 30% Ruling Calculator for your own figures.

A salary of €50,000 gives almost no benefit, because the norm leaves room for an allowance of only about €2,000.

What changes in 2027

The allowance stays at a maximum of 30% in 2025 and 2026. From 2027 it drops to a maximum of 27%, and a higher salary norm applies. A transition rule exists for people who started using the ruling in 2023 or earlier:

Source: Rijksoverheid, expatregeling.

For the conditions, the application and what happens when you change employer, see the 30% Ruling Netherlands 2026 guide.

Minimum wage in the Netherlands in 2026

The statutory minimum wage has been an hourly amount since 1 January 2024. There are no fixed monthly or weekly minimums any more. The monthly amount depends on the hours you work.

Gross amounts. Hourly amounts: Rijksoverheid. Monthly estimates are our calculation: hourly amount x 173.33 hours (40 hours x 52 weeks / 12).

Your employment contract or sector agreement (CAO) can set higher pay than the statutory minimum. The Dutch Employment Contract Guide explains contract types and rights.

Vakantiegeld: the holiday allowance

You have the right to vakantiegeld of at least 8% of your gross annual salary of the past year (Rijksoverheid). It is calculated over the wages you earned in the past year, for example from May to May. Bonuses such as profit share and year-end payments do not count towards the calculation. Most employees receive it in May or June, and your employment contract or CAO says how it is paid.

Vakantiegeld = gross annual salary x 8%

If your employer pays the whole amount in one month. Gross amounts before tax. Check your payslip, because some contracts spread it differently.

Vakantiegeld is an employee right. If you work as a freelancer (ZZP), you set your own rate and need to plan for holidays yourself. The ZZP and Freelancer Guide covers this. Your payslip shows the amount; the pay slip guide explains the lines.

Sending salary abroad

If you send money to family or move salary between currencies, compare the total cost of a transfer, not only the fee. The total cost is the fee plus the difference between the exchange rate you get and the rate you can see for the currency pair. A transfer service shows the amount that arrives before you pay, so you can compare it with your bank’s quote for the same amount.

Check a transfer quote with Wise →

Wise shows its fee in the quote and the amount the recipient gets. Check the quote for your own route before you commit. This page contains an affiliate link to Wise: if you use it, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Salary negotiation

A salary figure is only one part of an offer. When you compare offers, look at:

• vakantiegeld, at least 8% (see above);
• the number of holiday days. The legal minimum is four times the hours you work per week, so 20 days in a five-day, 40-hour week (Rijksoverheid);
• your pension scheme and how much you contribute;
• travel and home-working allowances. The tax-free home-working allowance is €2.45 per day in 2026;
• whether the employer will apply for the 30% ruling for you. The employer must apply for it at the Belastingdienst, and you can use the table above to see what it is worth at your salary.

For tactics and wording, see the Salary Negotiation Guide.

Understanding your payslip

Your monthly payslip (loonstrook) shows how the gross salary turns into net pay. The main lines are:

• Loonheffing (wage tax): your employer withholds income tax and national insurance contributions and pays them to the Belastingdienst.
• Pension contribution: your own share of the pension scheme, which depends on your employer.
• Zvw contribution: an income-related contribution to the health insurance system. The employer pays it, so it is not deducted from your salary.

If your payslip shows the 30% ruling, the allowance is paid tax-free. The pay slip guide goes through the lines in more detail.

Related resources

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<a href="https://expatnetherlandshub.com/salary-comparison/">Netherlands Salary Guide 2026 — Expat Netherlands Hub</a>

Sources used:

• Belastingdienst: box 1 rates 2026, tables of the algemene heffingskorting and arbeidskorting 2026, the Expat Scheme (30% facility)
• Rijksoverheid: minimum wage 2026, vakantiegeld, expatregeling
• IND: required amounts (income requirements) 2026

Last checked: 7 October 2026. This page is for information only and is not tax, legal or financial advice.