Netherlands Salary After-Tax Calculator 2026 (with 30% Ruling)

This calculator provides a planning estimate for Dutch employment income in 2026. Payroll tax, pension deductions, tax residency, other income and your personal tax-credit position can all change the amount on an actual payslip.

How Dutch Salary Tax Works: The Basics

The Netherlands operates a pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system. Your employer calculates and withholds tax from your gross salary every month and remits it to the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Authority) on your behalf. This withholding is called loonheffing.

Loonheffing is not a single tax. It is a combined withholding that includes:

• Inkomstenbelasting (income tax): The actual income tax on your wages
• AOW premium: Contribution to the Dutch state pension (Algemene Ouderdomswet)
• ANW premium: Survivor’s benefit premium (Algemene Nabestaandenwet)
• WLZ premium: Long-term care premium (Wet langdurige zorg)

All of these are collected together as loonheffing. When you see “loonheffing” on your payslip, it encompasses all four.

For most employees insured under the employee-insurance schemes, the employer pays the separate Zvw employer levy. It is not deducted from the contractual gross salary used by this calculator. Some other types of income are instead subject to a 4.85% contribution withheld by a payer or assessed by the Belastingdienst, up to the 2026 contribution ceiling of €79,409. The personal basic-insurance premium is separate and is not included in this calculator.

2026 Tax Brackets (Box 1)

Box 1 in the Dutch tax system covers income from work and home ownership. Your salary sits here. The 2026 brackets are:

An important note: The 35.75% first-band rate includes national-insurance contributions. The second band has its own 37.56% rate. Someone who was above AOW age for all of 2026 pays 17.85% in the first band and has lower tax credits; the year in which someone reaches AOW age requires a month-specific calculation that this tool does not model.

Tax Credits That Reduce Your Bill

Two key tax credits reduce the raw tax calculated above:

Heffingskorting (General Tax Credit) In 2026, the maximum general tax credit is €3,115 for someone below AOW age. It starts phasing out above €29,736 and reaches €0 at €78,426.

Arbeidskorting (Employment Tax Credit) This credit applies to employment income. For someone below AOW age it reaches a maximum of €5,685 and phases out between €45,592 and €132,920.

These credits are applied automatically by your employer through payroll. They mean that lower and middle-income workers pay significantly less tax than the headline bracket rates suggest.

The 30% Ruling: How It Works and Who Qualifies

The 30% ruling (30%-regeling) can let an employer reimburse eligible extraterritorial costs tax free. The effect on take-home pay depends on the employment agreement, salary, applicable cap, tax credits and payroll treatment.

How It Works

The ruling allows your employer to pay 30% of your gross salary as a tax-free allowance to cover “extraterritorial costs” — the extra expenses of being an expat in the Netherlands (housing, double household costs, travel home, etc.).

A step-down schedule (30% / 20% / 10% across the five years) was legislated in the 2024 Tax Plan, but it was repealed in the 2025 Tax Plan before it ever took effect. It is not the law, and any source still describing it as current is out of date. The percentage today is:

• 2025 and 2026: a flat 30% of gross salary tax-free, for every month of the ruling
• From 1 January 2027: a maximum of 27% — unless the ruling was already being applied to your salary on or before 31 December 2023, in which case transitional rules keep you at 30%. Rulings that first applied on or after 1 January 2025 also face a higher salary norm from 2027.

The ruling runs for a maximum of 5 years (60 months). The calculator above applies the maximum percentage for the year you select and then caps the allowance in two further ways, as the law requires:

1. Salary norm. Your taxable salary after the allowance must stay above the norm (2026: €48,013, or €36,497 if you are under 30 with a qualifying master’s degree). If 30% would push it below, the allowance is reduced to the amount that keeps you just above the norm; the Belastingdienst’s own example gives a maximum allowance of €1,986 on total pay of €50,000.
2. WNT ceiling. The allowance is calculated on salary up to the public-sector pay ceiling (Wet normering topinkomens): €262,000 in 2026, so at most €78,600 tax-free. From 2027 the statutory cap is 27% of the WNT maximum.

For 2027 the tool is indicative. It uses 27% (or 30% for rulings applied on or before 31 December 2023) and the salary norm that applies to you: the current norm for rulings first applied before 2025, and for rulings first applied from 1 January 2025 the higher norm of €50,436 (€38,338 for under-30s) in 2024 prices, which is €52,521 (€39,923) at the 2026 price level. The indexed 2027 amounts, the 2027 WNT maximum and the 2027 tax bands are not yet published, so 2026 bands and credits are used.

Sources, checked 24 September 2026: Belastingdienst pages “Inhoud van de expatregeling” and “Deskundigheidsvereiste”; article 31a(8) Wet op de loonbelasting 1964 (version from 1 January 2027) on wetten.overheid.nl; the Rijksoverheid page “Expatregeling hoogopgeleide buitenlandse werknemers” for the transition table; Kamerstuk 36602 (second memorandum of amendment to the 2025 Tax Plan) for the new norms.

Use the calculator with your own salary to compare the two estimates. The tax-free reimbursement is not automatic: the Belastingdienst must grant the ruling and the employer must apply it within the salary and reimbursement rules.

2026 Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for the 30% ruling in 2026, you must:

1. Be recruited from abroad by a Dutch employer (or be transferred to the Netherlands within a group)
2. Have specific expertise that is scarce in the Dutch labour market (broadly interpreted — most specialist roles qualify)
3. Meet the salary threshold: Your taxable salary after applying the ruling must generally be more than €48,013 in 2026, or more than €36,497 if you are under 30 and hold a qualifying master’s degree
4. Have lived outside the Netherlands — more than 150 km from the Dutch border — in at least 16 of the 24 months before starting your Dutch role

What this means in a simple maximum-allowance example: if exactly 30% were reimbursed tax free, gross annual salary would need to exceed approximately €68,590 for the standard threshold or €52,139 for the reduced threshold. Employers may reimburse a lower percentage so that the taxable salary condition is met.

How to Apply

Your employer applies for the ruling on your behalf through the Belastingdienst. The application should be submitted within 4 months of starting work. If approved, the ruling is then applied retroactively to your start date. A later request applies from the first day of the month after the request, and the months in between are deducted from the 5-year term (articles 10ei and 10eg of the Uitvoeringsbesluit loonbelasting 1965).

Important: You cannot apply for the ruling yourself. Your employer must initiate the application. If your HR department is unfamiliar with the process, refer them to the Belastingdienst guide for employers (available at belastingdienst.nl).

Zvw and Your Health Insurance Premium

The Zorgverzekeringswet (ZVW) creates a two-part health insurance cost for Dutch residents:

Part 1 — Basic premium (basisverzekering): You pay this directly to your chosen health insurer. The premium depends on the policy and insurer. The mandatory excess remains €385 in 2026.

Part 2 — Income-related Zvw amount: for an ordinary employee, the employer normally pays a 6.10% employer levy in 2026, up to the statutory ceiling. It is an employer cost and is therefore not subtracted in this gross-to-net calculator. A 4.85% personal contribution applies to certain other income situations; check the Belastingdienst table for your case.

Choosing health insurance: Anyone subject to the Dutch insurance obligation must arrange basic insurance. Premiums and policy conditions vary, so compare the current policy documents and total annual cost rather than assuming a fixed saving.

Compare Dutch health insurance options with our Health Insurance Wizard →

AOW: The Dutch State Pension

AOW (Algemene Ouderdomswet) is the Dutch state pension. The premium is embedded in the 35.75% first-bracket tax rate. You build entitlement by living in the Netherlands — 2% per year of residence, reaching 100% after 50 years.

Key facts:

• AOW age in 2026: 67 years
• Once over AOW age for the full year: You no longer pay AOW premium. For people born on or after 1 January 1946, the 2026 first-band rate is 17.85%.

Expat consideration: AOW entitlement is generally accrued during insured years, normally at 2% of a full pension per insured year. Living in the Netherlands often makes someone insured, but exceptions and international social-security rules apply. The SVB can confirm an individual insurance record and payment abroad.

Interpreting the Result

The result is an annualised estimate using the 2026 Box 1 bands and the standard general and employment tax-credit formulas. It excludes pension deductions, sector-specific payroll items, benefits in kind, deductions, partner effects and income outside this employment. An international comparison would also require residence status, social-security coverage, local deductions and treaty rules, so this calculator does not present a generic country ranking.

Managing Your Salary as an Expat: Practical Steps

Before You Sign the Contract

1. Negotiate gross, not net — always. Net salary commitments are almost impossible for employers to honour because your tax situation changes every year.
2. Ask about 30% ruling — if you might qualify, ask HR explicitly whether they will apply for it. Not all employers raise this proactively.
3. Understand pension contributions — many Dutch employers contribute to a sector pension fund (pensioenfonds). These contributions reduce your net further but build pension rights. Ask for the full cost-of-employment (CTC) breakdown.

After You Start

4. Check your payslip — verify that loonheffing, ZVW, and any pension contributions match what you expected.
5. File your annual tax return — even if your employer withholds correctly, you may be entitled to refunds (e.g., mortgage interest deduction, healthcare deductions). The annual M-form (for partial-year residents) or C-form (for non-residents) may apply in your first year.
6. If you have the 30% ruling — do not count on the partial non-resident status (partieel buitenlandse belastingplicht) to shelter foreign savings from Dutch Box 3 tax. It was abolished as of 1 January 2025 and can no longer be elected from the 2025 return onwards; only expats who were already using the ruling before 2024 can still claim it, up to and including their 2026 return.

Sending Money Home

If you regularly send part of your salary abroad, compare the live exchange rate, transfer fee, receiving fee and account conditions before choosing a provider. Costs vary by route, currency, amount and time.

Open a Wise account →

Frequently Asked Questions About Dutch Salary Tax

What percentage of my salary is taken in tax in the Netherlands? There is no single percentage. Box 1 is progressive and tax credits phase in and out with income. Pension and other payroll items also affect a payslip. Enter your salary above for an estimate and compare it with an employer’s payroll simulation.

Does the 30% ruling apply to my bonus? It may apply to eligible employment remuneration, but a bonus can affect the taxable-salary condition, cap and payroll calculation. Ask the employer how it will be treated and obtain tax advice for consequential decisions.

What happens when the 30% ruling ends? When the ruling ends, the tax-free reimbursement stops and more remuneration may become taxable. The net change depends on salary and the agreement with the employer; model the post-ruling payslip before the end date.

Do I pay Dutch tax on my foreign income? If you are a Dutch tax resident, the Netherlands taxes your worldwide income in principle. However, the Dutch tax treaty network (the Netherlands has treaties with over 100 countries) typically provides exemptions or credits for income already taxed in another country. Employment income earned in the Netherlands is always Dutch-taxable.

Is the health-insurance premium separate from Zvw? Yes. The basic-policy premium paid to an insurer is separate from the income-related Zvw system. An ordinary employee normally has an employer-paid levy; people in some other income situations pay a personal contribution. Check the Belastingdienst situation table rather than assuming it is a salary deduction.

Calculator results are estimates based on 2026 standard tax rates. Individual circumstances (pension contributions, sector levies, deductions, partner income and residence period) affect actual payslip figures. The year in which you reach AOW age is not modelled. For personalised tax advice, consult a qualified Dutch tax adviser.