Many employees who come from abroad to work in the Netherlands can make use of the so-called 30% rule. This means that 30% of the salary is paid as remuneration and is neither taxed nor subject to contributions. This increases the net salary. This is compensation for the additional costs (extraterritorial costs) incurred by the employee as a result of working in the Netherlands.
In order to benefit from this scheme, certain conditions must be met: The employee must be employed by a Dutch employer, they must have specialist expertise that is hard to find on the Dutch labour market, they must have been hired outside the Netherlands (more than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border) and the Dutch tax authorities must have given their approval.
This 30% rule will be weakened from 1 January 2024. From 1 January, it will only be possible to make use of the rule if the salary is less than € 223,000 (the so-called end-of-bar norm in 2023) and the rule can be applied for a maximum of 5 years. In addition, the 30% rule is reduced over time. In the first 20 months, the rule applies to 30% of salary, in the second 20 months to 20% of salary and thereafter to 10% of salary.
A transitional period applies for employees who already make use of the scheme.
Employers can also reimburse the actual extraterritorial costs instead of the 30% rule. They can choose each year whether to reimburse the actual costs or apply the 30% rule.