30% Tax Ruling

Employees who are being sent to another country to work, or who are coming from abroad to work in The Netherlands, are called extra-territorial employees. If these employees satisfy certain conditions, they are subject to a special compensation ruling: the 30% ruling.

The 30% ruling facilitates the recruitment of employees from abroad. If an employee incurs costs by carrying out his employment, then certain costs are reimbursed tax-free.

If the 30% ruling is applicable, 30% of the employee’s salary is exempt from tax (PAYE and income tax).

The 30% ruling applies to employees who have come from abroad and possess a specific skill that is scarce in the Dutch labour market. This is normally the case if the employee has a high level of education and sufficient work experience.

For the 30% ruling to be applicable, a request has to be submitted to the Tax Authorities (Inland Revenue). This request must satisfy certain conditions and copies of the following documents need to be included:

1. the employment contract;
2. work permit;
3. curriculum vitae; and
4. statement from the employer with regard to the skills and labour market scarcity of the employee.

We can submit a request for application of the 30% ruling on your behalf. If you need more information, you are welcome to contact Our Team or use our Contact form. If the request for application of the 30% ruling is submitted within 4 months after commencement of employment, the ruling will be applied retroactively until the start of employment.

If the request is submitted more than 4 months after commencement of employment, the 30% ruling will be applied from the month following the month the request was submitted.

When the 30% ruling is applied and there is a change of employer, the 30% ruling will still be applied for the remaining valid duration, provided that the period between the previous employment and the start of the new employment is not longer than 3 months.