The 30%-ruling is a tax facility provided in the Wage Tax Act for employees who have been seconded to the Netherlands or recruited from abroad to work in the Netherlands and who meet certain conditions. These employees are referred to as ‘extraterritorial employees’. If the facility is granted, the employer may pay the employee a – fixed – tax-free allowance of up to 30% of the employee’s employment income.
Conditions:
- The 30%-ruling is available to employees only.
- The employee must be seconded to the Netherlands or recruited from outside the Netherlands.
- the employee must have lived at a distance of more than 150 km from the Dutch border during more than 2/3 of the 24-month period preceding the start of the employment in the Netherlands.
- Employer (Dutch or non-Dutch) must be a Dutch wage tax withholding agent maintaining a payroll in the Netherlands.
- The employee must have specific expertise which is not or scarcely available on the Dutch labour market.
- Minimum salary level of € 36,889 (2016).
- For employees under the age of 30 with a qualifying Master’s degree, a minimum salary level of € 28,041 (2016) is applicable.
- The salary requirement which is adapted each year, must be met continuously.
A request for the application of the 30%-ruling will only be granted if the employee and the employer jointly file an application with the Tax Office.
The application for the 30%-ruling must be filed within four months from the start of the employee’s employment (first working day).
For the 30%-ruling to apply, the employer and employee must agree (in writing) that a separate tax-free allowance for extraterritorial expenses will be paid in addition to the gross salary, amounting to (at a maximum) 30% of the remuneration.
The ruling applies for a maximum period of eight years, as long as the employee meets the requirements of the 30%-ruling (which will be verified continually).
