Expat ruling
The expat ruling (former 30% ruling) is a temporary wage tax ruling for highly skilled employees who are hired from abroad that can be applied for by an employer (with Dutch payroll) and employee. The period of applicability is maximum 5 years. Previous stay in the Netherlands may lead to reduction of the ruling.
If the application is filed within 4 months from the start date of the employment, the ruling can be applied retrospectively from start of employment. If the application is filed later than 4 months after start of employment, the ruling can be applied for as per the 1st day of the month following to the month in which the application is filed.
Since the expat ruling is a wage tax ruling, it needs to be payroll applied (the benefit can not be claimed in the income tax return). The ruling provides a tax benefit for the employee and makes payroll administration easier for the employer. If the ruling is granted, part of the pay package with a maximum of 30% can be reimbursed free of tax. The ruling can be applied to employment income up to a maximum of € 262,000 in 2026 (was € 246,000 in 2025).
The expat ruling has been subject to discussion in the recent past and as per 2027, the maximum tax free allowance will be lowered to 27% of the pay package.
Requirements for the expat ruling
In order to be eligible to the expat ruling, an employee should move to the Netherlands for the purpose of work and should be hired from abroad.
There are 3 primary conditions for expat ruling eligibility:
Recruitment whilst living abroad: it should be clear that the agreed (Dutch) employment (including salary, other conditions, employment start etc.) was concluded before the employee moved to the Netherlands.
150 kilometer requirement: the employee should have lived at a distance of more than 150 km away from the Dutch borders for more than 2/3 out of the 24 months directly prior to the start date of the employment.
Highly skilled labor and scarcity on the labor market: This requirement is hard to measure, therefore the salary requirement was introduced. Based on that, the taxable wage should be above the wage requirement for the expat ruling, which is € 48,013 in 2026 (was € 46,660 in 2025). That means that the agreed salary (including additional fixed components) should be sufficient to get to a taxable wage of over € 48,013. Note that the tax free reimbursement can be less than 30% of the pay package, the taxable wage may not be less than the wage requirement. For employees who are younger than 30 years of age and have a Dutch Master degree (or a non-Dutch master degree of equal level), a lower wage requirement of € 36,497 applies in 2026 (was € 35,468 in 2025).
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Benefits of the expat ruling
The biggest benefit is that part of the pay package can be reimbursed free of tax.
Other than that, when the expat ruling is granted, a non-EU drivers licence can exchanged for a Dutch drivers licence without taking exams (this also applies to partner). Note that EU drivers licences can be exchanged without an exam anyway.
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Previous stay may and reduction of the period of applicability
If an employee physically stayed in the Netherlands for periods that exceed certain allowed periods, the periods of previous stay may lead to reduction of the maximum period of applicability.
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