Employer's Guide to the 30% Ruling: Applying for a Foreign Hire

Who files, and who signs what

The 30% ruling application is a joint request to the Belastingdienst, signed by both employer and employee on the same form. In practice, HR or payroll assembles the file, the employee provides their personal documents and signature, and an authorised company representative signs the employer statement in Section 5. Without that signature, the file is incomplete and gets sent back.

You do not need to be an IND recognised sponsor (erkend referent) to file. That status matters for sponsoring residence permits, including the highly skilled migrant visa, and is administered entirely separately by the IND. Any Dutch withholding agent, meaning any employer registered to run Dutch payroll, can file a 30% ruling request. See our deep dive on erkend referent and the HSM visa if your HR team is unsure which is which.

Confirming the hire actually qualifies

Run these checks before assembling paperwork. Catching a disqualifying issue early saves everyone time.

• Recruited from abroad. The employee must have been hired while living abroad, with your company initiating contact, not moved to the Netherlands independently and then applied for the role. Keep the dated job posting, first outreach, and offer letter.
• The 150 km rule. The employee must have lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for at least 16 of the 24 months before their first Dutch working day.
• The salary threshold. For 2026, the taxable wage after the 30% deduction must reach €48,013 (standard) or €36,497 (under 30, with a recognised Master's degree). That works out to a gross salary of roughly €68,590 or €52,139 respectively. Check the offer against the correct figure with our calculator.
• No conflicting prior residence. An employee already living in the Netherlands at the time of hiring generally does not qualify, with narrow exceptions for PhD candidates and returning employees.

If any of these look borderline, resolve it before signing an offer that assumes the ruling will be granted. The full 2026 requirements checklist covers every edge case in detail.

What HR needs to collect

Assemble this package once, completely, rather than filing and patching gaps after a Belastingdienst request for information.

• Signed employment contract, with a start date that matches what goes on the form. An offer letter is not a substitute.
• Employee's CV with a continuous work history and no unexplained gaps.
• Educational diplomas, with sworn translations for any language other than Dutch, English, French or German. Under-30 Master's applicants also need a NUFFIC equivalence statement for non-EU degrees.
• Proof of foreign residence for the 24 months before the first working day: utility bills, bank statements, a rental contract, or a local registration certificate.
• Your company's payroll tax registration number (loonheffingennummer).
• The employee's BSN, once issued at municipal registration; the application can be filed before it arrives.
• Passport copy (photo page).
• Evidence of recruitment from abroad: the dated job posting, first outreach message, and offer letter, all timestamped before the employee's arrival.

The employment contract addendum

Once the ruling is expected to apply, most Dutch employers add a short addendum (or a dedicated clause in the original contract) that formalises the salary split. It states that the employer will apply the extraterritorial expense reimbursement up to 30% of gross salary, conditional on Belastingdienst approval, and specifies how the split adjusts if the approved percentage differs (for example, the general 27% rate that applies from 1 January 2027). Keep this addendum on file with the signed contract; caseworkers sometimes ask for it alongside the main employment agreement.

Practical points for the addendum: reference the tax-free allowance mechanism by name (the Expat Scheme, formerly the 30% ruling) so the clause survives future name changes, state the split is conditional on approval, and note the maximum duration of 60 months from the first working day so the clause does not imply an open-ended entitlement.

Filing the joint application

The form is "Verzoek loonheffingen expatregeling (30%-regeling)," available in Dutch and English on belastingdienst.nl. There is no online portal; the signed form and attachments go by post to: Dutch Tax Authority / Kennis- en Expertisecentrum Buitenland, PO Box 2865, 6401 DJ Heerlen. Five sections need attention:

• Section 1 asks about any previous 30% ruling. A prior ruling means remaining months carry over rather than resetting to 60.
• Section 2 asks whether the employee was living in the Netherlands when hired. Standard applications answer "No."
• Section 3 covers salary and category (standard or under-30 Master's). This must reconcile exactly with the contract.
• Section 4 requires listing every prior stay in the Netherlands, even short ones such as a conference visit.
• Section 5 is the employer statement, signed by an authorised representative. This is where your company confirms the recruitment, salary, and specific-expertise criteria.

Our step-by-step application guide walks through the full form logic if you want the employee-side detail as well.

Payroll implementation once approved

The approval letter states the start date, end date, and percentage. Note the 2027 cutover: employees who first use the ruling in 2024-2026 get 30% through 31 December 2026 and 27% from 1 January 2027 for the remaining months; rulings starting from 2027 are 27% throughout. Payroll then splits the employee's gross salary each pay period:

• Up to 30% (or 27%) of gross salary is paid as a tax-free reimbursement of extraterritorial costs, not run through the wage tax tables.
• The remainder is taxed as normal wage under the standard Dutch payroll tax tables (loonheffingentabellen), exactly as for any other employee.
• The split applies from the approval's start date, which, for applications filed within 4 months of the first working day, is backdated to that first day. If payroll has already withheld tax on the full amount for prior periods, a correction or reconciliation is needed once the decision arrives, typically via the next payroll run or a supplementary declaration.
• Annual threshold check. Every January, confirm the employee's current salary still clears that year's threshold. A pay cut, extended unpaid leave, or a move to part-time work can put the ruling at risk.

Ongoing employer obligations

Approval is not the end of the employer's role. A few things stay on HR's plate for the life of the ruling:

• Report material changes. A salary drop below threshold, extended unpaid leave, or a change in role that affects eligibility should be reflected accurately in payroll.
• New application on employer change. A move to a new employer, including an internal transfer to a different legal entity, needs a fresh joint application within 3 months of the new start date. The ruling does not transfer automatically. See changing employers and the 30% ruling.
• Respond to Belastingdienst requests promptly. Information requests typically carry a response deadline of around 4 weeks; employer-side documents are usually the employer's responsibility to supply.
• Keep the addendum and approval letter on file for the duration of the ruling and the standard payroll record-keeping period afterward.

Deadlines to calendar

Put the 4-month deadline in the same calendar entry as the offer's start date, the moment the contract is signed. It is the single most common preventable loss in this process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does our company need to be an erkend referent (recognised sponsor) to apply for the 30% ruling?

No. Erkend referent status is an IND immigration accreditation for sponsoring residence permits. It has no bearing on the 30% ruling, which is a Belastingdienst application any Dutch withholding agent can file.

Who signs the 30% ruling application form?

Both the employee and an authorised representative of the employer. The employer's signature goes in Section 5, the employer statement, and confirms the recruitment, salary, and expertise criteria on the company's behalf.

How does the tax-free reimbursement get applied in payroll?

Once approved, payroll splits gross salary each period: up to the approved percentage (30%, or 27% for applications from 2027) is paid as a tax-free reimbursement, and the remainder is taxed through the normal Dutch wage tax tables, same as any other employee.

What happens if the approval arrives after several payroll runs have already taxed the full salary?

If the ruling is backdated to the employee's first working day, payroll needs to correct those earlier periods to reflect the tax-free split, not just apply it going forward. Most payroll providers handle this as a standard correction once the approval letter is available.

Does the 30% ruling automatically continue if the employee moves to a new role within the company?

Generally yes, as long as the employment relationship with the same legal entity continues. A move to a different legal entity within the group, or to a new employer entirely, requires a fresh joint application within 3 months of the new start date.