DIY or pay someone? Honest comparison.

The two options

	DIY	Self-Service (€49)
Cost	€0	€49 incl. VAT
Your time	5–8 hours reading + filling	10-minute intake, upload a document
Form language	Dutch form (English version exists but is partial)	Filled in correctly, English-language guide attached
Threshold check	Your responsibility	We verify against 2026 thresholds
Edge cases (prior NL visits, gap years, partial non-resident)	Risk of mistake	Flagged, you decide
Submission	You file	You file (with our guide)
No cure, no pay guarantee	N/A	Full refund if not granted
Typical decision time	8–12 weeks	8–12 weeks

When DIY is fine

Filing it yourself is a reasonable choice if you have time and a clean case. The Dutch Tax Authority form is available in English (LH 598-1Z61FOL ENG) and they will process a complete, correct submission.

• You read written Dutch comfortably or are willing to use translators for the official guidance.
• Your case is textbook: you lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for the last 2 years, you weren't in the Netherlands in any meaningful way recently, your salary is well above the threshold, and you have a normal employment contract starting on a clean date.
• You have 5–8 spare hours in the first month of your move, on top of finding housing, opening a bank account, and registering with the municipality.
• You're confident about the 4-month deadline. Missing it costs you months of savings. The deadline trips up the largest share of DIY filers, not the form itself.

When the €49 Self-Service pays for itself

If your case is straightforward but you don't want to spend an evening on a Dutch tax form, the Self-Service form hands you a filled and checked form to download right after payment, with submission instructions. You can optionally upload your employment contract and we read the details from it, then you print, sign, and post the result to the Dutch Tax Authority yourself. The €49 buys you roughly 5 hours of reading and removes the threshold-math anxiety.

Cases worth double-checking before you file

Some situations trip people up whether they file themselves or use us. Our free eligibility check flags these before you pay, so you know where you stand:

• You've spent time in the Netherlands in the last 25 years (studies, secondments, even long holidays).
• You're changing employers and want to keep the ruling. The continuation rules are strict.
• Your start date sits near a year boundary and you might be hit by the 2027 phase-down to 27%.
• Your salary is close to the threshold, or you're under 30 and your Master's degree is from outside the EEA.

The €49 service carries a no cure, no pay guarantee: if the Dutch Tax Authority does not grant your ruling, you get a full refund, whatever the reason. See the full guarantee terms.

What it doesn't depend on

A few things people worry about that don't actually matter:

• Decision speed. The Dutch Tax Authority takes 8–12 weeks regardless of who files. Paying us doesn't accelerate them.
• Approval rate. If you meet the criteria, you'll be approved whether you file yourself or use us. We don't have a magic approval channel. What we do is reduce the chance you get rejected for something fixable (wrong start date, missing employer declaration, miscalculated threshold).
• The benefit itself. The 30% (or 27% from 2027) exemption is identical whether you file yourself or use us. Your savings depend on your salary, not on how you applied.