30% Ruling for Employers

What the 30% ruling is, from your side

The 30% ruling (Expatregeling) is a Dutch tax benefit that exempts up to 30% of an employee's gross salary from income tax. It's not a payroll subsidy: the employer doesn't pay anything to the Belastingdienst for the benefit itself. Your role is to co-sign the application and confirm the employment facts.

The application is filed jointly. Both the employer and the employee sign form LH 598-1Z61FOL ENG. We prepare the form and handle the submission; you sign and provide a few documents.

Eligibility checklist from the employer side

The employee handles most criteria themselves (150 km rule, specific expertise, salary). On your side, the application needs:

• You are a Dutch withholding agent (inhoudingsplichtige). Standard Dutch BV, NV, branch, or registered employer. A foreign payroll setup or PEO usually disqualifies the employee.
• The employee was recruited from abroad, not already living in the Netherlands when hired. Internal transfers from a foreign group entity also qualify.
• You meet the salary threshold for the employee in 2026: €48,013 taxable salary after the 30% deduction (≈ €68,590 gross), or €36,497 if the employee is under 30 with a Master's degree (≈ €52,139 gross).

Documents we'll ask you for

1. The signed employment contract (English or Dutch). The contract start date is the start of the 4-month clock.
2. KvK extract (uittreksel) for the Dutch employing entity, no older than 3 months.
3. Loonheffingennummer (payroll tax number) of the employing entity.
4. A short employer declaration: confirms that the role requires specialized expertise scarce on the Dutch labour market, that the employee was recruited from abroad, and that the salary meets the threshold. We draft this; you sign.
5. Power of attorney on Full Application, so we can correspond with the Belastingdienst on the company's behalf. Two signatures: company representative and employee.

The timeline and your role

When	What happens	Employer action
T-0: employee starts	4-month clock starts	Send us the contract and KvK extract
T+10 days	We send the prepared form and declaration	Sign, return scans
T+12 days	We file with the Belastingdienst (Full Application)	None
T+10–14 weeks	Beschikking (decision) arrives	Pass to payroll to apply retroactively from start date

Beschikkingen are typically valid for the duration of the employment, capped at 60 months. The Belastingdienst can request additional information; on Full Application we respond to any requests directly.

Cost and invoicing

The fee for a 30% ruling application is €100 (Self-Service) or €499 (Full Application), both incl. 21% VAT. Both tiers can be invoiced directly to the employer.

• Reimbursement is common. Most Dutch employers reimburse the fee as part of the relocation package. If your policy allows, just tell the employee to expense it.
• Direct billing is available on Full Application. Send us your KvK and VAT number; we invoice the company directly with a structured PO reference if needed.
• VAT recovery depends on your activities. Employers with fully taxable business activities (most Dutch BVs) recover the 21% input VAT, so the cash impact of Full Application is around €412 net. Employers with VAT-exempt activities (financial services, education, healthcare, some non-profits) may have partial or no input-VAT recovery. The fee itself is €499 either way.

Bulk applications and frameworks

Sponsoring more than one hire per year? We can set up a framework agreement with batch pricing and a shared intake form your HR team controls. Email [email protected] with the expected volume and we'll send terms within a day.

Common edge cases on the employer side

The employee is starting before their work permit

The application can be filed once employment legally starts. If there's a delay between the signed contract and the actual start (work permit, visa, family relocation), the 4-month clock starts on the day work legally begins, which is sometimes later than the contract date.

Intra-group transfer from a foreign entity

An employee moving from the parent company in another country to the Dutch entity counts as "recruited from abroad" as long as they were resident outside the Netherlands when the offer was made. The 150 km rule still applies.

Salary just under the threshold

If gross salary is below €68,590 (or €52,139 for under-30 with Master's), the 30% exemption is reduced proportionally so the taxable salary lands exactly on the threshold. We calculate the actual percentage and confirm before filing.