30% ruling: salary requirements for 2026 and more

The 30% ruling (also known as the expat ruling) is a tax facility for employees who come to work in the Netherlands from abroad. Under certain conditions, employers may pay up to 30% of an employee’s salary tax-free as compensation for the additional costs incurred by expats living in the Netherlands.

Provisional salary requirements for 2026

An important condition for applying the 30% ruling is the salary requirement: the minimum taxable salary an employee must receive in order to qualify for the ruling and to retain the right to it. As an employer, it is vital to be aware of next year’s salary thresholds in time so that (i) they can be factored into hiring new staff, and (ii) existing employees do not risk losing their entitlement to the 30% ruling.

The table below includes the salary requirements for 2026 as well as an indication of the requirements likely to apply in 2027.

In the 2025 Tax Plan from the Dutch government, it was announced that, as of 2027, the salary requirements will be increased significantly and the exemption percentage will be reduced to 27%. The new salary requirements for 2027 are indicative. They already include the expected indexation for 2026, but indexation for 2027 still needs to be applied. The final amounts for 2027 will therefore not be set until next year.

• The reduced requirement applies to employees under the age of 30 who hold an academic master’s degree.

For employees to whom the 30% ruling already applied in 2024, the significant increase in the salary thresholds and the reduced exemption percentage will not apply from 2027 onwards. For them, the old salary criteria remain in force, which will, of course, continue to be indexed annually. They may also continue to make use of the 30% exemption.

Please note: the amounts above are not yet final. They are based on expected indexation and may still change once definitively set in the 2026 Tax Plan or due to rounding in the official publication.

What else should you consider?

The new salary requirements have implications for both new and existing employees. In addition, transitional rules will expire in 2026. We therefore recommend looking ahead and considering the following:

• New employees: when recruiting staff, take the higher threshold for 2026 into account now. This helps avoid disappointment or difficult discussions afterwards.
• Existing employees: check which employees currently sit just above the current threshold. They risk no longer meeting the requirement from 2026 onwards. Inform them in good time and, where appropriate, consider a suitable salary adjustment.
• Looking ahead to 2027: identify which employees will be affected by the further increase and assess whether your organisation’s pay structure is already prepared for this. When recruiting new employees, keep the 2027 changes in mind as well.
• Capping of the 30% ruling: As of 2026, the application of the 30% ruling for every employee will be limited to the WNT norm (also known as the Balkenende norm). The transitional arrangement will expire on January 1, 2026, meaning it can no longer be invoked. Make sure to inform employees who will be affected in time to avoid unpleasant surprises. The WNT norm for 2026 has been set at €262,000. In practical terms, this means that for these employees, the 30% benefit can only be calculated on a maximum salary of €262,000. For income above this amount, no tax-free expat allowance can be applied.
• Partial non-resident tax status: as of 2025, the partial non-resident tax status—under which employees using the 30% ruling are treated as partial non-residents for box 2 and box 3—has been abolished. For employees eligible for transitional rules, 2026 will be the final year in which they can use this facility. Ensure that your employees are informed.

Do you have questions about how these changes may impact your organisation? Or would you like to know more about the 30% ruling in general? Please feel free to contact us at loonheffingen@crop.nl – we are happy to assist.