30 percent ruling Netherlands rules
Foreign workers usually have more costs for housing, traveling, and living. To compensate them the Dutch government allows employers to pay out 30 percent of their wages as a tax-free allowance. To be eligible for the 30 percent ruling, ex-pats must meet a number of requirements and the employer must submit a request to the Dutch Tax Office (Belastingdienst). Furthermore, foreign workers must meet the following 30 ruling criteria:

1. The ex-pat is registered in The Netherlands and employed by the employer submitting the 30 tax ruling application.
2. The ex-pat contributes to the Dutch economy because of their specific knowledge.
3. The ex-pat was recruited outside the Netherlands
4. The ex-pat has a valid work permit.

30 percent ruling Netherlands requirements
To apply for 30 tax ruling Netherlands the Dutch authorities also enforce a number of additional rules regarding education, salary, and age of the foreign employee.

• The 30 percent ruling minimum salary must be €39,467 (2022) or more. In 2021 the minimum salary was €38,961 (2021), not including the tax-free allowance.
• When the ex-pat is under the age of 30 he must have a Dutch academic master’s degree or a similar foreign degree. His salary must also be higher than € 30,001 (2022) or € 29,616 (2021) not including the tax-free allowance.
• The ex-pat conducts scientific research at a designated research facility or is a doctor in training to be a specialist. In this case, the height of the salary is not relevant.

Only if these 30 tax ruling conditions are met, does the ex-pat qualify for the scheme. When applying for the 30 percent ruling you must provide the Dutch Tax Office with copies of legal documents and a written agreement and statement from the employer.

30 ruling Netherlands spouse

And what about your spouse? Let’s say you come to The Netherlands with your spouse and he or she is enjoying the 30 percent ruling, can the dependent spouse also apply for the Netherlands tax 30 ruling once he or she finds a job in The Netherlands? Unfortunately the answer is no. If the spouse finds a job while everything is settled in the Netherlands, he or she is treated as a locally hired employee for whom the 30% ruling is not applicable.

30 ruling change employer

If you change employer during your stay in The Netherlands and you were granted the 30 ruling, you will need to apply for the 30% ruling again. Your new employer needs to submit a new application for the remaining duration you were already granted the 30 ruling.

30 ruling self-employed

If you decide to quit your job and become self-employed, it depends on the actual set up whether you can (partially) keep the 30% ruling. The 30% ruling is only applicable on income from present employment. If you decide to become self employed, you are no longer an employee and as a consequence, the 30% ruling is no longer applicable.

Limited company

If you set up a limited company which will employ you then you can request the tax authorities to grant the 30% ruling for your work for your own limited company. A limited company will lead to extra administration and costs though. If you keep your job partially and also become self employed you may keep the 30% ruling on your employment income if your total income is high enough. But this can become complicated for your employer to determine and because of that they may not be willing to cooperate