As an international professional relocating to the Netherlands, you will likely encounter several tax benefits. Two terms that are often used interchangeably are the 30% ruling and the expat ruling.
What exactly is the expat ruling?
The expat ruling for international employees is a Dutch tax facility specifically designed for skilled workers coming from abroad. This scheme allows employers to pay up to 30% of an employee’s gross salary tax-free as compensation for extraterritorial costs.
In practice, this means that for tax purposes, your gross salary is reduced from 100% to at least 70%, making a maximum of 30% of your income effectively tax-free. This benefit is intended to compensate international employees for the additional expenses they incur when relocating to and working in the Netherlands.
Expat ruling versus 30% ruling: are there differences?
This is where confusion often arises: the expat ruling and the 30% ruling are essentially the same scheme. Since 2025, the official term is “Expatregeling,” but in practice both terms are used interchangeably to refer to the same tax benefit.
The confusion exists because different organisations and advisors use different terminology. Some refer to the “30% ruling” because of the percentage, while others use “expat ruling” because the scheme is designed specifically for expats – and because this became the official name as of 2025.
It is important to understand that when people speak about differences between these terms, they may be referring to different aspects of the same scheme or to other tax benefits available to international employees in the Netherlands.
The 30% ruling was previously even a 35% ruling. As of 2027, the percentage will decrease to 27%, meaning it could technically be called the “27% ruling.” Because multiple percentages (30 and 27%) will coexist during a transition period, the term “expat ruling” is often clearer.
The key takeaway is that the 30% ruling and the expat ruling are not different facility. As long as you remember that both terms refer to the same facility, you can avoid confusion when submitting applications or communicating with the Dutch tax authorities.
The expat ruling undergoes regular changes. Stay updated on developments such as the phased reduction for new applicants from 2024 and the abolishment of the partial non-resident taxpayer status from 2025.
For personalised advice, feel free to contact our experts.
