Annual check on 30% ruling salary criterion

Employers should check annually (e.g., in December payroll run)  or when employees are leaving the company to make sure that the indexed salary criterion as applicable for the employee is met.

If this salary criterion is not met the implications are:

1. The 30% ruling is not applicable as of the start of the year.
   and
2. The 30% ruling cannot be applied going forward.

New legislation 30% ruling – proposal

1. Under the existing 30% regime, instead of applying the 30% ruling, employers and employees can opt for untaxed reimbursement of the extraterritorial costs actually incurred. No specific conditions apply to making the choice, except, of course, meeting the wage tax conditions applicable to such a reimbursement/allowance. Starting 1 January 2023 this choice must be made per calendar year. The choice must be made by the employer.  The choice must be made in the first salary period of the calendar year. For employees starting their employment on or after 1 January of the relevant calendar year, the choice must be made in the first salary period following the four months submission period which applies for the 30% ruling.

2. The tax-free 30%-allowance will be capped as of 1 January 2024

The Tax Plan 2023 proposes a cap on the base for the computation of the 30% allowance. This capping measure will take effect from 1 January 2024. This cap will be set at the maximum remuneration under the Top Income Standardisation Act, in Dutch generally referred to as the “WNT”. For 2022, this maximum is EUR 216,000. The maximum remuneration under the WNT is expected to be higher in 2024, as this amount is linked to the development of contractual wage costs for the government.

3. Transitional law

As regards employees for whom a 30% ruling has been applied in the last salary payment period of 2022, the capping measure will only take effect as of 1 January 2026.

We refer also to our previous newsletter on this topic. The Dutch tax authorities have published a Newsletter on this topic as well (in Dutch) section 10: Nieuwsbrief Loonheffingen 2023 (belastingdienst.nl)