2024 year-end attention points 30% ruling

Now that the holiday period is slowly coming to an end, we would like to bring some items in relation to the 30% ruling to your attention on which also the Tax Authorities will focus.

Salary norm 2024
Every employee who benefits from the 30% ruling in 2024 must meet the set salary standard. This means that a minimum applies to the taxable salary. For 2024, this minimum amount is € 46,107 for an employee aged 30 or older or € 35,048 for employees younger than 30 who have a master's degree. If an employee does not meet this standard in 2024, the 30% ruling will end. To ensure that every employee can retain his/her 30% ruling, it is necessary to already check the payroll administration. It is especially important to check whether employees who turn(ed) 30 in 2024 still meet the salary standard. Where necessary, action can in this case still be taken in a timely manner. This will prevent disappointment for the employee in question at a later date.

Salary cap 30% ruling
In 2024, the salary to which the 30% ruling can be applied will be capped for the first year. For the year 2024, the maximum annual salary is €233,000. Because we notice in practice that various payroll administrators/software are having difficulty processing this upper limit correctly, we would like to advise you to check the payroll administration of the employee(s) in question now. This way a correction can be applied in time, if necessary, and discussion/settlement with the employee afterwards can be avoided.

Choice for partial foreign taxpayer status
Under the 30% scheme, the incoming employee has the option to opt for a ‘partial foreign taxpayer status’, i.e. for Dutch personal income tax treatment as if he/she were not a resident of the Netherlands for his/her income in Box 2 and Box 3. By making this choice in the annual personal income tax return, the employee concerned can achieve significant tax savings because the basis for Dutch taxation is significantly limited. At the end of 2023, it was decided to abolish this scheme for new users of the 30% scheme with effect from 1 January 2025. Employees who were already using the 30% scheme in December 2023 will be subject to limited transitional law: they will still be able to opt for partial foreign taxpayer status until 2026.

When setting up new assignments to the Netherlands, we advise that you make clear agreements with the employee about the exact application of a net income or so-called tax equalization agreement in order to avoid unforeseen costs for you as an employer afterwards.

Possible changes to the ruling as of 2025
At the end of 2023, it was decided that a phase-out scheme will apply to new users of the 30% scheme (effective January 2024). For them, the 30% scheme will be phased out in steps. This phase-out will run in 3 periods of 20 months each from 30% via 20% back to 10%. As a result, there is in fact no longer a 30% scheme but a 30-20-10% scheme. The new cabinet and various political parties have now indicated that they do not consider this phase-out desirable. It is therefore expected that legislation will be presented on Budget Day next year to reverse this phase-out. We will of course keep you informed about this.

If you have any questions and/or comments or would like further information regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact Hans de Vries or Bart van Gool from our Human Capital department for an introduction to discuss these rules in more detail. They are more than happy to assist.