The two routes differ in salary threshold, permit duration and EU mobility rights. Which one fits depends on whether the employee will move on to another member state.
- VAT at 21% standard rate
- Reporting consistency
- How does the 30% ruling work for expat employees in 2026?
The structural complexity for international employers lies in skilled-migrant sponsorship, not tax. Companies hiring highly skilled migrants, EU Blue Card holders, or intra-corporate transferees face salary thresholds revised every January and, since 2026, stricter proof-of-payment requirements — payslips alone no longer suffice; recognised sponsors must retain bank statements or batch payment records showing the salary actually reached the employee's account.
What a foreign hire has to satisfy in Netherlands. Every figure below is published on the Netherlands country page.
| Netherlands | |
|---|---|
| Corporate tax rate | 19% up to €200,000 taxable profit · 25.8% above that threshold |
| Currency | EUR |
| Employer social security | ~27.65% of gross salary (health, pension, unemployment, disability insurance) |
| Highly Skilled Migrant threshold | €5,942/month (age 30+) · €4,357/month (under 30) — 2026, excluding 8% holiday allowance |
| Minimum share capital | BV: no statutory minimum · NV: €45,000 |
What makes it complex in Netherlands
- VAT at 21% standard rate — , with sector-specific reduced rates and recent changes affecting short-term accommodation.
- Reporting consistency — between Dutch statutory accounts and group-level requirements.
How does the 30% ruling work for expat employees in 2026?
The 30% ruling allows qualifying incoming employees to receive up to 30% of gross salary tax-free, reducing the effective tax burden materially. For 2026, this allowance is capped at the WNT norm of €262,000 in annual salary, with transitional protections for pre-2022 ruling holders no longer in effect from 2026 onward.
VAT at 21% standard rate is one of the points HTLC Network handles for clients operating in Netherlands, within a single engagement that covers every other country they operate in — executed locally, governed centrally.
In Netherlands the scope is: Highly Skilled Migrant, EU Blue Card and ICT permit applications, salary threshold compliance, and proof-of-payment documentation management.
See Workforce Mobility in Netherlands for the full scope, or the Netherlands country page for the statutory framework across every service.
Figures as published on the HTLC Network country pages, reviewed September 2026 and collected from public sources. They are not a substitute for advice on a specific case and should be verified before being relied on.