The ruling is now capped at the WNT threshold and transitional protection has ended. How that changes net compensation planning for high earners already in the Netherlands.
- Director-major shareholder (DGA) customary salary rule
- Annual salary threshold revision
- What is the DGA customary salary rule?
Operating in the Netherlands requires coordination across a comparatively simple corporate tax structure and an increasingly strict skilled-migrant sponsorship framework, where salary compliance is now actively audited through bank-level payment verification, not just payslip review.
The Dutch skilled-migrant system rewards employers who treat salary threshold compliance as a continuous obligation, not a one-time check at the visa application stage. Thresholds change annually, apply retroactively to new employment contracts even mid-permit, and are now verified against actual bank transfers — a gap between contracted and paid salary that surfaces during inspection is treated as a compliance failure, not an administrative oversight.
What an employee costs in Netherlands. Every figure below is published on the Netherlands country page.
| Netherlands | |
|---|---|
| VAT standard rate | 21% |
| VAT reduced rates | 9% |
| Accounting standard | Dutch GAAP (Titel 9 Boek 2 BW), or IFRS for listed groups |
| Annual accounts filing | Annual accounts filed with the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) within 12 months of year-end (8 days after adoption, itself due within 5–6 months) |
| Statutory audit | Statutory audit mandatory above 2 of 3 thresholds: €5.5M balance sheet, €11M turnover, 50 employees — aligned with EU harmonized thresholds |
What makes it complex in Netherlands
- Director-major shareholder (DGA) customary salary rule — — owner-directors of a BV must pay themselves a statutory minimum salary, €58,000 for 2026.
- Annual salary threshold revision — for Highly Skilled Migrants, EU Blue Card and ICT permits, effective every 1 January.
What is the DGA customary salary rule?
A director-major shareholder holding 5% or more of a BV's shares must pay themselves a statutory minimum "customary" salary — €58,000 for 2026 — reflecting what a comparable employee would earn for similar work. This prevents owner-directors from avoiding income tax entirely by taking only dividends.
Director-major shareholder (DGA) customary salary rule 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: Full-cycle Dutch payroll including wage tax withholding, social security contributions, DGA customary salary compliance, and 30% ruling administration.
See Payroll & Workforce Management 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.