THE NETHERLANDS - 30% ruling – New legislation as of 2019 / Transitional rules

January 2019

As you may be aware, in the tax budget for the 2019 year the Dutch Government announced that from 1 January 2019 the maximum duration of the 30%-ruling will be reduced from 8 years to 5 years.

Please note that no changes are proposed for employees that are going to work outside the Netherlands and for whom the 30%-ruling could be applied.

Transitional rulings

The transitional rulings state that the 30%-ruling could be applied until 31 December 2020 based on the law before 2019.

Those assignees that the 30%-ruling applies to can be divided into the following 3 categories:

End date 30% ruling in 2019 or 2020: duration remains the same.
End date 30% ruling in 2021, 2022 or 2023: duration ends no later than 31 December 2020.
End date 30% ruling 2024 or later: no transitional rules, reduced duration by 3 years (max. 5 years)

It is important to determine which category your assignees fall into so the necessary measurements can be taken in time. You should also think about informing your assignees of the changes and managing this communication and the impact on both them and the company.

Robin Schalekamp
robin.schalekamp@bdo.nl