27% Ruling vs highly skilled migrant salary requirement: two different tests employers should not confuse

The IND salary criterion and the 30%/27% ruling salary norm are two separate tests. See how they differ, where employers go wrong, and what changes in 2027.

Why a salary can pass one test and still fail the other

Your new backend engineer is 28 and relocating from São Paulo. You offer €4.500 gross a month, the IND approves the highly skilled migrant permit, and everyone is happy. Then payroll sets up the 27% ruling and comes back with a surprise: she qualifies, but only for about 18% tax-free, not 27%.

Nothing went wrong. You simply ran into two different salary tests that most employers treat as one. The IND salary criterion decides whether someone can live and work in the Netherlands as a highly skilled migrant. The salary norm of the 27% ruling from 2027 (now still 30%) decides whether, and how much, of their pay can be tax-free. Different authorities, different amounts, different ways of measuring salary.

In this article we explain both tests, show where they diverge, and give you a checklist for getting the offer right the first time.

Key Takeaways:

• The IND salary criterion is a monthly gross amount: in 2026 €5.942 (30+), €4.357 (under 30) or €3.122 (reduced criterion), excluding 8% holiday allowance.
• The expat ruling norm is an annual taxable amount, measured after the tax-free allowance: in 2026 €48.013, or €36.497 for employees under 30 with a qualifying master’s degree.
• A salary can meet the IND criterion and still be too low for the full 30% ruling. The reverse also happens.
• The 27% ruling never helps you meet the IND criterion. The IND confirmed in March 2025 that gross salary must meet the criterion on its own.
• From 1 January 2027 the ruling drops to 27% for most new cases, and rulings that started from 2025 face a higher salary norm. Both tests get new amounts every January.
• Our advice: check both tests before you send the offer, not after the permit is granted.

Two tests, side by side

The quickest way to see why employers mix these up is to put them next to each other.

	IND salary criterion (highly skilled migrant)	27% ruling salary norm
Purpose	Right to live and work in the Netherlands	Tax-free allowance for extraterritorial costs
Authority	IND (immigration)	Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration)
Who applies	Recognised sponsor (the Dutch employer)	Employer and employee jointly
Unit	Gross per month	Taxable salary per year
Holiday allowance	Excluded	Included in taxable salary
Measured before or after the allowance?	Before: full gross salary	After: what remains taxable
2026 amount, standard	€5.942 (age 30+)	€48.013
2026 amount, younger employees	€4.357 (under 30, no degree requirement)	€36.497 (under 30 and a qualifying master’s degree)
Reduced amount	€3.122 (e.g. orientation year, recent graduates)	None beyond the under-30 master’s norm
Which year’s amount counts	The amount in force on the application date	Tested every year at the indexed amount
Applies to	Non-EU/EEA nationals who need a permit	Anyone recruited from abroad who meets the conditions, EU citizens included

Two rows deserve extra attention. First, under 30 does not mean the same thing: the IND only looks at age, while the ruling’s lower norm also requires a qualifying master’s degree. Second, the IND looks at salary before the tax-free allowance, the ruling after it. That one difference explains most of the surprises we see.

Test 1: the IND salary criterion for highly skilled migrants

The IND salary criterion is the gatekeeper for the highly skilled migrant scheme. Without it, there is no permit, and without a permit, the employee cannot start.

How the IND measures salary

• Fixed gross monthly salary as agreed in the employment contract.
• Excluding the 8% holiday allowance.
• Paid monthly into the employee’s bank account, and market-conform for the role.
• Variable pay, bonuses and expense allowances do not count toward the criterion.

The 2026 amounts

• €5.942 gross per month for employees aged 30 or older.
• €4.357 gross per month for employees under 30 at the time of application.
• €3.122 gross per month under the reduced criterion, for example for graduates who held or qualify for an orientation year permit.

The amount that counts is the one in force on the date the IND receives the application. These amounts are indexed every 1 January, so a 2027 hire faces new figures. We cover the 2026 amounts and what to expect for 2027 in our article on highly skilled migrant salary thresholds.

What the 27% ruling does not do here

On 21 March 2025, the IND clarified its policy after a 2023 Council of State ruling. The message for employers is simple: the 27% ruling does not lower the bar. The employee’s gross salary must meet the criterion on its own, even if part of it will later be paid tax-free.

We regularly see offers built around net pay: “with the 27% ruling, her net salary is the same as a higher gross.” That may be true for her bank account. It is irrelevant for the IND. The permit is decided on the contractual gross figure, nothing else.

Test 2: the salary norm of the 30% (from 2027 27%) ruling

The 27% ruling, officially the expat scheme, lets the employer pay part of the salary as a tax-free allowance for up to five years. One of its conditions is that the employee has specific expertise that is scarce in the Dutch labor market. In practice, that expertise is tested through salary.

How the Belastingdienst measures salary

• Annual taxable salary, which generally includes holiday allowance, bonuses and other taxable pay.
• Measured after the tax-free allowance has been taken out.
• Tested every year against that year’s indexed norm.

The 2026 amounts

• €48.013 taxable salary per year as the standard norm.
• €36.497 for employees under 30 with a qualifying master’s degree (Dutch or equivalent foreign).
• A maximum too: the allowance is only calculated over salary up to the WNT cap of €262.000 in 2026, so the tax-free amount stops at €78.600.

The number employers actually need

Because the norm is measured after the allowance, the gross salary needed for the full 27% is higher than the norm itself:

/text{gross salary for full 30\%} = \frac{\text{salary norm}}{0.70}

In 2026 that means roughly €68.590 a year for the standard norm and €52.139 for the under-30 master’s norm. Below those amounts, the employee can still qualify, but the allowance is reduced so that taxable salary does not fall below the norm.

The salary norm is not the only condition. The employee must also be recruited from abroad, have lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for at least 16 of the 24 months before starting, and the request must be filed within four months of the start date for the ruling to apply from day one.

Where the two tests diverge: four examples

All examples use 2026 amounts, a full-year employment and an 8% holiday allowance on top of the monthly salary.

1. Passes the IND, partial 30% ruling

Our engineer from the introduction: 28 years old, no qualifying master’s degree, €4,500 gross per month.

• IND: €4.500 is above the under-30 criterion of €4.357. Permit approved.
• Ruling: annual salary is €58.320. Without a qualifying master’s, the standard norm of €48.013 applies, so taxable salary cannot drop below that amount.
• Result: the maximum tax-free allowance is €10.307, about 18% instead of 30%.

With a qualifying master’s degree, the same salary would clear the lower €36.497 norm and the full 30% would be available. One diploma, a difference of over €7.000 tax-free per year.

2. Passes the ruling, fails the IND

A 31-year-old product manager from Canada, offered €5,800 gross per month.

• Ruling: annual salary of €75.168. After a 30% allowance, taxable salary is €52.618, above €48.013. Full 30% available.
• IND: €5.800 is below the 30+ criterion of €5.942. Permit refused.
• Result: the tax benefit is irrelevant, because she cannot start. The fix is a €142 higher monthly salary, not a better ruling.

3. Turning 30 during the ruling

A 29-year-old data scientist with a qualifying master’s degree earns €4.400 gross per month (€57.024 a year).

• Now: IND criterion met (under 30). Ruling: full 30% under the €36.497 norm.
• From the month he turns 30: the reduced ruling norm ends. Against €48,013, his maximum allowance drops to about €9.000, roughly 16%.
• At permit extension or an employer change: the IND checks the criterion in force at that moment, and at 30+ that is the higher amount.

This is the scenario that hurts most, because nothing changes in the employee’s job. Only their birthday.

4. No IND test at all

A German engineer moves from Berlin to Rotterdam. As an EU citizen, she needs no permit, so the IND criterion does not apply. The ruling’s salary norm, the 150 km condition and the four-month deadline still do. Employers who only think of the 27% ruling as a “highly skilled migrant benefit” sometimes forget to apply for it here.

What changes in 2027

Both tests move on 1 January 2027, and the ruling changes more than usual. If you are hiring for a January start, plan for both.

IND criterion. The monthly amounts are indexed as every year. The IND typically publishes them in December, so offers made now for 2027 starts should leave headroom above the 2026 figures.

Expat ruling. The maximum drops from 30% to 27% for everyone who first used the ruling in 2024 or later. Rulings that started from 1 January 2025 also face a higher salary norm: €50.436 instead of €46.107, and €38.338 instead of €35.048 for the under-30 master’s group. Those are 2024 price levels; the indexed 2027 amounts will be higher and are expected at the end of 2026.

Ruling first applied	Rate from 2027	Salary norm from 2027
By 31 December 2023	30% for the remaining term	Existing norm, indexed
During 2024	27%	Existing norm, indexed
From 1 January 2025	27%	New, higher norm, indexed

For new hires in 2027, two things follow. First, the ruling norm rises faster than ordinary indexation, while the IND amounts only follow the usual yearly increase. Salaries near the IND minimum, especially for employees under 30, will more often fall short of the full allowance. Second, the full-allowance calculation changes: at 27% the gross needed is the norm divided by 0.73 instead of 0.70.

Our sister company Dutchtaxadvice explains the transition rules in detail in From the 30% ruling to 27% ruling in the Netherlands.

What employers should check before making an offer

Most problems start in the offer letter, long before payroll or the IND sees the file. Run through these six questions for every international hire.

1. Does the employee need a permit?
Non-EU/EEA nationals need one; EU citizens do not. Only the first group faces the IND test.

2. Which IND criterion applies, and in which year?
Check the employee’s age on the application date and whether the reduced criterion is available. For a January start, use the amounts for the year the IND receives the application.

3. Is the fixed gross monthly salary above that criterion on its own?
No bonuses, no holiday allowance, no ruling. If the package only works on a net basis, rework it.

4. Which ruling norm applies?
Under 30 is not enough for the lower norm: the employee also needs a qualifying master’s degree. Check the diploma before you promise 30%.

5. Can the employee use the full 30% (or 27%)?
Divide the applicable norm by 0.70 (or 0.73 from 2027) and compare it with the annual taxable salary. Below that, plan for a reduced allowance and say so in the offer.

6. What happens at 30, at extension and on an employer change?
Diary the employee’s 30th birthday and the permit end date. Both can change which amounts apply, for immigration and for tax.

A practical tip: never write “30% ruling” in an offer as a guarantee. Write that the employer will apply for it, and state what happens to the gross salary if the ruling is granted in part or not at all.

How Rock Payroll (and Dutchtaxadvice.nl) can help

The two tests sit with two different authorities, and usually with two different advisors. We bring them together.

• Rock Payroll becomes the Dutch employer when you do not have your own entity or sponsorship in place. We handle the employment contract, the highly skilled migrant sponsorship and monthly Dutch payroll.
• Dutchtaxadvice, our sister company, checks eligibility for the 30% (27%) ruling, files the joint request with the Belastingdienst and confirms how much of the allowance can be used.
• Together, we check both tests on the draft offer, so the salary works for the permit and the tax benefit before the candidate signs.

Need to employ a highly skilled migrant in the Netherlands but do not have the right Dutch employing entity or sponsorship structure? We can be that employer, from offer to first payslip.

The takeaway

The IND salary criterion and the 30% ruling norm look alike, but they answer different questions. One decides whether your new hire can work in the Netherlands. The other decides how much of their pay can be tax-free. They are measured differently, change on different triggers and from 2027 move further apart. Check both before the offer goes out, and you avoid unhappy surprises in the first payslip.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• IND, Business newsletter 18 December 2025 (2026 salary criteria): ind.nl
• IND, Required amounts income requirements: ind.nl
• EY Tax Alert, 16 April 2025: Netherlands clarifies immigration salary threshold for highly skilled foreign nationals in relation to the 30% ruling
• Baker Tilly, New threshold amounts for Expats and Highly Skilled Migrants in 2026
• Loyens & Loeff, From a 30%-ruling to a 27%-ruling: relaxation or restriction?
• Dutchtaxadvice, From the 30% ruling to 27% ruling in the Netherlands