Inbound expatriates must monitor their Dutch immigration- and tax status (on a continuous basis). This article is to illustrate why a combined immigration law and international tax approach to expatriates moving to the Netherlands is so important.
Knowledge migrants may often benefit from the 30%-ruling (tax status). Apart from several other (different) conditions, both regimes have a set of similar but confusingly different minimum wage conditions.
The minimum wage conditions for the 30% tax ruling as per January 2016 can be calculated as follows.
The Monthly taxable wage excluding holiday bonus (and excluding the 30% reimbursement):
- for an employee of 30 years or older must be more than € 2,846. Including the maximum 30% reimbursement this Monthly remuneration should be more than € 4,066;
- the monthly taxable salary excluding holiday bonus and excluding the 30% reimbursement for an employee with a master’s degree and who is younger than 30 years, must be more than € 2,163. Including the maximum 30% reimbursement this Monthly remuneration should be at least € 3,091.
A typical Dutch international tax advisor would therefore advise that a total Monthly remuneration (including the 30% reimbursement excluding 8% holiday bonus) of € 4,066 should be sufficient for a regular expatriate moving to the Netherlands under the 30% ruling.
This advisor should however keep the minimum salary threshold for knowledge migrants in mind. With respect to the knowledge migrant regime the 2016 salary thresholds are € 4,240 (over 30 years) and € 3,108 (under 30 years) gross per month, 8% holiday allowance excluded. Keeping the Monthly remuneration of € 4,067,- in mind, this typical expatriate will not be eligible for the knowledge migrant procedure!
In this respect, the correct (combined tax and immigration) advice for knowledge migrants would therefore be that the minimum Monthly remuneration should be at least € 4,240 (instead of € 4,067).