Per year of service
1/3
of monthly salary
Salary includes
8% + extras
holiday allowance, fixed 13th month
2026 cap
€102,000
or 1 year's salary if higher
Entitled from
day 1
when the employer ends it
Rules and the 2026 maximum checked against Rijksoverheid in September 2026. Net amounts are PayMetric Labs' own modeled estimates, labelled where they appear.
Plan the months after your last payslip
See your normal net pay, then compare it with a WW benefit or a new offer.
How the transitievergoeding is calculated
Three inputs decide the amount: your monthly salary, how long you worked, and the cap.
- Monthly salary means gross base pay plus 8% holiday allowance (vakantiegeld), plus 1/12 of a fixed 13th month or fixed year-end payment. Overtime pay and shift allowances count too, as does the average of bonuses, profit shares and variable year-end payments over the last three years.
- Service counts from your first working day, including earlier contracts with the same employer if the gap between them was six months or less.
- The cap is €102,000 gross in 2026. If your annual salary is higher than that, the cap is one year's salary instead.
For the part of your service that isn't a full year, the formula is: (gross salary received over that remaining period ÷ monthly salary) × (1/3 of monthly salary ÷ 12). For a steady salary, that works out to 1/36 of a monthly salary for each extra month (Rijksoverheid).
Transitievergoeding calculator: two worked examples
| Step | Developer in Utrecht | Engineering manager in Amsterdam |
|---|---|---|
| Gross base salary | €5,000 a month | €7,500 a month |
| Holiday allowance and 13th month | 8% | 8% + fixed 13th month |
| Monthly salary for the calculation | €5,400 | €8,725 |
| Service | 6 years 4 months | 12 years |
| Full years × 1/3 | €10,800 | €34,900 |
| Remaining months | €600 | None |
| Transitievergoeding (gross) | €11,400 | €34,900 |
| Roughly what you keep after tax (modeled) | €5,647 | €15,787 |
Forgetting the holiday allowance is the most common mistake: it adds 8% to every euro of the result. The fixed 13th month adds another 1/12 for the manager.
The net row is PayMetric Labs' own modeled estimate. It treats the payment as extra wages on top of a full year's salary, run through our 2026 Box 1 engine. It includes the loss of tax credits as income rises, which is why the effective rate is higher than the 37.56% or 49.50% bracket rate. Your actual tax depends on when in the year the payment lands and on your other income.
Are you entitled? A quick check
| How the contract ends | Transitievergoeding? |
|---|---|
| Dismissal with UWV permission (redundancy, reorganisation) or by the kantonrechter | Yes |
| Fixed-term contract not renewed by the employer | Yes |
| Dismissal after two years of sickness | Yes (the employer can claim it back from UWV) |
| Mutual agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) | No statutory right, but it is the usual floor in negotiations |
| You resign | No, unless your employer acted seriously culpably |
| Dismissal for your own seriously culpable conduct | No |
| Contract ends at AOW (state pension) age | No |
Transitievergoeding vs other payments on exit
The transitievergoeding is one of several amounts on a final settlement. Keep them apart when you check the numbers:
- Notice period pay. Salary for the notice period is separate. It is not part of the transitievergoeding, and a settlement that shortens notice can affect when your WW benefit starts.
- Unused holiday and accrued vakantiegeld. Paid out in the final payslip on top of the transitievergoeding. Our vakantiegeld calculator shows the accrued amount.
- Billijke vergoeding. An extra award a court can grant if the employer acted seriously culpably. It comes on top of the transitievergoeding and has no formula.
- Deductions. Your employer can only subtract costs such as outplacement or training if you agreed to them in writing beforehand.
Before you sign a settlement
- Recalculate the statutory amount yourself, or with the government's free rekenhulp transitievergoeding, and use it as your floor.
- Check that the agreement says the initiative came from your employer and that there is no urgent reason for dismissal. Otherwise your WW benefit is at risk.
- Make sure the end date respects your notice period, or that any shortening is compensated.
- Ask whether the employer pays for independent legal advice. Many do, often up to a fixed amount.
- Recruiters and agencies placing you next: your end date and any non-compete clause matter more to them than the payment.
Transitievergoeding questions
How do I calculate my transitievergoeding?
Take your gross monthly salary including 8% holiday allowance and any fixed 13th month or fixed allowances. Multiply one third of it by your full years of service. For the months or days left over, add a pro-rata share using the Rijksoverheid formula. The total is capped at €102,000 in 2026, or one year's salary if that is higher.
Am I entitled to a transitievergoeding if I resign?
Normally no. You are only entitled if you resign because of seriously culpable behaviour by your employer (ernstig verwijtbaar handelen), such as not paying your salary. If you are thinking of resigning, it is usually worth asking whether your employer will agree a settlement instead.
Does a vaststellingsovereenkomst include the transitievergoeding?
Not automatically. In a settlement agreement you end the contract by mutual consent, so there is no statutory right to the transitievergoeding. In practice most employers offer at least the statutory amount, and often more. Negotiate the amount, the end date and wording that protects your right to WW benefit before you sign.
Why is my transitievergoeding lower than I expected?
The usual reasons: you divided your base salary without adding holiday allowance, you counted a partial year as a full one, or your employer deducted agreed costs such as outplacement or training. Deductions are only allowed if you agreed to them in writing in advance. Check the calculation against the government's free rekenhulp.
Is the transitievergoeding taxed?
Yes. It is taxed as wages, and your employer withholds wage tax using the special payments table (tabel bijzondere beloningen), so it is taxed at your top rate. The final tax is settled in your annual return.
Do I get a transitievergoeding when my fixed-term contract isn't renewed?
Yes, if your employer chooses not to renew it. A fixed-term contract that ends because the employer does not offer a new one counts as ending at the employer's initiative, and the right applies from your first day of work.
What if I am dismissed after two years of sickness?
You are still entitled to the transitievergoeding. Employers can then apply to UWV for compensation of the amount they paid, so it should not be a reason for an employer to keep a long-term sick employee on the books.
When is there no transitievergoeding at all?
When you resign (unless your employer acted seriously culpably), when you were dismissed for your own seriously culpable conduct, when the contract ends because you reach state pension (AOW) age, and for employees under 18 who worked 12 hours a week or less on average.
Methodology and limits
The formula, salary components and 2026 maximum come from Rijksoverheid and the Ministry of Social Affairs' rekenhulp, checked in September 2026. The gross examples apply the statutory formula to illustrative salaries.
The net estimates use PayMetric Labs' 2026 Netherlands engine (Box 1 bands of 35.75%, 37.56% and 49.50%, with the general and labour tax credits). They assume a working-age employee with no other income and no 30% ruling. They don't model payroll's special-payments table exactly. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; for a dismissal or settlement, speak to an employment lawyer or your union.