The answer flips at about £39,000. Below it the Netherlands is dramatically better, keeping 97.0% of gross at the equivalent of £20,000. At £39,016 the two are level at 81.0%.
Above it the UK pulls ahead, because the Dutch curve is the steepest we measure: what you keep falls more than 42 points between £20,000 and £200,000. The 30% ruling is what changes that, and it is changing itself in 2027.
They are level at
£39,016
both keep 81.0% of gross
Dutch curve falls
42 pts
steepest of any pair we model
30% ruling from 2027
27%
for rulings begun since 2024
Model a package with and without the ruling.
Open the 30% Ruling CalculatorWhere the two systems cross
The share of gross kept in each country, with the Dutch tax credits applied and no 30% ruling. This is independent of the exchange rate.
| Equivalent salary | UK keeps | Netherlands keeps | Who is ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | 89.6% | 97.0% | Netherlands ahead by 7.4 pts |
| £30,000 | 83.7% | 87.8% | Netherlands ahead by 4.0 pts |
| £39,016 | 81.0% | 81.0% | Level |
| £80,000 | 71.2% | 64.0% | UK ahead by 7.2 pts |
| £200,000 | 58.9% | 54.8% | UK ahead by 4.1 pts |
The credits are doing the work at the bottom
Two credits explain the whole shape of the Dutch curve. The general tax credit (algemene heffingskorting) and the labour tax credit (arbeidskorting) are subtracted from the tax bill itself, not from taxable income, so at modest earnings they wipe out most of the liability.
Both then phase out as income rises. The withdrawal acts as a hidden marginal rate on top of the headline Box 1 rates, which is why the Dutch figure falls so fast through the middle of the range. By the time the credits are gone, the Netherlands has moved from being far cheaper than the UK to noticeably dearer.
It also means any comparison that applies Dutch headline rates without the credits will be wrong, and wrong by a lot at the bottom of the scale.
The 30% ruling becomes 27% on 1 January 2027
The tax-free percentage drops from 30% to a flat 27% for employees whose ruling began on or after 1 January 2024. Holders from before 2024 keep the full 30% until their ruling lapses. If you are negotiating a 2026 start, model the package on 27% for most of its five-year life rather than 30%, and do not let an employer quote you a net figure that assumes otherwise. The 2026 salary threshold is €48,013, or €36,497 for someone under 30 with a recognised master's degree.
The same three salaries in cash
Converted at £1 = €1.1635, European Central Bank reference rates, 23 September 2026, without the ruling. Check the live rate; the percentages above do not move with it.
| UK gross | Dutch gross | UK net | Dutch net |
|---|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | €58,174 | £39,520 (£3,293/mo) | €43,189 (€3,599/mo) |
| £80,000 | €93,078 | £56,957 (£4,746/mo) | €59,666 (€4,972/mo) |
| £120,000 | €139,616 | £76,157 (£6,346/mo) | €80,574 (€6,715/mo) |
These exclude vakantiegeld, the Dutch holiday allowance of normally 8% of annual salary paid in May. It is real money and it favours the Dutch side, so add it before concluding anything from the cash column.
How these figures were produced
PayMetric Labs' own calculations with our UK and Dutch tax engines at 2026 rates, including Box 1 tax, national insurance and both the general and labour tax credits. No 30% ruling, no vakantiegeld, no pension contributions on either side and no UK student loan. The crossover salary was found by solving for the point where both keep the same share of gross.
Compare your own two offers
If the ruling applies to you, model it at 27% for a 2026 start rather than 30%.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the UK or the Netherlands leave you with more?
It flips at about £39,000. Below that the Netherlands is dramatically better: at the equivalent of £20,000 a Dutch employee keeps 97.0% of gross against 89.6% in the UK. The two are level at £39,016, both keeping 81.0%. Above that the UK pulls ahead, peaking at 7.2 points around £80,000.
Why is the Dutch figure so high at low salaries?
Tax credits. The general tax credit (algemene heffingskorting) and the labour tax credit (arbeidskorting) are deducted from the tax bill itself rather than from taxable income, and at modest earnings they cancel out most of the liability. They then phase out as income rises, which is what produces the steep fall. Any model that applies Dutch rates without the credits will be badly wrong at the bottom of the range.
How steep is the Dutch curve?
The steepest of any market we compare against the UK. What a Dutch employee keeps falls from 97.0% at the equivalent of £20,000 to 54.8% at £200,000, a drop of more than 42 percentage points. The UK's falls about 31 points over the same span. The Netherlands is a very gentle place to earn a modest salary and a heavy one to earn a large salary.
Does the 30% ruling change the answer?
Substantially, and it is the reason many people move on Dutch terms at all. It lets a qualifying employer pay up to 30% of salary as a tax-free allowance for a maximum of five years, which effectively removes the top slice of income from Box 1 altogether. For a senior hire above the crossover point it can more than reverse the UK's advantage.
Is the 30% ruling changing?
Yes, from 1 January 2027. The tax-free percentage drops from 30% to a flat 27% for employees whose ruling began on or after 1 January 2024. Holders from before 2024 keep the full 30% until their ruling lapses. If you are negotiating a 2026 start, model the package on 27% for most of its life rather than 30%.
What is the salary threshold for the 30% ruling?
For 2026 the taxable salary must exceed €48,013, or €36,497 for someone under 30 holding a recognised master's degree. Note that the threshold applies to the salary after the tax-free allowance is taken, which is a common source of confusion when structuring an offer close to the limit.
How reliable is the currency conversion here?
Treat it as illustrative and check the live rate. The percentages are the durable part, because the share of gross you keep does not depend on the exchange rate. The rate used is stated and dated beside the cash table above, and comes from the European Central Bank's daily reference rates.
What does this comparison leave out?
The 30% ruling itself, which is modelled separately. UK pension salary sacrifice and student loan repayments. Dutch holiday allowance (vakantiegeld), normally 8% of annual salary and usually paid in May, which is real money not in these figures. The Dutch mortgage interest deduction. And Dutch pension contributions, which are often substantial and employer-arranged.
Figures are PayMetric Labs' own calculations using our UK and Dutch tax engines at 2026 rates, for a single filer with the general and labour tax credits applied, no 30% ruling and no vakantiegeld, against a single UK taxpayer with no pension contributions or student loan. Ruling percentages and thresholds verified September 2026. Currency conversions use £1 = €1.1635, European Central Bank reference rates, 23 September 2026 and will drift. General information only, not personal tax advice.