Dutch payroll services for companies from abroad

What Dutch payroll includes

• Registration as employer. Your company registers with the Dutch tax office and receives a payroll tax number.
• New employees. Before the first payslip, you need the citizen service number (BSN), a check of a valid identity document and a statement on the payroll tax credit.
• Salary calculation. We calculate gross and net salary, the payroll taxes and the employer contributions, including the holiday allowance of at least 8%.
• The payroll return. We file the return each month or every four weeks, and send you the amount to pay.
• Payslips and the annual statement. Every employee receives a payslip each period and an annual statement for the tax return.
• Pension. We check whether your sector has a compulsory pension fund and register your company where it applies.

What the payroll taxes are

The Dutch employer pays one combined payroll levy to the tax office. Part of it comes out of the gross salary: the wage tax and the national insurance contributions. Another part comes on top of the salary: the employee insurance contributions and the healthcare contribution. That second part makes the employer cost higher than the gross salary.

The rates change each year. You find the details in Dutch payroll tax for employers and employer costs beyond the gross salary.

Your own Dutch company or an employer of record

An employer of record is a company that employs your staff for you, for a monthly fee per employee. With your own Dutch BV, your company is the employer. A BV is a Dutch private limited company.

Many companies start with an employer of record and switch to their own BV when the team grows. We set up your BV from abroad and take over the payroll from the first month.

Your own salary as director

If you own 5% or more of the shares of your Dutch BV and work for it, you pay yourself a salary through the payroll. The Dutch tax office expects a customary salary. For 2026, the starting point is €58,000 per year. A lower salary is possible when the facts support it, for example in the first years of a new company. We check which salary the tax office accepts for your company and file the request. See the director salary calculator.

Hiring staff from abroad: work permits, salary thresholds and the 30% ruling

Staff from outside the EU need a residence permit to work for your Dutch company. For a skilled employee, your company can apply for the permit for a highly skilled migrant. Your company first becomes a sponsor recognised by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Then your company applies, and the IND decides. The permit is valid for the term of the contract, up to 5 years (IND, 2026).

The amounts exclude the holiday allowance and change every year on 1 January. The salary also matches the market rate for the job (IND, 2026).

The 30% ruling (expat scheme). For an employee recruited from abroad, your company can pay up to 30% of the salary tax-free, for at most 5 years. The employee lived more than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border for at least 16 of the 24 months before the start. The taxable salary is above a yearly minimum: €48,013 in 2026, or €36,497 for an employee under 30 with a master’s degree. Our team checks the conditions and files the request with the Dutch tax office. See the 30% ruling calculator.

From 2027: 27%. On 1 January 2027, the maximum goes down from 30% to 27% for employees who started using the scheme on or after 1 January 2024. Employees who started before 1 January 2024 keep the old rules. The minimum salary also gets an extra increase on 1 January 2027, on top of the yearly indexation (business.gov.nl, 2026).

Our payroll service. We do the payroll for your staff from abroad, with the 30% ruling in each payslip. You see the price before the first payslip and have one contact person on our team.

The permits through our immigration lawyer. An immigration lawyer from our network prepares the recognition as a sponsor and the permit applications. The IND decides on every application. We set up your Dutch company and keep the books.

Moving to the Netherlands yourself as an American entrepreneur? See the DAFT visa and your Dutch company.

How we work

1. Intake. You tell us the number of employees, the start date and the contracts. You receive a written proposal with the fee.
2. Registration. We register your company as employer and set up the payroll.
3. First payroll. We collect the details of each employee and send the first payslips.
4. Every month. You send changes, we file the return and send you the amount to pay.

You can combine payroll with bookkeeping and VAT returns and the other corporate services. Then everything is handled in one place.

Part of a group abroad? See finance and compliance for your Dutch subsidiary for group reporting and the yearly calendar of Dutch tax returns.

Sources

• IND, required amounts and income requirements (2026)
• IND, residence permit for a highly skilled migrant (2026)
• Business.gov.nl, the expat scheme (30% ruling) (2026)
• Belastingdienst, the expat scheme (30% ruling) for employees from abroad: minimum salary 2026 (2026)
• Belastingdienst, salary of a director-shareholder: customary salary 2026 (checked October 2026)

Last reviewed: October 2026.