Netherlands

Individual - Residence

Last reviewed - 02 July 2021

Article 4 of the General Taxation Act prescribes that an individual's residence position is determined based on all (relevant) facts and circumstances. In case of a dispute, the Dutch tax courts will examine the person's durable ties of a personal (and, to a lesser extent, economic) nature with the Netherlands.

Under Dutch tax law, a number of criteria is used to determine the place of residence. The most important criteria include the following:

Where a permanent home is maintained.

Where employment duties are performed.

Where the individual's family resides.

Where the individual is registered with the local authorities.

Where bank accounts and other assets are maintained.

The intended length of stay in the Netherlands.

An expatriate is generally considered a resident of the Netherlands if:

as a married person, their family accompanies them to the Netherlands, or

as a single person, they stay in the Netherlands for more than one year.

Qualifying non-resident taxpayers and option regime
When a non-resident individual qualifies as a qualifying non-resident taxpayer, one is entitled to certain deductions and tax benefits that resident taxpayers are entitled to. Non-resident taxpayers have to fulfil a number of (modified) conditions to qualify for this scheme. The main conditions are that 90% or more of the taxpayer’s income should be subject to wage and income tax in the Netherlands and the individual has to reside in an EU member state, in Bonaire, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Saba, Sint Eustatius, or Switzerland. A catch-all clause is included for situations in which less than 90% of the income of a non-resident taxpayer is subject to tax in the Netherlands, but where, based on European law, this taxpayer is nevertheless entitled to the application of personal allowances in the Netherlands. In addition, the non-resident taxpayer should also submit a declaration of income from the tax authorities in their country of residence.

Election to be treated as a partial non-resident
Under the provisions of the so-called 30% ruling, employees who are, based on facts and circumstances, considered as resident taxpayers may opt to be treated as partial non-residents. Partial in this respect implies that they are treated as residents for box 1 and as non-residents for box 2 and 3 purposes while they are entitled to personal deductions and tax credits.

Electing to be treated as a partial non-resident taxpayer does not override the residency determination principles based on tax treaties between the countries.

From 2019, the maximum term of the 30% ruling is reduced from eight to five years. All transitional law for existing cases ended on 1 January 2021.