No 12 The Instrument

Your tax,
in brackets.

Move the cursor along the scale. Every bracket slice is a direct read from the statutory table of record — no approximation, no rounding.

Grounded in
Belastingplan 2026
Key Takeaway · Netherlands 2026

Three Box 1 brackets from 35.75% to 49.50% — but the general credit (heffingskorting) and labour credit (arbeidskorting), worth up to ~€8,800 combined, cut the real bill sharply.

  • Top rate: 49.5%
  • Brackets: 3
  • Deduction: No standard deduction — two tax credits instead (up to ~€8,800)
  • Social contributions: National insurance (~27.65%) is bundled into the 35.75% first-bracket rate
Income Scale · Gross
Filing: Single
$0
$25k
$50k
$100k
$200k
$500k
About the Tax System

How Income Tax Works in Netherlands

The Netherlands taxes employment income in "Box 1" on three brackets — 35.75% up to €38,883, 37.56% to €78,426, and 49.50% above. That first rate looks steep because it already bundles in roughly 27.65% of national insurance (AOW state pension, WLZ long-term care, Anw survivors). What makes Dutch take-home far higher than the headline rate suggests are two large tax credits: the general heffingskorting (up to €3,115, phasing out above €29,736) and the arbeidskorting labour credit (up to €5,685, building up then phasing out from €45,592). Together they can knock close to €8,800 off the bill. Incoming skilled migrants may also qualify for the 30% ruling, which exempts part of salary from tax for a limited period.

Worked example. On a €40,000 salary, Box 1 tax is about €14,300 — but roughly €8,000 of tax credits cut it to around €6,300, an effective rate near 15.7%.

What this calculator shows. Move the slider in the calculator above to your gross salary. Every figure — tax owed, effective rate, marginal rate, social contributions, take-home — is computed bracket-by-bracket from the Belastingplan 2026 statutory tables. There is no estimation or rounding.

Method

How We Calculate Netherlands Income Tax

01 — Source of record

Brackets, thresholds, and contribution rates come directly from Belastingplan 2026, published by the Belastingdienst. We do not estimate, smooth, or interpolate.

02 — Computation

Income tax is computed bracket-by-bracket on income after the standard deduction. Mandatory social contributions are layered on top, applying statutory caps where they exist.

03 — Assumptions

Single filer, gross employment income, no other deductions or credits. National — individual taxation (Box 1) — regional taxes (if any) shown separately.

04 — Updates

Tables are reviewed annually when each authority publishes its update. See the data methodology page for full citations.