Our Expat Desk explains: 30 percent ruling and 150km zone

On October 12, 2012 by Dutch Umbrella Company

How is the 150km measured?

I’m a Swedish national living and working in Germany. I have been offered a contract in The Netherlands but understand that I must have lived at least 150km from the Dutch border before starting work in The Netherlands to be eligible to apply for the 30 percent ruling. How is the 150km measured?

WePayPeople Expat Desk replies

Yes, one of the application criteria of the 30% ruling is that the employee must have lived at least 150km from the nearest Dutch border for less than 1/3rd of the last 24 months prior to being employed in The Netherlands. This naturally has implications for employees recruited from Belgium, France (northern part), Germany and Luxemburg.

The Belastingdienst measures the distance using a straight line from your last place of residence to the nearest Dutch border. You can measure this distance yourself using www.afstandmeten.nl. For example, Aachen is 3.5km from the nearest Dutch border but Berlin is 430km.

Questions for our Expat Desk?

If you have any questions regarding the 30% ruling or the 150km zone, please contact us or send an email to duc@wepaypeople.com.