Payroll Services in the Netherlands: Employer Registration and Monthly Payroll

No. A foreign company is a withholding agent if it has a Dutch permanent establishment or a permanent representative living in the Netherlands, or if it keeps the payroll records here and registers on the form Aanmelding Onderneming buitenland (art. 6(2) Wet LB 1964). A Dutch group company can also be designated on joint request (art. 6(6)).

No. In payrolling, the payroll company formally employs the workers and lends them back to the hirer, and from 1 January 2027 lenders of labour need an admission under the Wtta (Stb. 2026, 159). We run payroll administration only: your company stays the employer, pays the wages and keeps the employer's duties.

We do not promise it. The ruling is for employees recruited from abroad, and whether a founder employed by their own BV counts as one is not settled in the rules we have checked. The customary salary rule applies to the founder either way: at least EUR 58,000 for 2026 (art. 12a(1) Wet LB 1964).

A director is employed by the BV, which withholds payroll taxes. A director with a substantial interest earns at least EUR 58,000 for 2026, or a lower comparable salary the BV can substantiate (art. 12a(1), (2) Wet LB 1964). With more than 50 percent of the shares, in most cases no employee insurance applies.

The Belastingdienst says the payroll tax number and the return letter usually arrive within 1 week, longer if it asks for more information. Where employee insurance contributions are due, the sector letter follows within at most 8 weeks, usually 3, and the Whk percentage decision within 4 weeks. These are its times, not ours.

No state fee is stated on the official pages for employer registration, the payroll tax return or the expat-scheme request. Forming a BV first costs the 2026 KVK registration fee of EUR 85.15 (art. 5 Financiële regeling handelsregister 2019). IND recognition as a sponsor is charged separately. Our own fee is on request.

The inspector can impose an administrative fine of at most EUR 1,675 for a late, wrong or incomplete payroll tax return (art. 67b(2) AWR) and at most EUR 6,709 for late or non-payment (art. 67c(1) AWR). Each director is jointly and severally liable for unpaid wage tax, and inability to pay must be reported without delay.

business.gov.nl lists the employer's own duties: determine the wage elements, calculate contributions and taxes, file the return and pay on time. It names payroll software or a payroll office as help. Here the service covers registration, onboarding records, each period's return and the year-end work, while your company stays the employer.

Loonheffingen is the collective name for four levies: wage tax, an advance levy of income tax; national insurance contributions; employee insurance contributions; and the income-dependent Zvw health insurance contribution. Wage tax and national insurance contributions are withheld from the wage. The employer pays the employee insurance contributions and normally the Zvw employer levy.

For 2026 the Belastingdienst publishes AWf at 2.74 percent low or 7.74 percent high, Aof at 6.27 percent low or 7.63 percent high plus a 0.50 percent Wko surcharge, and a Zvw employer levy of 6.10 percent. The Whk percentage comes by decision. Contributions stop at a maximum wage, so we give no worked total.

The employer applies the payroll tax credit only on the employee's written, dated and signed request, which stands until withdrawn the same way. With two employments, it is applied by one employer only (art. 23 Wet LB 1964). An employee who makes no request gets no credit in the payroll (art. 29(2)).

No. The top 2026 wage tax bracket is 49.50 percent, on wage above EUR 78,426 (art. 20a(1) Wet LB 1964). The only higher figure in the wage tax is the 52 percent anonymous rate, which applies when an employee's name, address, BSN or identity check is missing, or a required permit is lacking (art. 26b).

For employees aged 21 and over, EUR 14.71 gross per hour from 1 January to 30 June 2026, and EUR 14.99 per hour from 1 July 2026, with youth wages rising by the same percentage. The amount is adjusted every six months, and the minimum wage must always be paid by bank transfer.

It is the expat scheme: a tax-free allowance of up to 30 percent of the designated wage for at most five years, 27 percent from 1 January 2027. The 2026 salary norm is more than EUR 48,013. Employee and employer apply jointly; a request within four months of the start works back. The outcome comes within 8 weeks.

A signed statement with name, address, date of birth and BSN; an identity document, which the employer verifies and copies; for a foreign worker, the residence permit and, where required, the work permit; and a dated, signed request to apply the payroll tax credit, or none. Missing data means wage tax at the 52 percent anonymous rate.