The average income in the Netherlands is around €36,500 per year before tax. This means that the most common gross salary is €3,000 per month. On average, IT workers in this country earn 65% more than the typical Dutch person.
How much you can earn
The average IT salary in the Netherlands is around €4,950 per month, ranging from €2,610 to €7,900. The average annual salary stands at about €59,400, according to Salary Expert.
If you want to apply for a residence permit under the Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant) program, your salary should not be lower than €3,381 per month if you’re younger than 30 or €4,612 if you’re 30 or older. If you want to apply for an EU Blue Card, your salary should not be lower than €5,403 per month before tax.
Here are examples of average IT salaries in the Netherlands depending on the specialization (€ per month):
- Android developer: 4,570
- Business Intelligence analyst: 5,130
- Business Intelligence developer: 4,960
- C# developer: 4,840
- C++ developer: 5,140
- Data analyst: 4,470
- Data architect: 4,540
- Database administrator: 4,900
- Front-end developer: 4,140
- Full-stack developer: 4,760
- Game developer: 4,330
- Information security analyst: 5,400
- iOS developer: 5,100
- Java developer: 4,940
- PHP developer: 4,320
- Python developer: 5,160
- Salesforce administrator: 4,390
- Salesforce developer: 3,830
- Scrum master: 3,860
- Software architect: 4,460
- Software engineer: 4,760
- Software QA engineer: 4,130
- Technical writer: 4,250
- Web designer: 4,320
- Web developer: 4,180
IT salaries can also vary significantly depending on work experience and other factors. For example, a software engineer can earn between €60,000 and 90,000 a year. Here are examples of medium annual salary ranges according to Berenschot (€):
- IT manager: 100,400 (91,700 – 141,600)
- IT project manager: 104,700 (73,300 – 130,500)
- Programmer: 58,900 (43,500 – 75,400)
- Senior IT consultant: 95,400 (77,800 – 114,000)
- System architect: 89,200 (70,500 – 116,200)
- Tester: 45,700 (37,500 – 53,800)
Annual income in the Netherlands is often calculated with holiday allowance taken into consideration. Holiday allowance is a salary for the last month of the year that is usually paid in one amount, usually in May, and sometimes it is distributed evenly over 12 months. Plus, some companies give a bonus based on the results of the financial year, e. g. 5–15%.
Income tax in the Netherlands
All salaries mentioned above are calculated before tax. You can use an online tax calculator to learn how much you will take home. For example, if you make €60,000 a year living in the Netherlands, you will be taxed around €22,410, and your net monthly income would be less than €40,400.
However, with the 30% ruling, your net salary will be higher — almost €50,000.
The 30% ruling is a tax advantage for incoming high-skilled employees in the Netherlands. If you meet specific requirements, you can get a tax allowance amounting to 30% of your salary subject to Dutch payroll tax. The result is the taxable part of your salary reduced to 70%; on top of that, the 30% allowance is paid so that the total stays 100%.
Here are requirements you need to meet to be eligible for the 30% ruling:
- Your taxable salary (70%) is at least €38,347 (€54,781 before tax)
- You’re younger than 30, you have obtained a master’s degree at a foreign university, and your taxable salary (70%) is at least €29,149 (€41,641 before tax)
- You have lived at least 150 km from the Dutch border before moving to the Netherlands (during at least 16 months in the last 24 months before you started to work in the country)
The salary amount does not matter if you work in scientific research.
The 30% ruling is granted for a maximum of 5 years.
→ How to apply for the 30% ruling
Cost of living in the Netherlands
To live comfortably in the Netherlands, you need to earn at least €60,000 – 80,000 per year. However, the individual sum depends on your spending, family size, hobbies, and other factors.
The minimum monthly expenses in the Netherlands start at about €2,000 – 3,000 per month (€4,000 for a larger family). This sum includes the following (€):
- Rental accommodation: 1,000 – 2,000
- Utilities and Internet: 150–300
- Food: 300–700
- Health insurance and medical services: 100–200
- Leisure activities: 100–500
- Clothes and other stuff: 100–200 or 600–800 for a larger family
- Housewares: 40–60
- Personal supplies: 40–60
You don’t have to spend money on public transportation as you can easily travel around Dutch cities by bicycle or on foot if you live close to work.
Keep in mind that life in the Randstad (the region consisting of the four largest Dutch cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht) is more expensive than in other parts of the country.