Global Payroll Services in the Netherlands

Already have a Dutch entity or running payroll across several countries? We advise on the best solution for your business by placing you with a vetted payroll partner who has expertise within the Dutch market. Ensuring you stay compliant through your Netherlands expansion.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in the Netherlands involves

Running payroll in the Netherlands for your entity can become complicated if you do not understand the risks. The Belastingdienst runs a seamless system, which means that errors are visible and penalties are real. This is where a specialist payroll partner comes in, taking the burden off your shoulders.

Dutch payroll means getting loonheffing (combined wage tax and national insurance), the mandatory 8% holiday allowance, employer social security, CAO compliance, the 30% ruling for eligible incoming employees and accurate on-time filings correct, every cycle. Get any part wrong and the risks are profound. A specialist partner removes that risk, and Bradford Jacobs makes sure that you are partnered with one that is truly an expert in Dutch payroll.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Dutch staff. The payroll partner runs the monthly mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

Loonheffing and the 8% holiday allowance calculated and withheld correctly, payslips (loonstrook) issued, and filings made to the Belastingdienst on schedule, every month.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Dutch payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 — Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and pay structure, place you with the right vetted Dutch payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

Loonheffing, social security, holiday allowance, CAO terms, and any 30% ruling cases configured correctly, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, deductions withheld, the loonstrook issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle.

04 — File & reconcile

Filings to the Belastingdienst made on time, with year-end reconciliation handled for you.

What payroll in the Netherlands costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. The value of the partner is accuracy and time, in a system where mistakes are visible and penalised.

Employer social security

Roughly 16.6 to 23% on top of gross salary, varying by sector and contract; the employee’s own volksverzekeringen contribution, at 27.65%, is larger still and is withheld from salary, not billed to you. Calculated correctly so there are no surprises.

Holiday allowance

A mandatory 8% of gross, tracked separately and usually paid in May. Easy to mishandle, which is exactly the point of a specialist.

30% ruling

For eligible incoming employees, up to 30% of salary can be treated favourably for tax, within strict 2026 conditions and deadlines. Applied correctly, it is a real draw for international hires.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Income tax (employee)

Box 1 income tax runs 35.75% to EUR 38,883, 37.56% to EUR 78,426, and 49.50% above, withheld at source. Borne by the employee, not added to your cost.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

The statutory side of Dutch payroll, WW, WIA, and Whk premiums that shift by sector and by your claims history, is fixed regardless of provider. What is not fixed is the fee on top of it. We benchmark that across our payroll network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate it for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Dutch regulations that expose risk

The CAO checks, the holiday-allowance handling, the 30% ruling deadlines, the year-end. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across Europe. Enforcement against contractor misclassification under the DBA has resumed after a multi-year pause, with real penalties due from 1 January 2027; if part of your workforce here sits in that grey area, getting the classification right now is cheaper than fixing it later.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

The errors the Belastingdienst finds for you

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Sector CAOs & allowances

Missing a sector CAO that binds you whether or not you signed it (backdated pay and penalties). Mishandling the 8% holiday allowance by folding it into salary. Missing the 30% ruling application window, costing your employee the benefit. Getting employer social security wrong by overlooking sector surcharges.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late loonheffing remittance, where the Belastingdienst applies automatic penalties with interest. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Dutch payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

Loonheffing & holiday pay

Compliant Dutch payroll processed monthly, with loonheffing and the 8% holiday allowance correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with loonheffing and the 8% holiday allowance calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, parental leave, notice and severance.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in the Netherlands.

Do I need a Dutch entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which usually means you have a Dutch entity. If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

Loonheffing calculation and remittance, the 8% holiday allowance, employer social security, CAO compliance, the loonstrook, 30% ruling cases, and all filings to the Belastingdienst, with year-end reconciliation. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

It is a tax facility for eligible employees recruited from abroad, allowing favourable treatment of part of their salary. It still exists in 2026 but the conditions have tightened and there is a strict application deadline. A good payroll partner applies it correctly and on time; missing the window costs your employee the benefit.

A CAO is a collective labour agreement that can apply to your whole sector, binding you on pay, allowances, and conditions whether or not you signed it. Missing an applicable CAO is one of the most common and costly Dutch payroll mistakes. Your partner checks this from the start.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Dutch payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in the Netherlands?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every country you operate in.

Tax and labour data verified June 2026 (Belastingdienst, PwC, OECD). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.