If you work for ASML, Philips or another international company in Eindhoven, the 30% ruling can make a noticeable difference to your take-home pay. But does the 30% ruling count towards your mortgage application? The short answer is: sometimes, but not automatically, and lenders do not all treat it in the same way.
That difference matters. If you are an expat looking for a home in Eindhoven, Veldhoven or Waalre, the 30% ruling may affect whether a property is within reach. However, you should not simply add the benefit to an online mortgage calculation. The remaining duration of the ruling, your employment contract and the lending criteria all play a role.
What is the 30% ruling?
The 30% ruling is a Dutch tax arrangement for qualifying employees recruited from abroad to work in the Netherlands. It allows an employer to pay part of an employee’s remuneration tax-free as compensation for the additional costs of living and working outside their home country.
In practice, this can leave you with more take-home pay than someone with the same gross remuneration who does not benefit from the ruling. That helps your monthly budget. However, a mortgage lender looks beyond the amount arriving in your bank account. What matters is which income can be verified, is sustainable and is accepted for the mortgage assessment.
The ruling is also temporary. Its exact duration depends on your circumstances and the applicable rules. This is one reason why lenders may take a cautious approach.
Does the 30% ruling increase your maximum mortgage?
Some lenders may take part of the tax benefit into account when calculating your maximum mortgage. Others base their calculation on your regular gross income only. There may also be conditions relating to the remaining duration of the ruling and the supporting information provided by your employer.
The question is therefore not simply whether the ruling counts, but how a particular lender assesses it. The outcome can vary between lenders. A calculation based solely on your gross salary may produce a lower borrowing limit than an assessment that takes the tax benefit into account.
I recommend checking the relevant lending criteria before assuming the benefit can be included. Online mortgage calculators usually provide an indication, but may not capture this detail. Discovering that too late can be disappointing when you have already found an apartment in Strijp-S or a family home in Veldhoven.
Why lenders take different approaches
A mortgage often runs for thirty years. The 30% ruling does not. A lender therefore wants to understand what happens to your income and affordability once the tax benefit ends. Will you still be able to afford the mortgage comfortably?
Employers also present the arrangement differently. The tax-free allowance may appear separately on your payslip, but the breakdown is not always straightforward. A lender needs to understand your regular salary, the tax-free component and the end date of the ruling.
Lending policies matter too. Some providers have extensive experience with international employees and a clear assessment process for the 30% ruling. Others apply more restrictive criteria. This is why comparing mortgages as an expat involves more than looking for the lowest interest rate.
Your take-home pay is not your mortgage assessment income
This distinction often causes confusion. Your take-home pay is the amount you receive each month. Your mortgage assessment income, known in Dutch as toetsinkomen, is the income a lender uses to calculate how much you can responsibly borrow. These are different measures.
For example, suppose you have a permanent employment contract at a technology company in the Brainport region. Your regular gross annual salary is €70,000 and your remuneration also includes a tax-free allowance under the 30% ruling. Your disposable income may be relatively high. Nevertheless, one lender may base the assessment only on the €70,000 of regular income, while another may take some of the tax benefit into account, subject to its conditions. The exact salary and allowance breakdown must always be checked to avoid counting the same income twice.
This does not mean the first calculation is incorrect. It reflects a different approach to assessing sustainable income. As a buyer, the key is knowing which calculation is realistic before making an offer based on an optimistic assumption.
Which documents will you usually need?
A recent payslip alone is often not enough for a full income assessment. The lender needs to verify your employment and your entitlement to the 30% ruling. Relevant documents usually include your employment contract, an employer’s statement (werkgeversverklaring), recent payslips and the ruling or confirmation issued by the Dutch Tax Administration.
A lender may also ask for confirmation of the end date or remaining duration. If the benefit is about to expire, that has a different impact on your future take-home pay than a ruling that still has several years to run.
A temporary employment contract, probationary period, residence permit with a limited validity period or income from more than one country may require additional assessment. These circumstances do not necessarily prevent you from obtaining a mortgage, but they do call for careful preparation.
Look beyond the maximum borrowing amount
Even if a lender accepts all or part of the tax benefit, borrowing the maximum is not always the most suitable choice. Your take-home pay may fall when the ruling ends, while your gross mortgage payments continue.
When advising international employees, I therefore like to compare two situations: affordability while the 30% ruling applies and affordability after it ends. This helps you understand both your borrowing options and whether the home will remain comfortably affordable over time. You may expect salary growth, your partner may plan to start working, or you may be thinking about starting a family. These factors matter alongside the maximum mortgage on paper.
Remember to consider your own savings as well. In the Netherlands, a standard mortgage is generally limited to the assessed property value, subject to applicable exceptions. Costs such as mortgage advice, the civil-law notary and the valuation usually need to be paid from your own funds. If your purchase price exceeds the assessed value, you will generally also need savings to cover that difference. For an apartment, owners’ association fees, known as VvE contributions, are another part of your monthly budget.
A practical example
An expat with a permanent employment contract in Eindhoven wants to buy a property for €450,000. Based on regular gross income, the maximum mortgage appears to fall slightly short of the amount needed. With the 30% ruling, however, their current take-home pay appears sufficient to cover the monthly payments.
It is tempting to assume that this will resolve the shortfall, but that is not guaranteed. One lender may disregard the benefit, leaving the maximum mortgage below the required amount. Another may offer a more favourable outcome if the ruling is properly documented and meets its criteria, including any remaining-duration requirement. Alternatively, the buyer may be able to cover the difference with savings.
The right solution depends on the combination of income, employment contract, remaining duration of the ruling, property value and available savings. The practical lesson is simple: have your borrowing capacity checked before making an offer.
What can you check yourself?
Start with your payslip and employment contract. Is your regular gross salary clearly stated? Can you identify the component relating to the 30% ruling? Do you know when the ruling expires? Having this information ready makes it easier to assess which mortgage options are realistic.
If you have not yet received a final decision, or your employer is still applying for the ruling, take a cautious approach to your budget. A lender may disregard the benefit if it cannot be sufficiently verified. You can still explore buying a home, but your budget should reflect what can actually be demonstrated.
Buying a home as an expat does not have to be complicated, but the details matter. Understanding how a lender treats your 30% ruling helps you search and bid with greater confidence, and choose a home that remains affordable when your tax benefit changes.
Find out what the 30% ruling means for your mortgage
Would you like to know what you can borrow in your situation? At Homeloan, I can assess your income, check the relevant lender criteria and explain your options in English.
Book a free introductory meeting to discuss your plans for buying a home in Eindhoven or elsewhere in the Netherlands.