Tax comparison
🇧🇪Belgium vs 🇳🇱Netherlands
At €80,000 gross, the net annual salary is €45,670 in Belgium and €50,468 in the Netherlands, a gap of €4,798 per year. Once each side is put at its own price level, the order reverses: about €51,000 of purchasing power in Belgium against €50,000 in the Netherlands. EXPATRIATION.IO comparison, 2026 tax scales: adjust the gross salary and the household below.
Enter in EUR. Converted to local currency automatically.
Comparing taxes: Belgium and Netherlands
Belgium (country) and Netherlands (country) have distinct approaches to taxing employment income. On a gross salary of €80,000, the effective total deduction rate is 42.9% in Belgium compared to 36.9% in Netherlands. That translates to a difference of roughly €4,798 per year in favor of Netherlands.
In Belgium, income tax amounts to €23,874 and social contributions add €10,456. In Netherlands, income tax is €29,532 and social contributions are €0.
The net annual take-home is €45,670 in Belgium and €50,468 in Netherlands. These figures assume a single filer with no children or special deductions. Actual results vary based on household composition, deductions, and specific tax credits available in each jurisdiction.
Equivalent gross and tipping point
At €80,000 gross in Belgium, about €72,000 gross is needed in the Netherlands to reach the same net salary.
That figure answers the same net. For the gross that gives back the same purchasing power, restated at each side's price level, the two answers sit side by side.
Over the €30,000 to €250,000 gross range the ranking reverses at around €55,000: below that level Belgium leaves the higher net salary, above it the Netherlands does.
These figures use the default profile. The Expat Package Report runs the same calculation on your own two salaries and household, and quantifies the gap in euros.
Detailed comparison at €80,000 gross
| Belgium | Netherlands | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross annual salary | €80,000 | €80,000 |
| Income tax (national or federal) | €23,874 | €29,532 |
| Social contributions | €10,456 | €0 |
| Total deductions | €34,330 | €29,532 |
| Net annual salary | €45,670 | €50,468 |
| Net monthly salary | €3,806 | €4,206 |
| Effective deduction rate | 42.9% | 36.9% |
Pay compared
On pay itself, the 2022 European Structure of Earnings Survey gives, on one definition for both sides, full-time gross annual earnings averaging €54,959 in Belgium and €59,527 in the Netherlands. The medians, less sensitive to very high salaries, are €50,994 and €50,106. Scope: enterprises with 10 or more employees, public administration excluded. The survey is quadrennial and 2022 is its latest edition.
Examples at several salary levels
| Gross (EUR) | Rate Belgium | Net Belgium | Rate Netherlands | Net Netherlands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €45,000 | 32.1% | €30,558 | 36.0% | €28,802 |
| €80,000 | 42.9% | €45,670 | 36.9% | €50,468 |
| €120,000 | 48.5% | €61,839 | 41.1% | €70,668 |
| €250,000 | 54.2% | €114,388 | 45.5% | €136,318 |
These figures assume a single filer with no children; the tool above lets you adjust the salary and the household configuration (married, 1 to 3 children).
Special tax regimes
The figures on this page apply the ordinary scale. Where one of the two sides opens a tax regime of its own for arrivals from abroad, it is computed alongside here, without changing the comparison above.
Belgium · BBIB Expat Regime
Up to 35% of gross remuneration is exempt from income tax as costs proper to the employer, without ceiling, for remuneration paid from 1 January 2025 (law of 18 December 2025, Belgian Official Gazette of 30 December 2025, articles 15 to 18, which also lowered the salary threshold to 70,000 EUR). For social security the exemption stays at 30% of remuneration, capped at 90,000 EUR a year: the royal decree of 28 November 1969 (article 19, paragraph 2, 4°) refers to the version of the regime in force on 1 January 2022 and was not amended, as the ONSS administrative instructions 2026/3 state, so the tax and social treatments differ. Applies to employees and executives recruited from abroad or seconded to Belgium. The comparison above applies the ordinary scale and does not assume this regime.
| Gross (EUR) | Net Belgium, ordinary scale | Net under the regime | Difference (signed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| €45,000 | €30,558 | €38,497 | +€7,940 |
| €80,000 | €45,670 | €61,442 | +€15,772 |
| €120,000 | €61,839 | €86,497 | +€24,658 |
| €250,000 | €114,388 | €165,758 | +€51,371 |
Who this regime is open to
Cumulative conditions: recruited directly from abroad or seconded within a multinational group; during the 60 months before taking up the position in Belgium, neither a Belgian tax resident, nor subject to the non-resident tax on Belgian professional income, nor living within 150 km of the border; gross annual remuneration above 70,000 EUR; regime granted on application approved by the tax administration. Whether a given move qualifies is a question for a tax lawyer, not for this calculator.
Netherlands · 30% Ruling (30%-regeling)
Up to 30% of salary paid as a tax-free allowance for a maximum of 5 years, for skilled workers recruited from abroad with expertise scarce in the Dutch market. The rate stays 30% through 2026 and becomes 27% from 2027 for those who started in 2024 or later (earlier beneficiaries keep 30%); the previously announced 30/20/10 phase-down was reversed. Minimum taxable salary of 48,013 EUR in 2026 (36,497 EUR under 30 with a qualifying master’s degree) after applying the allowance. The comparison above applies the ordinary scale and does not assume this regime.
| Gross (EUR) | Net Netherlands, ordinary scale | Net under the regime | Difference (signed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| €45,000 | €28,802 | €33,739 | +€4,937 |
| €80,000 | €50,468 | €59,670 | +€9,202 |
| €120,000 | €70,668 | €88,488 | +€17,820 |
| €250,000 | €136,318 | €173,443 | +€37,125 |
Who this regime is open to
Recruited from abroad with expertise scarce in the Dutch market. Lived more than 150 km from the Dutch border for at least 16 of the 24 months before employment. Minimum taxable salary of 48,013 EUR in 2026 after the allowance; the tax-free basis is capped at the public-sector pay norm (WNT). Whether a given move qualifies is a question for a tax lawyer, not for this calculator.
Cost of living
Consolidated cost-of-living index (Paris = 100): Brussels 90, Amsterdam 100. This is a rounded editorial benchmark, built from Numbeo readings and official statistics rather than published by them. On a gross salary of €80,000, the net amounts adjusted to this index correspond to a purchasing power on the order of €51,000 for Brussels and €50,000 for Amsterdam, at Paris price levels.
To go further: the cost-of-living comparison and the city budget calculator.
Sources: Belgium: finances.belgium.be, tax year 2026 · Netherlands: belastingdienst.nl, tax year 2026
This tool provides estimates based on public datasets. It is not the opinion of a tax lawyer. Consult a tax lawyer, a chartered accountant or a licensed financial professional before making relocation or employment decisions.