Check hours, gross pay, deductions and the bank payment
Check the pay period, paid hours and gross pay on your loonstrook (Dutch payslip) against your records and contract. Then check tax and each deduction. Match nettoloon (net pay) to the bank transfer. For employees aged 21 and over, the standard minimum is €14.99 gross per hour from 1 July 2026. Check vakantiebijslag (holiday allowance) separately.
This guide is for employees in the Netherlands, including temporary-agency workers. Your contract and any cao (collective labour agreement) affect some payslip lines.
Four totals to check
Read the checks in this order: pay period and paid hours, gross pay, withholding and deductions, then net pay. Compare each figure with the record in the middle column. Use the last column to investigate a difference.
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| Check | Match it against | What a mismatch may show |
|---|---|---|
| Pay period and paid hours | Roster, time records and leave records | Missing hours, the wrong period or an unpaid break |
| Gross pay | Contract, wage scale, cao and statutory minimum | Wrong rate, allowance or pay component |
| Withholding and deductions | Tax-credit choice, pension scheme and written authorisations | A wrong setting or an unexplained deduction |
| Net pay | Bank transfer and agreed payment date | A partial, late or missing payment |
A payslip can also show year-to-date totals, employer costs and calculation bases. These are not extra amounts paid to or deducted from you. Compare the current-period column first. If the headings are unclear, ask payroll to identify that column.
Payslip delivery and required information
Your employer must provide a payslip with the first wage payment and whenever gross pay, a wage component, a deduction or your applicable statutory minimum changes. A monthly payslip is common. Monthly delivery is unnecessary only when all these amounts remain unchanged. Your employer may provide a digital payslip only with your explicit consent. You must be able to save it and access it later. The official payslip rules (External site, opens in a new tab) and Article 7:626 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek (Civil Code) (External site, opens in a new tab) explain these duties.
The payslip must show all of the following information. These groups follow the Rijksoverheid (Dutch government) payslip guidance (External site, opens in a new tab).
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| Information | Required details |
|---|---|
| Pay | Gross wage in money; each wage component, such as basic pay, allowances, bonuses and holiday allowance; each withholding or deduction; your applicable statutory minimum wage. |
| People and period | Your name, your employer's name and the period covered by the wage calculation. |
| Contract | Agreed working hours; whether the contract is written, indefinite and on call. |
The payslip explains the payment; your contract and applicable cao set many of the underlying rights. Compare the wage scale, contracted hours, allowances, overtime arrangements and pension scheme with those documents. The employment-contract guide explains where to find them.
Hours and gross pay
A pay period can be a week, four weeks or a calendar month. The required hours field shows the hours agreed in your contract. The payslip may show actual or paid hours on separate lines. Keep your own time records when your hours vary.
For overtime and allowances, check your contract or cao. For hourly pay, also check the statutory minimum.
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| Possible line | Meaning | Where to check the rule |
|---|---|---|
| Basisloon (basic pay) or salaris (salary) | Basic gross pay for the period | Contract and wage scale |
| Uurloon (hourly pay) | Gross hourly rate | Contract, cao and statutory minimum |
| Overwerk (overtime) | Overtime hours or pay | Contract or cao |
| Toeslag (allowance) | A shift, irregular-hours or other allowance | Contract or cao |
| Ziekte (sickness) or loondoorbetaling (continued wage payment) | Wage continued during sickness | Law, contract and cao |
| Vakantie (holiday) or verlof (leave) | Paid leave hours or a leave balance | Leave records, contract and cao |
| Reiskosten (travel costs) or onkosten (expenses) | Travel or expense reimbursement | Employer policy, contract or cao |
These lines are conditional. Dutch law sets no general overtime premium; the contract or cao decides whether overtime earns money, time off or an allowance. Sickness and leave have separate rules, and payroll labels do not change those rights.
The statutory minimum hourly wage in 2026
Use the rate that applied when you worked the hours. The official 2026 minimum-wage table (External site, opens in a new tab) has one set from 1 January to 30 June and another from 1 July to 31 December. The rates below apply under the standard minimum-wage rules.
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| Age | Gross per hour, 1 Jan–30 Jun 2026 | Gross per hour, 1 Jul–31 Dec 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 21 and over | €14.71 | €14.99 |
| 20 | €11.77 | €11.99 |
| 19 | €8.83 | €8.99 |
| 18 | €7.36 | €7.50 |
| 17 | €5.81 | €5.92 |
| 16 | €5.07 | €5.17 |
| 15 | €4.41 | €4.50 |
These are gross hourly amounts. Since 2024, there has been no fixed statutory monthly, weekly or daily minimum. Employees aged 18–20 on a beroepsbegeleidende leerweg (BBL, work-based vocational training) contract have lower minimum rates in 2026. Ask payroll to check the statutory BBL minimum when that contract applies. Higher pay agreed in your contract or cao remains due.
For some employees with a disability benefit, UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, Employee Insurance Agency) (External site, opens in a new tab) can approve loondispensatie (wage dispensation). This allows your employer to pay less than the standard minimum. If this applies, ask payroll for the approval and wage calculation before treating the difference as underpayment.
The enacted youth-wage change (External site, opens in a new tab) raises the rates for ages 16–20 and ends the separate BBL scale from 1 January 2027. It does not change the rates for hours worked in 2026.
Which payments count towards the minimum?
The statutory check uses only wage components that legally count. The government's wage-component list (External site, opens in a new tab) includes these items:
- Basic wage.
- Pay for overtime or extra hours.
- Allowances for performance, shifts or irregular hours.
- Fixed commission on turnover.
- Tips that form part of the agreed wage.
Payments with a different purpose stay outside that statutory hourly calculation:
- Holiday allowance.
- Expense reimbursements, including travel costs.
- Employer pension contributions and other deferred benefits.
- Profit shares and occasional or conditional bonuses.
- End-of-year payments.
For a regular pay period under the standard rules, add only the wage components that count and divide the total by paid hours. Count worked hours, paid leave and sickness hours for which your employer continues your wage. Compare the result with the rate for your age and the dates worked. Check holiday allowance and expenses separately.
Reduced sickness pay, an age or rate change, all-in pay and corrections need separate calculations for each part of the period. Ask payroll or a legal adviser to explain the calculation if one of these applies.
Example: you are 25 and worked 160 paid hours in September 2026 under the standard minimum-wage rules. Your gross statutory minimum is 160 × €14.99 = €2,398.40, excluding holiday allowance and expenses. If your qualifying wage components total €2,350, the difference is €48.40. Ask payroll to explain or correct that difference.
From gross pay to net pay
The table separates lines that change your net pay from information used only for the calculation.
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| Possible line | Meaning | Effect on your net pay |
|---|---|---|
| Brutoloon | Gross money wage before withholding and deductions | Starting total, not the bank amount |
| Fiscaal loon or loon voor loonheffing | Taxable wage used for payroll withholding | Calculation basis; it may differ from gross pay |
| Loonheffing (wage tax and national-insurance contributions) | Wage tax plus national-insurance contributions withheld for you | Reduces net pay |
| Loonheffingskorting (payroll tax credit) | Whether payroll applies your payroll tax credit | Usually raises current net pay when set to yes |
| Pensioenpremie werknemer (employee pension contribution) | Your contribution if a workplace pension scheme applies | Reduces pay according to that scheme |
| Premies werknemersverzekeringen (employee-insurance premiums) or werkgeversheffing Zvw (employer levy under the Zorgverzekeringswet, Health Insurance Act) | Employer contributions or calculation information for most employees | Normally, these premiums do not reduce net pay. Your employer may recover up to 50% of the WGA (return-to-work scheme for partially disabled workers) premium component from your net pay. A separate employee Zvw contribution applies in some situations. |
| Nettoloon | Pay after employee withholding and deductions | Should match the bank payment, allowing for any separately shown payment. |
A pension deduction appears if a workplace scheme applies and you owe an employee contribution. Check the calculation basis and percentage in your pension documents or cao. An employer contribution shown for information is paid by the employer.
Workplace pension contributions are separate from AOW (Algemene Ouderdomswet, the Dutch state pension). The Dutch pension and AOW guide explains the difference and how to check your pension records.
Payroll must withhold 52% without the payroll tax credit if required personal details are missing or wrong, your identity is not established in time, or required residence or work permission is invalid. If you applied for a BSN (citizen service number) and its delay is beyond both your control and your employer’s, provide evidence and ask payroll about the exception.
Payroll tax credit
Use loonheffingskorting at no more than one employer or benefit payer at the same time. If you change employer, each employer can apply it during your employment there. Each payer sees only the income it pays you. If two simultaneous payers both apply the credit, they can withhold too little tax.
Check the setting on your payslip and change it with the payer if necessary. The Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration) guidance for several jobs (External site, opens in a new tab) explains the rule. Your annual income-tax assessment calculates the final amount you owe or receive.
Allowances and one-off pay
A reimbursement can be tax-free under a specific exemption or the werkkostenregeling (WKR, work-related costs scheme). Ask your employer which rule applies to your reimbursement. The label “reimbursement” alone does not decide whether it is taxed.
Under the standard payroll rules, payroll uses a special tax table for bijzondere beloningen (one-off or annual rewards). These rewards are separate from a pay period, such as yearly holiday allowance or a bonus. Normal annual wages paid once a year use the regular table. Holiday allowance paid monthly normally uses the monthly table. The tax percentage can be higher than on ordinary salary. Your annual income-tax assessment calculates the final tax.
Some arrears or overtime from another pay period can use the special table or the regular table with a recalculation. The regular table is required for period wages established later and paid in one lump sum if no wages were previously paid for those periods.
If you qualify and your employer applies the studenten- en scholierenregeling (students’ and pupils’ scheme) at your request, the quarterly table applies to ordinary and special pay.
Holiday allowance
Vakantiebijslag is normally at least 8% of the gross wage earned during the period in which you build it up. The calculation includes overtime and its premium. You also build holiday allowance over the wage paid during sickness. Profit shares and end-of-year payments are outside the statutory calculation. Your payslip may show the amount built up, paid or both.
Your employer must pay holiday allowance at least once a calendar year. The legal default is June. A written agreement can set another payment time or instalments. Check the payment arrangements in your contract or cao.
A cao can set a lower holiday allowance or none if you receive at least 108% of the minimum wage in total. If you earn more than three times the minimum wage, a written agreement can set a lower amount or none. Check the official holiday-allowance rules (External site, opens in a new tab) before treating an unusual line as an error.
Annual income statement
Your jaaropgaaf (annual income statement) arrives at the beginning of the next year, commonly in January or February. The official guidance gives no single delivery day. It shows your fiscal wage, loonheffing withheld and arbeidskorting (labour tax credit) used for that employer. Untaxed allowances may appear, but your employer can leave them out.
Compare the totals with your final payslip and use every employer's statement in your tax return. The Dutch income-tax guide explains the annual calculation.
Deductions and their limits
Payroll tax and required employee pension contributions follow their own rules. Many other deductions need your written permission. For those deductions, an agreement in your employment contract is insufficient. Under the standard rules, the employer must calculate at least the gross minimum that applies to you and pay its net amount into your bank account. If UWV approves loondispensatie, your employer can pay a lower wage. Limited legal exceptions allow deductions from the protected net amount. Check the evidence and limits below.
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| Deduction | What must support it | Limit to check |
|---|---|---|
| Loonheffing | Tax law and payroll tables | Your taxable wage, table and tax-credit setting |
| Employee pension contribution | Applicable pension scheme or cao | The scheme's basis and employee share |
| Loonbeslag (attachment of earnings) | A formal attachment served on the employer | The beslagvrije voet (protected income amount) and the order served |
| Housing | Written authorisation; a housing-corporation home or cao-quality housing with a certified landlord | At most 25% of the gross statutory minimum wage due for the period |
| Health insurance | You are the policyholder; your policy copy and written authorisation; your employer pays your insurer | €2,098.80 for calendar year 2026; €174.90 if divided into 12 equal monthly deductions |
| Other repayment or private charge | Written permission or another specific legal basis | Normally only pay above the protected minimum can be used |
The government deduction rules (External site, opens in a new tab) have an exception for employees with an arbeidsbeperking (work limitation) who earn the minimum wage. It covers housing, health insurance for you and your family, and utilities such as gas, water and electricity. It also covers rioolheffing (sewerage levy), afvalstoffenheffing (waste collection levy) and waterschapsbelasting (water authority tax). These listed costs have no maximum deduction. Written authorisation is still required. Ask payroll or a legal adviser whether this exception applies to you.
Temporary-agency housing charges
If the Algemene Bond Uitzendondernemingen (ABU, temporary-agency employers’ association) cao for 2026–2028 (External site, opens in a new tab) applies to you, these housing limits cover workers who live in the Netherlands temporarily. You must also have been recruited abroad by or for the agency, or housed here for work. They exclude cross-border workers with a permanent home in Belgium or Germany.
The Prijs-kwaliteitsysteem (PKS, housing price-quality system) links the charge to the housing quality. Its usual maximum is €159.85 per week from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027. Article 49 sets two exceptions:
- If your agreed basic weekly pay is at least 140% of the current statutory minimum hourly wage × 40, the €159.85 maximum does not apply. The PKS still limits the charge.
- If the agency has not yet implemented the PKS, the maximum charge is 20% of the current statutory minimum hourly wage × 40.
A housing price ceiling alone does not authorise a wage deduction. Your employer still needs written authorisation and must meet the statutory housing and minimum-wage protections. The 25% statutory deduction cap and the PKS price limit answer different questions; both can apply.
Temporary-agency payslip rules
If the ABU 2026–2028 cao applies, your payslip must also show the hourly rate, actual hours, allowances and applicable minimum, and explain abbreviations. It must show the client company’s name and location where possible.
A reservering vakantiebijslag (holiday-allowance reservation) is holiday allowance you have built up. Ask for the calculation behind any other reservation or settlement. The temporary-agency work guide explains the agency, client and worker roles.
Common payslip problems
Work down the table from hours and rates to allowances, tax and deductions. Compare the disputed line with the record under “Check first”. Ask payroll for the calculation under “Ask for”.
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| What looks wrong | Check first | Ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Hours or pay period | Roster, timesheets, leave and sickness records | A comparison of recorded and paid hours for each pay period |
| Hourly rate or wage scale | Contract, age, effective date and cao scale | The scale, step and effective date used |
| Overtime or shift allowance | Contract and cao | The hours and percentage used |
| Holiday allowance | Accrual period, wage basis and earlier payments | An accrual and payment statement |
| Tax or tax credit | Taxable wage, table and your signed tax-credit choice | The payroll setting and a corrected payslip if wrong |
| Housing, insurance or another deduction | Invoice, written authorisation and legal or cao limit | The document, amount and period behind the deduction |
The payslip shows the result, while the contract, cao and source records explain it. Use the sick-leave guide when reduced pay or waiting days relate to sickness.
Records and written correction requests
Keep all of these records that apply to your pay problem:
- Save every payslip and annual income statement.
- Save bank statements that show each wage payment.
- Keep the contract, applicable cao, wage-scale notice and pension information.
- Keep rosters, clock records, timesheets, leave records and sickness records.
- Keep housing, insurance and other invoices plus every written authorisation.
- Keep emails and messages about hours, rates, deductions and promised corrections.
If contacting your employer would be unsafe, use a help route below. Otherwise, use the records to ask for a correction in this order:
- Write to your employer or payroll department. Name the pay period, disputed line and amount.
- Attach the record that conflicts with the payslip and ask for the calculation.
- If an error is confirmed, ask for a corrected payslip, the payment date and any corrected payroll or annual statement.
- Save your sent message and the reply.
If you need an ONA (Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt, Dutch labour market orientation) exemption, the ONA exemption guide explains the work conditions and evidence. Keep payslips showing your hours: they can support an objection if your exemption is refused.
Help with pay problems and wage claims
Choose a route that can handle your pay problem. Start with your employer unless contacting them would be unsafe.
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| Problem | Useful route | What that route can do |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll input or clerical error | Employer or payroll department | Explain, recalculate, issue a corrected slip and pay the difference |
| cao wage, scale or allowance dispute | Union, cao helpdesk or legal adviser | Explain the applicable employment terms and advise on a wage claim |
| Less than the minimum wage or holiday allowance you are entitled to | Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie (Netherlands Labour Authority) (External site, opens in a new tab) or kantonrechter (subdistrict court judge) | Investigate and sanction minimum-law breaches, or order a civil payment |
| Contractual wage, overtime or unpaid salary above the minimum | Union, Juridisch Loket (legal advice service) (External site, opens in a new tab) or subdistrict court | Advise on and pursue a civil wage claim |
| Threats, coercion or labour exploitation | Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie; 112 for immediate danger to life | Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie investigates exploitation; 112 connects you to emergency help |
For minimum-wage or holiday-allowance underpayment, you can report to Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie or bring a claim in the subdistrict court. If Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie finds minimum-wage underpayment, your employer must pay the arrears within four weeks. You can claim unpaid wages and holiday allowance for five years from each payment’s due date.
Late-pay compensation and interest
If your employer is responsible for a payment delay, you can claim a wettelijke verhoging (statutory late-pay increase). For working days four to eight after the due date, the increase is 5% of the unpaid wage per day. It then rises by 1% for each later working day, up to 50%. You must claim it in court, and the judge can reduce it.
Wettelijke rente (statutory interest) can also be due. The non-commercial rate is 4% from 1 January 2026. Rates can change, so use the rate for the period of delay.
If contacting your employer would be unsafe, take your records to the union, a legal adviser or Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie, depending on your case. Otherwise, send a message naming the pay period, disputed line, evidence and correction you want. Keep the sent copy and reply. If your employer does not correct the problem, take those records to the help or court route that fits your case.
For the documents and help you may need next:
- Author
- By Inburgering.org team
- Reviewer
- Reviewed by Kirill Svavolia
Official Sources
- Business.gov.nl: Rules for payslips (External site, opens in a new tab) - when an employer must provide a payslip, the required information, digital-payslip consent and the employee's right to save it
- Rijksoverheid: What is on my payslip? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the required payslip fields, conditional pension information and the payroll-tax bases that may appear
- Business.gov.nl: Salary and payslip rules (External site, opens in a new tab) - weekly, four-weekly and monthly pay periods, bank payment of the net minimum, payslip totals and the annual income statement
- Rijksoverheid: Employer rules for an employment contract (External site, opens in a new tab) - the contract and CAO as sources of pay terms, payslip duties and timely salary payment
- Rijksoverheid: What is a CAO? (External site, opens in a new tab) - how a collective labour agreement can set wages, allowances, overtime, hours and pension terms
- Rijksoverheid: Minimum-wage amounts for 2026 (External site, opens in a new tab) - the gross hourly rates by age from 1 January and 1 July 2026 and the paid hours used for the statutory hourly system
- Rijksoverheid: What counts towards the minimum wage? (External site, opens in a new tab) - which wage components count towards the statutory minimum and which payments, including holiday allowance and expenses, stay outside the calculation
- Rijksoverheid: How much holiday allowance do I receive? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the 8% minimum, calculation basis, overtime and sickness rules, annual payment and written exceptions
- Rijksoverheid: Payroll tax and employer contributions (External site, opens in a new tab) - what loonheffing contains and that employers normally pay employee-insurance premiums themselves
- Belastingdienst: Several jobs (External site, opens in a new tab) - that only one simultaneous employer should apply the payroll tax credit and that the payslip shows whether it is applied
- Belastingdienst: What is on an annual income statement? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the fiscal wage, withholding, labour credit and optional untaxed allowances on a jaaropgaaf
- Belastingdienst: Work-related costs scheme (External site, opens in a new tab) - when reimbursements and benefits can be tax-free under the WKR and why a reimbursement is not automatically net or untaxed
- Business.gov.nl: Working Hours Act (External site, opens in a new tab) - that overtime counts as working time and that Dutch law sets no universal overtime premium
- Rijksoverheid: Wage continuation during sickness (External site, opens in a new tab) - the statutory sickness-pay percentages, the first-year minimum-wage floor and the role of the contract or CAO
- Rijksoverheid: Deductions for housing and health insurance (External site, opens in a new tab) - written authorisation, qualifying housing and 25% cap; policyholder and insurer-payment conditions and €2,098.80 health-insurance cap in 2026; work-limitation exception
- Business.gov.nl: Salary deductions and settlements (External site, opens in a new tab) - the distinction between statutory deductions, deductions that need written consent and protection of the minimum wage
- Rijksoverheid: What to do about minimum-wage underpayment (External site, opens in a new tab) - employer, Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie and subdistrict-court routes, the four-week repayment order and the five-year claim period
- Rijksoverheid: When must my employer pay my wage? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the late-pay uplift of 5% and then 1%, its 50% maximum, the court route and the court's power to reduce it
- Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie: Report unfair, unsafe or unhealthy work (External site, opens in a new tab) - reporting underpayment and exploitation online or by telephone; anonymous telephone reports for exploitation and 112 for immediate danger to life
- ABU: Collective Labour Agreement for Temporary Agency Workers 2026–2028 (External site, opens in a new tab) - agency payslip fields, conditional client details, holiday-allowance reservations, housing-rule scope, the 2026–2027 PKS price ceiling and its exceptions
- Rijksoverheid: Prevent identity fraud (External site, opens in a new tab) - the identity-fraud risks of personal data in payslips and annual statements, and protection of sensitive documents
- Rijksoverheid: Statutory interest (External site, opens in a new tab) - what statutory interest is and the 4% non-commercial statutory-interest rate from 1 January 2026
- Belastingdienst: Apply or stop payroll tax credit (External site, opens in a new tab) - one simultaneous payer, payslip checks and changing the setting with an employer or benefit payer
- Belastingdienst: Employer Zvw levy or employee contribution (External site, opens in a new tab) - employer-paid health-insurance levy versus employee contributions in specific situations
- SVB (Dutch social insurance agency): Additional pension (External site, opens in a new tab) - workplace pension as additional provision beside AOW; employee contributions through salary and recorded pension overviews
- Staatsblad (Dutch official law gazette) 2026, 279: Youth minimum-wage change (External site, opens in a new tab) - the lower BBL scale in 2026, increased youth rates and end of the BBL exception from 1 January 2027
- Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag (Minimum Wage and Minimum Holiday Allowance Act): Articles 15–17 (External site, opens in a new tab) - holiday-allowance amount, lower or no allowance under specified agreements, and written agreement for different payment timing
- Burgerlijk Wetboek: Articles 7:625–626 (External site, opens in a new tab) - payslip delivery when any listed amount changes; explicit consent, saving and later access for digital payslips; late-pay increase, fault condition, percentages, cap and judicial reduction
- Belastingdienst: Handboek Loonheffingen 2026 (Payroll Taxes Handbook) (External site, opens in a new tab) - section 7.6.9: WGA recovery from net wages; sections 9.3.5–9.3.6 and 18.16: standard and special tax tables, arrears recalculation and compulsory regular-table cases, monthly holiday allowance, and the requested students’ and pupils’ scheme with its quarterly table
- Rijksoverheid: Check your protected income amount (External site, opens in a new tab) - protected income when earnings are attached and checking the notice from the attaching creditor
- Inburgeren.nl (official civic integration website): ONA exemption objections (External site, opens in a new tab) - payslips showing paid hours as evidence when objecting to an ONA exemption refusal
- UWV: Loondispensatie (wage dispensation) (External site, opens in a new tab) - approval for a wage below the statutory minimum, qualifying workers, and the decision and wage assessment
- Belastingdienst: Anonymous rate (External site, opens in a new tab) - Payroll must withhold 52% without the payroll tax credit if required personal details are missing or wrong, your identity is not established in time, or required residence or work permission is invalid. If you applied for a BSN and its delay is beyond both your control and your employer’s, provide evidence and ask payroll about the exception.
- Rijksoverheid: Bedragen minimumloon bbl-opleiding 2026 (External site, opens in a new tab) - Ask payroll to check the statutory BBL minimum when that contract applies. Higher pay agreed in your contract or cao remains due.