You live in Germany – where do you pay tax on income from the Netherlands?

If you work in the Netherlands for a Dutch employer, you usually pay tax in the Netherlands on your wages. If you work in the Netherlands for a German employer, you sometimes pay tax in Germany.

You do not pay tax twice on the same income

However, you may have to file tax returns in both Germany and the Netherlands.

The country you pay tax in depends on your situation:

• You work from home for your Dutch employer

  From 2026, working from home can have tax consequences. If you work from home for more than 34 days per year, you pay tax in Germany on the wages you earn on all of your work-from-home days. If you work from home for a maximum of 34 days per year, you continue to pay tax in the Netherlands on the wages you earn on your work-from-home days.

  A work-from-home day is a day on which you work from home for your employer for more than 30 minutes. This can also be a day in which you work in a country other than the Netherlands or Germany.

• You temporarily work in the Netherlands for your German employer

  You work in Germany and pay tax on your wages in Germany. If you temporarily work in the Netherlands for your German employer, you continue to pay tax in Germany if you meet the following conditions:

  • You stay in the Netherlands for a maximum of 183 days in a 12-month period.
    This can be a calendar year in which you stay in the Netherlands for 183 consecutive days. It can also be a different 12-month period, with 183 days spread across that period. In addition to the days you work in the Netherlands, other days related to your work also count. These include weekends, national holidays, vacation days and days off for, during or after your work, or short interruptions to your work.
  • Your German employer may not loan you out, send you on temporary assignment or second you to a Dutch employer.
  • You continue receiving your wages from your employer in Germany.
    Your wages are not paid by a business location in the Netherlands. For example, your employer does not pay your wages through an office, workplace, factory, warehouse or retail space in the Netherlands.

  If you do not meet these conditions, you pay tax in the Netherlands on your wages.

• You work for the Dutch government

  You usually pay tax in the Netherlands on your wages from the Dutch government.

  You sometimes pay tax in Germany

  If you work in Germany for the Dutch government, you sometimes pay tax in Germany on those days. You pay tax in Germany in these 2 situations:

  • You live in Germany and have German nationality.
  • You live in Germany and do not have German nationality. Your work for the Dutch government is not the main reason you live in Germany. For example, you live in Germany because your family also lives there.

  From 2026, working from home can have tax consequences

  If you work from home for more than 34 days per year, you pay tax in Germany on the wages on all your work-from-home days. If you work from home for a maximum of 34 days per year, you continue to pay tax in the Netherlands on the wages you earn on your work-from-home days.

  A work-from-home day is a day on which you work from home for your employer for more than 30 minutes. This can also be a day on which you work in a country other than the Netherlands or Germany.

• You work in education

  If you teach in the Netherlands or conduct academic research there while being paid from Germany, for example, by a German educational institution, you pay tax in Germany for up to 2 years from the day you start work.

  There are conditions:

  • You are staying in the Netherlands, but you are not emigrating to the Netherlands.
  • You teach or conduct academic research at a university or another officially recognised educational institution in the Netherlands.
    The academic research must be conducted in the public interest and not primarily for the personal benefit of a person.

  This scheme applies to government educational institutions and to all private educational institutions officially recognised by the Dutch government, at any level. This includes primary schools, secondary schools, vocational education and universities). Ask your educational institution whether it is officially recognised by the Dutch government.

  If you receive a reimbursement from the Netherlands, the rules listed under You temporarily work in the Netherlands for your German employer, apply. If you work for a government institution, the rules under You work for the Dutch government, apply.

• You work on an international business park

  Do you work for a company based at a business park on the border of the Netherlands and Germany? If so, you pay tax on your wages in the country where you have mandatory social insurance. If you are socially insured in the Netherlands, you pay tax in the Netherlands. If you are socially insured in Germany, you pay tax in Germany.

  You can verify where you are socially insured at grensinfopunt.nl (only available in Dutch and German).

• You receive a pension, an annuity or a social security benefit from the Netherlands

  You usually pay tax in Germany on your Dutch pension or annuity.

  You have accrued pension in the Netherlands while you worked there

  You often receive your Dutch pension from the Netherlands. However, you can also receive a Dutch pension from a German insurer if you transferred your pension from the Netherlands to that insurer. This means that your Dutch pension does not have to be paid from the Netherlands.

  You sometimes pay tax in the Netherlands

  You pay tax in the Netherlands if the total amount of the following Dutch pensions is more than €15,000 in a year:

  • state pension, such as the AOW (Old-Age Pension) and ANW (Surviving dependants' pension insurance scheme)
  • company pension
    A pension you built up working for a Dutch company.
  • annuity payment
    Payment from an annuity insurance.

  When calculating the threshold of €15,000, the following do not count:

  • your government pension
    A pension you built up working for the Dutch government
  • your social security benefit
    A benefit from the UWV (the Employee Insurance Agency), after terminating your employment. For example: WW, WAO, WIA, Wajong, WAZ or ZW.

  Government pension

  You pay tax in the Netherlands if you receive a government pension from the Netherlands and don’t have German nationality. This is a pension you accrued working for the Dutch government.

  Social security benefit

  You pay tax in the Netherlands on social security benefits from the Netherlands. This is a benefit you receive from the UWV after termination of your employment. For example: WW, WAO, WIA, Wajong, WAZ or ZW.

  Lump sum payment of a pension or annuity

  You pay tax in the Netherlands on a lump sum payment of a pension or annuity from the Netherlands.

Tax treaty with Germany

Read the tax treaty between the Netherlands and Germany (only available in Dutch).