1Working hours
The hours in your contract, here 38 hours a week. A month has 52 ÷ 12 = 4.33 weeks on average, so 38 hours a week is 164.67 hours a month. If you work part-time, you will see fewer hours here and a proportionally lower salary.
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2Hourly wage and minimum wage
Your hourly wage is your monthly salary divided by your hours per month: € 3,500 ÷ 164.67 = € 21.26. Employers must show the statutory minimum wage on the payslip. From 1 July 2026 it is € 14.99 an hour for employees aged 21 and over (€ 14.71 before that). If your hourly wage is lower, something is wrong.
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3Payroll tax credit (loonheffingskorting)
A reduction of your payroll tax: the general tax credit plus the employed person's tax credit. You may only have one employer or benefits agency apply it at a time, usually your main job. With the credit you take home considerably more each month. If two employers apply it, you will probably have to pay tax back after the year ends.
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4Salary (gross pay)
The pay agreed in your contract, before deductions. Your payslip may also show other pay items such as overtime, shift allowances or a bonus. These usually count towards payroll tax.
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5Employee pension contribution
If you build up a pension through your employer, you often pay part of the premium yourself. It is deducted from your gross pay. You do not pay payroll tax on this amount: it is subtracted before payroll tax is calculated (see line 9). The percentage is set out in your pension scheme rules.
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6Payroll tax (loonheffing)
Payroll tax is a prepayment of your income tax. It consists of wage tax and national insurance contributions (AOW, Anw and Wlz). Your employer calculates it with the Dutch Tax Administration's monthly table and pays it through the payroll tax return. Because it is calculated per month, the total for the year can differ slightly from the tax you actually owe. That is settled through your income tax return.
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7Tax-free allowances
Some allowances can be paid tax-free, such as a travel allowance up to a maximum per kilometre or a working-from-home allowance per day. They are added to your net pay and do not count towards payroll tax, which is why they are listed separately below your wage.
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8Net pay
The amount paid into your bank account: all payments minus all deductions. Here that is € 3,560.00 − € 693.42 = € 2,866.58. Net pay can vary from month to month, for example in the month you receive holiday pay, a bonus or a 13th month.
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9Wage for payroll tax
Also called taxable wage. This is the wage on which payroll tax is calculated: gross pay plus taxable pay items and any company-car addition, minus the pension contribution. Here that is € 3,500 − € 175 = € 3,325.
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10Table wage
The tax tables use bands of € 4.50 a month. The wage for payroll tax is rounded down to such a band, the table wage: € 3,325 becomes € 3,321. The tax for that table wage comes from the white monthly table. The green table is for income from a former employment, such as a pension paid by the employer.
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11Special rate
For irregular payments such as holiday pay, a bonus or a 13th month, employers do not use the monthly table but the special rate for irregular payments. The percentage depends on your annual wage of the previous year. In this example it is 42.01%. It is higher than your average tax burden because tax credits phase out as income rises. That is why less of your holiday pay reaches your account than you might expect.
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12Year-to-date totals
The totals from 1 January up to and including this month. In this example that is ten months' wages (€ 33,250) plus holiday pay in May (€ 3,360). At the end of the year these totals appear on your annual statement (jaaropgaaf), which you use for your income tax return.
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13Holiday pay
Each month you accrue at least 8% of your gross pay as holiday pay: here € 280 a month. It is usually paid in one go in May or June, covering June to May. From June to October that adds up to € 1,400 in this example. The payslip shows it as a reservation; it is only taxed when it is paid (see line 11).
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14Employer costs
On top of your gross pay, your employer pays contributions you never see as deductions: unemployment insurance (AWf), disability insurance (Aof), Whk, the childcare surcharge (Wko) and the employer health insurance levy (Zvw). In this example that is € 647.51 a month. Many employers leave this off the payslip; it is shown for information.
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