Salary

Your salary is the money you earn from your work. Another word for salary is wage. This page provides information about the typical salary in the Netherlands and how to calculate your net salary. 

What is your salary? 

Your salary is the money you get for your work. Your employer usually pays you on a monthly or hourly basis. You must not be paid less than the minimum wage.  

How much you earn depends on several things. These obviously include your role, and also the sector you work in, your education, your age, your work experience and the number of hours you work, for example. If your employer is covered by a CAO, it must pay you the wage specified in that CAO.  

Talking about your salary 

You can always talk to your employer about your salary. If you earn less than colleagues doing the same job, you can ask for more money. This is called negotiating. You can also negotiate your salary when you get a new job. The agreed salary will then appear in your contract. 

Net and gross salary 

• Your gross salary is what you earn before tax. 
• Your net salary is what you receive in your bank account. 

Your employer makes deductions for tax and insurance. These are shown on your payslip so you can see what your net salary is. 

Calculate your salary with a calculation tool 

You can use a calculation tool to work out your gross and net salary. Enter your gross or net salary to find out what you earn net each month or hour. Important! The amount of tax you have to pay often depends on many different things. The calculation tool therefore only gives an estimate, not an exact amount. 

Annual income statement 

At the end of the year, you will see on your annual income statement how much salary you received that year. This is called your annual wage. You need this information for your tax return. Your employer must give you this statement.