Same gross, different net
| One earner: €80,000 | Two earners: €40,000 each | |
|---|---|---|
| Household net per year | €56,728 | €71,140 |
| Household net per month | €4,727 | €5,928 |
| Tax paid | €29,672 | €15,260 |
€14,411more net per year for the two-earner household
Why the difference
Tax is personal
Each person pays Box 1 tax on their own income. Two incomes use the lower bracket twice.
Credits twice
Each worker gets their own general and labour tax credit; a non-earning partner gets little or nothing.
Credits phase out
Above roughly €45,000 the labour credit shrinks, so one high income loses more.
Fiscal partners can still divide shared items such as mortgage interest and Box 3 wealth to lower the total. See fiscal partnership.
Beyond tax
Allowances such as healthcare and rent allowance look at the combined household income, so the advantage of two incomes can partly disappear there. Childcare allowance requires both partners to work.
Sources
This article is based on these official pages. If anything here differs from them, the official page is right.
- Belastingschijven en tarieven (in Dutch)
- Heffingskortingen: hoe krijgt u ze? (in Dutch)
- Hoe kan ik samen met mijn partner aangifte doen? (in Dutch)
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