The Dutch tax authorities recently answered five practical questions on the 34-day threshold, which allows certain Dutch-German cross-border employees to work outside their regular work country for a limited number of days without changing taxing rights under the Netherlands-Germany tax treaty. The clarification is relevant for employers that rely on remote-work flexibility for such cross-border employees because the threshold applies broadly and can be exceeded through a combination of home working, work from other locations in the residence state and third-country workdays.
The Netherlands-Germany treaty was amended on 1 January 2026 to introduce an exception to the general rule governing the tax treatment of cross-border workers. Under the amended treaty, the main rule is that an employee may work from home in their country of residence, or in a third country, for up to 34 days per year without shifting taxing rights from the regular work country to the residence country. In other words, if the 34-day limit is not exceeded, income earned on remote-working days remains fully taxable in the country where the employer is established or where the employee normally works. For example, where a German resident works remotely for a Dutch employer, the full salary remains taxable in the Netherlands, including for activities performed abroad, provided activities outside the Netherlands do not exceed 34 days (for prior coverage, see the article in the March 2026 issue of GES News).
A day counts toward the threshold once the employee performs work in the state of residence for at least 30 minutes. The threshold is not limited to days worked from home; it also includes days worked elsewhere in the residence state and days worked in a third country. Business trips, temporary assignments, and work from alternative locations therefore require careful monitoring.
Since the treaty amendment, questions have arisen about the application of the threshold where an individual has more than one employment relationship. Where an employee has two cross-border private-sector employments, the 34-day threshold applies per employee, not per employment contract. All qualifying days must therefore be aggregated.
However, a different analysis may be required where a cross-border worker holds both private-sector and public-sector employment. Separate treaty articles apply to these employment relationships, and each article contains its own home-working threshold. The assessment may therefore need to be performed separately for each type of employment.
The Dutch tax authorities’ clarification underscores the importance of maintaining contemporaneous records of where work is performed, particularly for employees whose travel patterns, business trips or multiple employment relationships could cause qualifying days to accumulate unexpectedly.
Employers with Dutch-German cross-border workers should review their remote-working and travel processes to confirm that qualifying days are identified and tracked consistently. Tracking should capture work performed at home, elsewhere in the residence state and in third countries. Employees with multiple employments require additional attention because the threshold may need to be aggregated across private-sector employments or assessed separately where both private-sector and public-sector employment are involved.
Robin Schalekamp
BDO in the Netherlands
The Netherlands-Germany treaty was amended on 1 January 2026 to introduce an exception to the general rule governing the tax treatment of cross-border workers. Under the amended treaty, the main rule is that an employee may work from home in their country of residence, or in a third country, for up to 34 days per year without shifting taxing rights from the regular work country to the residence country. In other words, if the 34-day limit is not exceeded, income earned on remote-working days remains fully taxable in the country where the employer is established or where the employee normally works. For example, where a German resident works remotely for a Dutch employer, the full salary remains taxable in the Netherlands, including for activities performed abroad, provided activities outside the Netherlands do not exceed 34 days (for prior coverage, see the article in the March 2026 issue of GES News).
A day counts toward the threshold once the employee performs work in the state of residence for at least 30 minutes. The threshold is not limited to days worked from home; it also includes days worked elsewhere in the residence state and days worked in a third country. Business trips, temporary assignments, and work from alternative locations therefore require careful monitoring.
Since the treaty amendment, questions have arisen about the application of the threshold where an individual has more than one employment relationship. Where an employee has two cross-border private-sector employments, the 34-day threshold applies per employee, not per employment contract. All qualifying days must therefore be aggregated.
However, a different analysis may be required where a cross-border worker holds both private-sector and public-sector employment. Separate treaty articles apply to these employment relationships, and each article contains its own home-working threshold. The assessment may therefore need to be performed separately for each type of employment.
BDO Perspective
The Dutch tax authorities’ clarification underscores the importance of maintaining contemporaneous records of where work is performed, particularly for employees whose travel patterns, business trips or multiple employment relationships could cause qualifying days to accumulate unexpectedly.Employers with Dutch-German cross-border workers should review their remote-working and travel processes to confirm that qualifying days are identified and tracked consistently. Tracking should capture work performed at home, elsewhere in the residence state and in third countries. Employees with multiple employments require additional attention because the threshold may need to be aggregated across private-sector employments or assessed separately where both private-sector and public-sector employment are involved.
Robin Schalekamp
BDO in the Netherlands