Working and earning on Aruba: florin, cessantia and the zero band
Since 1 January 2026 Aruba has a minimum hourly wage of Afl. 11.58, your gross pay first loses 5% AOV/AWW and 1.6% AZV, and only then does wage tax begin, above a zero band of Afl. 34,930. On dismissal through no fault of your own there is the cessantia; when ill, the SVb pays 80% from the fourth day. What really appears on an Aruban payslip, and what is not there.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, as a Dutch citizen you can simply take a job on Aruba. For the first five years, though, you work on a permit your employer applies for, for a specific position. And the payslip looks different from home:
- Minimum wage. Since 1 January 2026 a minimum hourly wage of Afl. 11.58 applies to everyone aged 18 and over, regardless of the number of hours. At forty hours and the conversion factor 4.333 that is a good Afl. 2,000 a month.
- Premiums. The premiums come off your gross pay first: 5% AOV/AWW (state pension and survivors' insurance) and 1.6% AZV (health insurance) for your account, up to a premium income of Afl. 85,000.
- Tax. After that the wage tax is mild at the bottom. There is a tax-free amount of at most Afl. 30,000, and a zero band up to Afl. 34,930 of table income (your annual wage after the tax-free amount). On that zero band you pay no wage tax.
The find at the SVb, which runs Aruba's social insurance schemes, is the cessantia. It is a statutory severance payment of one week's pay per year of service. It comes from a fund into which your employer pays Afl. 40 per employee a year.
The pitfall: the SVb has sickness benefit, accident benefit, cessantia and pension, but an unemployment benefit is not among them.
What do I earn, and what comes off?
Whoever already earns above the minimum notices nothing of the hourly wage. Live-in domestic workers have their own minimum of Afl. 5.35 an hour.
Two premiums then appear on the slip:
- The AOV/AWW, the Aruban state pension and survivors' insurance, is 15.5% in total: 10.5% employer's share and 5% employee's share, up to a premium income of Afl. 85,000. For you that is at most Afl. 4,250 a year.
- The AZV, the health insurance, is 10.5%: 8.9% employer and 1.6% employee, up to the same limit. For you that is at most Afl. 1,360 a year.
What you get for it is in healthcare on Aruba.
| Item | What applies |
|---|---|
| Minimum hourly wage | Afl. 11.58 from 1 January 2026, for employees aged 18 and over; live-in domestic workers Afl. 5.35 |
| Conversion factor monthly wage | 4.333 (52 weeks divided by 12 months), previously 4.28 |
| AOV/AWW | 15.5% up to Afl. 85,000: employer 10.5%, employee 5% (at most Afl. 4,250 a year) |
| AZV | 10.5% up to Afl. 85,000: employer 8.9%, employee 1.6% (at most Afl. 1,360 a year) |
| Tax-free amount | at most Afl. 30,000 a year |
| Tax table 2026 | 0% up to Afl. 34,930; 21% up to 63,904; 42% up to 135,527; 52% above |
| Sickness benefit | 80% of the daily wage from the fourth day of illness, two years at most; only with a monthly wage up to Afl. 5,850 |
| Cessantia | 1 week's pay per year of service (years 1 to 10), 1.25 (11 to 20), 2 (above 20); maximum weekly wage Afl. 2,025 |
How does the tax table work?
The wage tax works with the table income: your net full-year wage minus the tax-free amount of at most Afl. 30,000. On that table income you pay:
- 0% on the first Afl. 34,930;
- 21% on the part up to Afl. 63,904;
- 42% above that (Afl. 6,084.54 plus 42% of the excess);
- 52% above Afl. 135,527.
An annual wage of Afl. 60,000 with the full tax-free amount thus comes to a table income of Afl. 30,000. That falls entirely within the zero band.
The government gets its money elsewhere. The BBO, BAVP and BAZV together are 7% (2.5 plus 1.5 plus 3). The business pays them on import and on every sale, so they sit in every shop price.
What happens with illness, pregnancy and dismissal?
The SVb sickness insurance covers employees with a monthly wage of Afl. 5,850 or less. Whoever is ill gets 80% of the daily wage from the fourth day. For the first three days the SVb pays nothing, and the entitlement for the same cause of illness lapses after two years. The premium of 2.65% is paid by the employer; deducting it from your wage is forbidden. If you earn above the limit, continued pay during illness falls under your contract. Put it in writing.
In pregnancy the SVb pays 100% of the daily wage, twelve weeks at most.
On dismissal through no fault of your own there is the cessantia:
- one week's pay per year of service in the first ten years;
- 1.25 weeks' pay in years eleven to twenty;
- two weeks' pay above that.
The maximum weekly wage for this is Afl. 2,025. You submit the request within a year of the dismissal. The fund is filled by the employer: Afl. 40 per employee in service on 1 January.
What if I start on my own?
A sole proprietorship begins with a business licence from the Minister of Economic Affairs. Without it, establishing or taking over a business is prohibited. You apply at the helpdesk of the Department of Economic Affairs, on a form with an Afl. 4 stamp. The processing costs Afl. 400.
As a self-employed person you pay the AOV/AWW of 15.5% and the AZV of 10.5% yourself, up to the same limit of Afl. 85,000. That is at most Afl. 13,175 and Afl. 8,925 a year. On top of that you file a monthly BBO return on your turnover.
What is the pitfall?
The permit is tied to one position with one employer. Whoever holds a higher-education degree is, according to the Admission Handbook, not tested on the availability of local workers and can straight away get a multi-year permit for the duration of the contract; other Dutch citizens are tested once, but again when changing employer. So negotiate the contract before the application goes out, and build a buffer: on dismissal the cessantia is the only safety net.
How the permit years run is in Aruban admission; the personal number and the local account your first pay has to land on are in bank and payments on Aruba.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines monitored. See the whole journey to Aruba.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Government of Aruba — the minimum hourly wage from 1 January 2026: Afl. 11.58 and the factor 4.333 — gobierno.aw
- Departamento di Impuesto — tax table 2026: tax-free amount Afl. 30,000, bands from 0 to 52% — impuesto.aw
- Departamento di Impuesto — AOV/AWW premium limits: 15.5% up to Afl. 85,000 — impuesto.aw
- Departamento di Impuesto — AZV premium limits: 10.5%, employee share 1.6% — impuesto.aw
- SVb Aruba — cessantia: weeks' pay per year of service, Afl. 40 per employee, maximum weekly wage Afl. 2,025 — svbaruba.org
- Government of Aruba — sickness and accident insurance: 80% from the fourth day, wage limit Afl. 5,850, premium 2.65% — gobierno.aw
- Government of Aruba — business licence for a sole proprietorship: Afl. 400 — gobierno.aw
- Departamento di Impuesto — the BBO: 7% at the border and on sales — impuesto.aw
- Admission Handbook 2023 — Dutch professionals and other Dutch citizens — dimasaruba.aw
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