What tax deductions exist in the Netherlands?
Four categories cover most deductions: health costs, gifts, commuting and home or pension costs. A tax deduction, an aftrekpost, lowers the income you pay Dutch tax on. Most run through Box 1, your income from work and home.
Take Liam. Liam's 2026 is his first full tax year in the Netherlands. He pays for physiotherapy his health insurer doesn't cover, gives to a charity back home and commutes by train. Each of those can lower his tax bill, once he clears the right threshold.
Not everything qualifies. Tuition and study costs stopped counting in 2022. Everyday costs like groceries, clothing or a gym membership never did. We map out exactly what does and what a 2026 figure means for you.
In short
Four common categories: health costs, gifts, commuting and costs tied to your home or pension.
Health costs: only the amount above your threshold counts. On an income up to €9,680, that threshold is €166 a year.
Gifts: a one-off gift needs a threshold of 1% of your threshold income. The minimum is €60.
A periodic gift skips that threshold: the maximum is €1,500,000 a year in 2026, not the €250,000 some sources still quote.
Study costs have not been deductible since 2022.
Commuting: public transport tops out at €2,649 a year in 2026.
High earners: above €78,426 Box 1 income before deductions, the Belastingdienst caps your deduction benefit at 37.56% in 2026, not the top 49.5% rate. This affects personal deductions, mortgage interest and the self-employed deduction.
What are the 2026 thresholds for health costs, gifts and travel?
Every deduction has a threshold or a cap. Clear the threshold and only the amount above it counts. Miss it and nothing does.
Most thresholds run off your threshold income, your income before personal deductions. The table below holds the exact 2026 figures.
Each category also has its own full guide. Our medical expenses guide works the health-cost rules through in detail. Our donations guide does the same for gifts. And our travel deduction guide covers commuting by public transport.
Do you have a fiscal partner? That status decides which health-cost threshold applies to you, so it decides which row of the table you read. Our fiscal partnership guide sets out who counts as a fiscal partner. Check that first. A fiscal partner is your spouse or registered partner in most cases.
Higher incomes face one extra limit. If your income from work and home before deductions tops €78,426, your deduction benefit stops at 37.56%.
| Deduction | Situation | 2026 figure |
|---|---|---|
| Health-cost threshold, no partner | up to €9,680 income | €166 |
| – | €9,681 to €51,411 | 1.65% of your threshold income |
| – | from €51,412 | €848 plus 5.75% of the amount above €51,411 |
| Health-cost threshold, with partner | joint income up to €19,360 | €332 |
| – | joint income €19,361 to €51,411 | 1.65% of your joint threshold income |
What about your home, your pension and study costs?
Own your home? The mortgage interest you pay lowers your taxable income too. You add the eigenwoningforfait, a percentage of your home's value, to your income. Then you deduct the interest you paid. Our guide to your tax return after buying a house works the full mechanics through, with an example. Our overview of homeowner tax deductions lists every deductible cost around your own home. Buying or refinancing? Our mortgage advisors compare Dutch lenders for your situation.
The table covers the categories with a fixed figure. These work differently and don't fit a single threshold.
Paying into a lijfrente, a private pension top-up? Your contributions reduce your Box 1 income too, up to your annual contribution room. That room is your jaarruimte. The full calculation lives on our annuity guide.
How do these thresholds work for Liam?
Liam's threshold income, the figure the Belastingdienst calculates these thresholds from, is €40,000. He has no fiscal partner.
His health costs: €1,200 in physiotherapy and dental care his insurer didn't reimburse. His threshold falls in the middle band, 1.65% of €40,000, so €660. Only the amount above that counts. €1,200 minus €660 leaves €540 he can deduct.
His giving: €900 to a charity in his home country. It holds ANBI status, the Dutch recognition for a charitable institution. His threshold is the higher of 1% of his threshold income or €60, so €400. €900 minus €400 leaves €500 he can deduct.
His commute: he travels by train four days a week, a single trip over 90 km. That puts him at the full 2026 public-transport figure, €2,649.
Together, that's €3,689 off his taxable income. Three categories, none of which he would have claimed without reading the thresholds first.
“Internationals often assume Dutch deductions only start after years here. They don't. For the part of the year you are a Dutch resident, your health costs, your giving and your commute already count. Run every threshold against your own numbers.”
What should you check for your own return?
Match your situation against the categories above, not just Liam's. Health costs, giving and commuting are the three you can work out right now. Use the thresholds in the table.
Own a home? Confirm your mortgage-interest deduction on our dedicated guide. Paying into a pension or lijfrente? Look up your annual contribution room. Either one can add up faster than the categories above.
Paying partner alimony? That is deductible too. Our alimony guide shows how to claim it. Self-employed? The zelfstandigenaftrek, the self-employed deduction for entrepreneurs, and other entrepreneur deductions lower your taxable profit. We cover them in our self-employed deduction guide.
Paying interest to the Belastingdienst? Our guide explains whether that interest is deductible. Were your personal deductions higher than your income? The unused part carries forward, as our guide to the remaining personal deduction shows.
We go through every category with you when we file your tax return, foreign accounts and foreign income included. Nothing gets missed because it falls outside the standard Dutch checklist.
Arrived in the Netherlands this year? Your arrival date decides which part of the year counts. You file that year on the M form. For the months before you arrived, these deductions only apply if you are a qualifying non-resident taxpayer. To qualify, you lived in the EU, EEA or Switzerland. At least 90% of your worldwide income must face Dutch tax. You also need an income statement from your home tax authority. Leaving the Netherlands part-way through the year works the same way in reverse.
¹ belastingdienst.nl, Drempelbedrag specifieke zorgkosten 2026 · Accessed
² belastingdienst.nl, Zijn giften aan goede doelen aftrekbaar? · Accessed
³ belastingdienst.nl, Periodieke giften en gewone giften, wat is precies het verschil? · Accessed
⁴ belastingdienst.nl, Hoeveel reiskosten mag u aftrekken? · Accessed
⁵ belastingdienst.nl, Tariefsaanpassing aftrekposten als u hoog inkomen hebt · Accessed