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Is your annuity premium tax-deductible in the Netherlands?
Yes, your annuity premium is deductible if you have pension room and meet the conditions. The Dutch call that room your jaarruimte, the annual space to save for retirement with a tax advantage.
An annuity is a lijfrente: a retirement product with an insurer, bank or investment firm that pays you a periodic income later. You may deduct the premium against your income, so you pay less tax now. This works the same whether you have lived here for years or arrived this year.
Four conditions decide it. You need room (jaarruimte or reserveringsruimte). The lijfrente sits with a recognised provider. It pays out as a periodic benefit, not a lump sum. And you pay the premium in time.
This page is about the deduction, not about which lijfrente to buy. To see whether a lijfrente suits your situation, read our guide on the annuity (lijfrente). If your real question is whether you even have a shortfall, start with the pension gap.
Maya is self-employed and builds no pension through an employer, so her whole shortfall is open room. She moved here from Spain in 2024, so 2025 is her first full Dutch year. Her figures run through the rest of this page.
In short
Deductible with room. You may deduct your annuity premium up to your jaarruimte, plus unused reserveringsruimte.
Jaarruimte 2026 caps at €35,589. That is the most annual room one person can use in a single year.
Reserveringsruimte caps at €42,753. You may still use unused room from the past 10 years.
Room is 30% of your taxable Dutch income above the AOW-franchise of EUR 19,172. Subtract your pension accrual. Income counts up to EUR 137,800.
Deducted at your own rate. The premium saves tax at your marginal rate, up to 49.50%, not the base rate.
Deduct in the year you pay. The premium counts for the year you actually pay it, so pay before 31 December.
A nettolijfrente premium (funded from net income) is never deductible, even when you otherwise meet every condition.
How much annuity premium can you deduct in 2026?
Your deductible room is your jaarruimte, plus any unused reserveringsruimte from the past 10 years. Both are capped, and both run on your income.
Your jaarruimte is your annual room. It is 30% of your taxable Dutch income above the AOW-franchise, the part your state pension already covers. Do you build pension through an employer? Then your accrual comes off your room. Your room for 2026 follows your taxable Dutch income and pension accrual of 2025, the previous year.¹ For 2026 that franchise is €19,172. Your taxable Dutch income counts toward it up to €137,800. The jaarruimte itself tops out at €35,589.¹
Did you not use your full room in earlier years? Then your reserveringsruimte lets you catch up. It reaches back over the past 10 years and caps at €42,753 for 2026.¹ Since 1 July 2023 that window runs 10 years, up from 7 before.
The figures below set out the 2026 room in one place. Did you arrive recently and have no Dutch income in 2025? Then we check your room with you.
| Figure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Jaarruimte maximum | €35,589 |
| Reserveringsruimte maximum | €42,753 |
| Reserveringsruimte carry-forward | 10 years |
| AOW-franchise (income deducted first) | €19,172 |
| Income counted up to | €137,800 |
| Temporary annuity, yearly payout ceiling | €27,192¹ |
| Deduction year | the year you actually pay the premium |
How do you work out your jaarruimte?
You take 30% of your income above the AOW-franchise, minus your pension accrual. What is left is your jaarruimte for the year.
Maya earned €50,000 in 2025 and builds no pension through an employer. That previous year sets her room for 2026. First she takes off the AOW-franchise: €50,000 minus €19,172 leaves €30,828. Then she takes 30% of that, which is €9,248.
Because she accrues no employer pension, there is nothing to subtract. So her jaarruimte is the full €9,248, well under the 2026 cap. She may deduct a lijfrente premium up to that amount this year. The table below follows each step.
Do you build up pension through an employer? Then you subtract that accrual from the 30% figure, and only the rest is your room. That amount depends on your own pension scheme, so we work it out with you rather than guess. A foreign employer pension scheme can also reduce your room, so confirm this with us.
The 30% ruling lowers the taxable income your room runs on. We confirm your base with you. Did you arrive in 2025 or 2026? Then your previous-year base needs the same check.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Income | starting point | €50,000 |
| Minus AOW-franchise | €50,000 − €19,172 | €30,828 |
| Times 30% | 30% × €30,828 | €9,248 |
| Minus pension accrual (what you build through an employer) | none (self-employed) | €0 |
| Jaarruimte (deductible room) | €9,248 − €0 | €9,248 |
“Most people never claim their full room. They think a lijfrente only helps later, at retirement. The real questions are how much room you have this year and at which rate it pays back. We work out both with you.”
When must you pay, and what changes your room?
You deduct the premium in the year you actually pay it. Want the deduction for 2026? Then pay in 2026, before 31 December.
Your room changes with your situation. An employer pension lowers it, because you already build retirement income there. Unused room from the past 10 years raises it, through your reserveringsruimte. A year abroad or a change of work can shift both. Arrived in the Netherlands during 2026? Your room follows your 2025 Dutch income, so it can be nil.
Two limits are easy to miss. A temporary annuity (tijdelijke oudedagslijfrente) has its own yearly payout ceiling of €27,192 for 2026.¹ And a nettolijfrente premium is never deductible, whatever else you qualify for. You fund it from net income.
What does this mean for you?
The next step is your own figures.
Review your jaarruimte, and your reserveringsruimte if you left room unused before. Pay before 31 December of the year you want the deduction for. If you build employer pension, treat the accrual as the part to confirm rather than estimate. Maya's own example ends here: her room comes to €9,248.
If you are not sure you even have a shortfall, start with our guide to the pension gap.
How this fits your wider pension plan is on our page about pension advice.
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¹ belastingdienst.nl, Lijfrentepremie aftrekken · Accessed
² belastingdienst.nl, Afbouw tarief aftrekposten bij hoog inkomen · Accessed
Common questions about the annuity premium deduction
Is my annuity (lijfrente) premium tax-deductible?
Yes, if you have a pension shortfall and meet the conditions. You need room (jaarruimte or reserveringsruimte), a recognised provider, a periodic payout and a timely payment.