Surplus value (overwaarde)
The money left after a sale, once your acquisition debt and selling costs are paid. Your eigenwoningreserve limits your next deduction, whatever you do with it.
The bijleenregeling, explained
Sold a home and buying the next one? The bijleenregeling decides how much mortgage interest you can still deduct. Here is how it works and where to go next.
Written by
Menno van der MadeHead of Tax - Tax Consultant
Reviewed by
Jessy te PaskeHead of Client Success
Updated 3 August 2026
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We check every page for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. Each one is written and reviewed by our qualified advisors, so the information stays clear, complete and correct.
Fact-checked against
Read our editorial standards- belastingdienst.nl (the Dutch Tax Administration), consulted 3 August 2026
Updated 3 August 2026
Dutch tax system
What is the bijleenregeling?
The bijleenregeling limits how much mortgage interest you can deduct after you sell one home and buy another. Your home-acquisition debt is the mortgage you took out to buy or improve that home. Sell for more than your remaining home-acquisition debt and your selling costs, and that surplus becomes your eigenwoningreserve. The Belastingdienst expects you to put it into your next home.
You work out the surplus like this: sale price, minus your remaining home-acquisition debt, minus selling costs. On the new home, only part of your mortgage still earns interest relief. That part is the purchase price minus your eigenwoningreserve. Borrow more than that and the interest on the extra part is not deductible. That non-deductible part falls under Box 3. Box 3 taxes that amount as savings and investments each year.
Your eigenwoningreserve lasts three years. Buy or improve a home within that window and the surplus counts against your new mortgage. After three years, any part you have not used expires. In 2026, mortgage interest on your own home is deductible at a top rate of 37.56%.
The rule sits where selling and buying meet. Below you will find where to go next, whether you have just sold or are buying.
Selling
You sold your old home
When you sell your home for more than you owe on it, the money left over follows you to your next one. That leftover is exactly what the bijleenregeling watches. Two things shape your tax position when you sell: what happens to the money you free up, and whether the cost of ending your old mortgage is deductible. Start here if you have sold recently, or you are about to put your home on the market.
Penalty interest (boeterente)
Repaying or refinancing a mortgage early can bring a penalty. It may be deductible if it relates to a qualifying home-acquisition debt.
Buying next
Buying your next home
You are now on the buying side of the bijleenregeling. That part depends on your eigenwoningreserve. Financing costs such as valuation and advice come off your tax in the year you buy. Transfer tax and the notary fee for the transfer deed are not deductible. They only count in the purchase price. The notary fee for the mortgage deed is deductible. This one is for you if you have just bought, or you are still house-hunting.
Your tax return after buying
Bought a home this year? Your return changes. We walk through what to declare and what you can claim back.
Notary costs (notariskosten)
Some notary costs are deductible, others are not. The split depends on what each cost was for.
Construction deposit (bouwdepot)
Money set aside for building or renovating is held in a bouwdepot. It follows its own rules for tax and interest relief.
What else you can deduct
The wider list of costs you can deduct as a homeowner, from financing fees to valuation costs.
Get help
Let us handle the filing
When the bijleenregeling touches your return, one conversation is usually faster than a week of reading. We file the tax side and A&H Finance, our associated company, arranges the financing side. The whole move happens in one place. Pick the help that fits your question.
Not selling or buying this year? The yearly side of owning a home is on owning a home.
Dutch tax return
We file your return, review every deduction on your home, and make sure the bijleenregeling is applied correctly.
Your first mortgage
Buying your next home with a new mortgage? A comparison across every lender that works with internationals.
Refinancing your mortgage
Moving your mortgage or lowering your rate? We work through the tax side. Switch arranged end to end.
Replies within one working day
“Most people worry they have lost a deduction. Often they have not. They have just used the money differently than the Belastingdienst expects. We work out your real position before you file.”
Menno van der Made
Tax advisor
EN · NL
Your advisor
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Frequently asked
Bijleenregeling questions, answered
The questions we hear most when a home sale and a purchase land within a few years of each other. Yours not here? Ask your advisor
What is the bijleenregeling in simple terms?
It limits your mortgage interest deduction after you sell one home and buy another. The money left from your sale is expected to go into the new home. Interest on anything you borrow above that is not deductible.
How long does the eigenwoningreserve last?
Three years. Purchase or renovate within three years of your sale, and the surplus lowers the mortgage you can deduct on. After that, any unused part expires. Once you use it, the reserve is gone for later purchases.
Does the bijleenregeling apply if I do not buy a new home?
Only if you buy or renovate within three years. If you rent, or wait longer, the reserve expires and stops affecting your deduction. Leaving the Netherlands or buying abroad? Ask us how we treat your reserve. Leaving early or buying abroad usually shortens what you can still deduct. We confirm the exact effect once we know your departure date and new country.
What if my partner and I buy together?
Each of you counts your own eigenwoningreserve on a joint sale and purchase. How it splits depends on your ownership shares. We work the split out with you before you file.
Is there a tool to calculate it?
The Belastingdienst has an online calculation for the bijleenregeling. It gives an estimate. We review the outcome against your full return, because one wrong input changes the result. You will find the calculator on belastingdienst.nl under home ownership.
Did the bijleenregeling change for 2026?
No, the rule works the same in 2026. The one figure that moved is the top rate at which you deduct home mortgage interest. We keep the numbers current when we file for you.
Bijleenregeling
Sold one home, buying the next?
Book your free call. We map the sale, the new purchase and your deduction.
What's included
A dedicated advisor
A draft before we file
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