Donation Tax in the Netherlands: What Givers Pay

How does donation tax work in the Netherlands?

As a giver you pay no donation tax in the Netherlands. Your gifts to a registered charity lower your taxable income instead. The charity is normally an ANBI (algemeen nut beogende instelling), a recognised public-benefit organisation. You claim the deduction in your income tax return.

This page is about the donations you give. Receiving money is different. That can fall under gift tax (schenkbelasting), a separate tax. We explain that one on our gift tax return page.

Meet Elena. She moved from Spain to Rotterdam and gives to two Dutch causes: a wildlife charity and the local museum. She also supports a small charity in Seville. We follow her gifts through the rules below.

Which organisations qualify for the donation deduction?

Three types of organisation qualify, each for its own kind of gift.⁵ A gift to a registered ANBI is always deductible. A periodic gift also counts at a qualifying vereniging. An ordinary gift also counts at a steunstichting SBBI. An ANBI is a public-benefit organisation the Belastingdienst has registered. A culturele ANBI is the cultural variant: a museum, library or theatre, for example. Elena's museum fund is one.

A vereniging (association) qualifies only for periodic gifts. It needs at least 25 members, full legal capacity and no profit motive.⁵ A steunstichting SBBI is different again. That is a support foundation. It raises money for one calendar year, around the anniversary of a social club such as a music society. It only takes ordinary gifts.⁵ The table below gives the answer per organisation.

That last row matters for many internationals. The Hoge Raad settled this on 30 January 2026.⁴ A foreign charity must hold a Dutch ANBI registration for your gift to be deductible. Where it does its good work makes no difference. Elena looks up her Seville charity in the ANBI register: no registration, so no deduction. Many international organisations do register, so one search settles it.

How much of your donation is deductible in 2026?

Ordinary gifts are deductible above a threshold of 1% of your drempelinkomen, with a minimum of €60.¹ Your drempelinkomen is the total of your income and deductions in the three boxes, before personal deductions. The online return shows it ready-filled. In your first year of filing this may not be pre-filled. Check the figure yourself. Above the threshold every euro counts, up to 10% of that same drempelinkomen. A gift to a culturele ANBI counts for 125% in this sum. The increase never exceeds €1,250 per year.¹

A periodic gift skips the threshold entirely. You agree a fixed annual amount for at least five years. You record it in a notarial or private written agreement, with an end date and nothing in return.¹ The Belastingdienst then accepts the full amount, up to €1,500,000 per year in 2026 and 2025. In 2024 that cap was €250,000.

Two more rules shape the outcome. Your fiscal partner is the person the Belastingdienst counts your income with. Fiscal partners add their gifts together.¹ For ordinary gifts they add their drempelinkomens too. Box 1 is your income from work and home. Above €78,426 of that income, the Belastingdienst refunds at most 37.56% in 2026.² The main figures sit in one table below.

What does the deduction look like in euros?

Elena gives €425 and deducts €150. The cultural increase on her museum gift doubles what she can deduct. Her drempelinkomen is €35,000. Her threshold is 1% of that, so €350. Her maximum is €3,500. She gave €125 to the wildlife charity and €300 to the museum, a culturele ANBI. The museum gift counts for 125%. Step by step:

The €150 lowers Elena's taxable income. What it saves in euros depends on her tax rate. Her Seville gift stays outside the sum until that charity registers as an ANBI. Elena has given the same amounts for years without an agreement. That is where our advisor sees the most deduction. You deduct a periodic gift only in a year you still file a Dutch return.

What about gifts in kind and volunteer work?

Both can count, under clear conditions. A gift in kind means goods or services instead of money. Gifts in kind count at market value. Above €10,000 per calendar year you need an independent valuation.¹ That limit is €20,000 for fiscal partners. That rule has applied since 1 January 2024. A recognised valuer sets the value, and a recent purchase invoice sometimes suffices.

Volunteer work can count too. Do you waive a vrijwilligersvergoeding, the volunteer allowance you are entitled to? Then the amount you waive counts as a gift.⁶ Three conditions apply: the organisation is an ANBI, it could actually pay you, and you put the waiver in writing. Costs you paid for the charity and never claimed back count too. Car journeys for the charity count at €0.23 per kilometre.⁶ One payment method never qualifies.

What does this mean for your tax return?

Settle three things before you file: the ANBI status, your threshold and the way you give. The register answers the status question.³ Your drempelinkomen sets the threshold. And a five-year agreement often beats a loose yearly gift.

Forgot to claim a gift in an earlier year? You can usually still have a past return corrected, up to 5 years back.⁷ We review those years together with your current return.

The donation deduction is one of several deductions in the Dutch system. You can see how they all fit together in our guide to tax deductions in the Netherlands. Care costs have their own rules. You can read about them on our page about healthcare costs. Arrived in or left the Netherlands this year? Ask us how your threshold works for that year. In an arrival or departure year your drempelinkomen is lower, so your threshold drops too.