Second-Home Tax in the Netherlands: What You Pay

How is a second home taxed in the Netherlands?

A second home brings two national taxes. Buying it triggers transfer tax, the overdrachtsbelasting.³ Owning it puts the home in Box 3, the Dutch tax on your wealth.¹ Local taxes come on top.

Your main home works differently. The home you live in falls in Box 1, the Dutch tax on income from work and your main home.¹ Box 1 has its own rules and its own mortgage-interest deduction.¹ A second home never gets that deduction.

A holiday home you own outside the Netherlands also counts in your Dutch return.¹

Take Marco. He lives abroad and owns a holiday home on the Zeeland coast worth €250,000. We follow his tax through the whole page. For the sums, we treat him as a Dutch resident.

What tax do you pay when you buy a second home?

You pay 8% transfer tax on the purchase price in 2026.³ That is the overdrachtsbelasting, the tax on buying property. You pay 2% on your own home, but a second home does not qualify for that low rate.³

In 2025 the rate was 10.4%, so buying in 2026 is cheaper.³ For other property, like land or business premises, the rate stays 10.4%.³

A notary normally files and pays the transfer tax for you at the transfer.⁴ Bought without a notary? Then you file and pay yourself, within one month of becoming the owner.⁴

For Marco, the 8% falls on his €250,000 holiday home. That is €20,000 in transfer tax, paid once, at purchase.

How much Box 3 tax do you pay on a second home each year?

A second home counts in Box 3 every year you own it on 1 January.² Box 3 taxes it on a deemed return of 6.00% in 2026, not on your real gain.² It applies that percentage to the home's value on 1 January of the tax year.²

For a home in the Netherlands you use the WOZ value, the municipal valuation.¹ For tax year 2026 you use the 2026 WOZ decision from your municipality.¹ That decision values your home on 1 January 2025, one year earlier.¹

The Netherlands taxes this home whether you live here or abroad.⁴ You file the same WOZ value in Box 3 either way.⁴

A loan on a second home brings no mortgage-interest deduction.² Instead, the debt lowers your Box 3 wealth. Only the part above €3,800 counts, the so-called debt threshold.² Above the tax-free allowance of €59,357 per person, you pay 36% on the deemed return.² With a tax partner, the allowance counts double for you together.²

Marco has €20,000 in savings beside the holiday home, and a €100,000 mortgage on it. We tax him like a Dutch resident here, so his savings count too. His Box 3 tax for 2026 comes to about €3,001. Marco's total is a resident calculation, not what a non-resident owner pays.⁵ Here is the full calculation. The table below uses the 2026 deemed returns. Net assets are what you own minus debt above the threshold.

Do you pay tax on renting out a second home?

Usually not. Under the deemed-return system, rental income from a second home is normally not taxed on top of Box 3.⁵ You already pay Box 3 on the value of the home, whether it stands empty or full.

Offer hotel-style extras and that can change. Provide meals or bedding to your guests and the income can become taxable.⁵

Marco lets the home a few weeks a year, and nothing changes here. You can read more about letting out a second home on our guide to rental income tax.

How is a holiday home abroad taxed?

A holiday home abroad also falls in Box 3, on the same 6.00% deemed return.¹ You declare its market value in an unoccupied state.¹ That is the value on 1 January of the tax year.¹ For 2026 that means 1 January 2026. For a home in the Netherlands you use the WOZ value instead.¹

The country where the home stands usually taxes it too. To stop you paying twice, the Netherlands gives relief, the aftrek ter voorkoming van dubbele belasting.¹ It lowers the Dutch Box 3 tax on the part that belongs to the foreign home.

What local taxes apply to a second home?

Your municipality charges property tax, the OZB, on the WOZ value every year.⁴ The rate is a percentage of the value, and each municipality sets its own.⁴ There is no national figure.

Some places add more. A forensenbelasting (a second-resident tax) can apply if you keep a furnished home in a municipality where you do not live. A toeristenbelasting (tourist tax) can apply when you let the home to guests. Your municipality tells you what applies.⁴

What is happening to the Box 3 reform?

The 2028 start still stands, but parliament has not decided yet. The bill to tax actual returns in Box 3 from 1 January 2028 is still waiting for a Senate vote.⁶ In September 2026 the cabinet proposed an amendment.⁷ It would tax gains on shares, bonds and other financial instruments only when you sell them. Parliament has not yet decided on it.

Selling your second home at a profit is not taxed today.² We track the reform on our guide to the Box 3 reform.

What should you do now?

Start by splitting the one-off cost from the yearly cost. The transfer tax is a single 8% bill at purchase.³ The Box 3 tax comes back every year you own the home.²

Own a home in the Netherlands? Then use the WOZ value and expect the yearly Box 3 bill.¹ Own one abroad? Then declare its market value and ask about double-tax relief.¹

A second home rarely stands alone. It pulls in Box 3, a mortgage without a deduction, and sometimes a home in another country. Our page on help with your tax return shows what we take off your hands. For Marco, that means €20,000 once and about €3,001 in Box 3 each year. Your own Box 3 figure depends on where you live. Marco's €3,001 assumes €20,000 in savings, a €100,000 mortgage and tax as a Dutch resident. As a non-resident, his savings would not count in Box 3, so ask us for your own figure.