What is surplus value on your home?
Surplus value (overwaarde) is the cash left after selling your home and repaying your mortgage. In English it is usually called home equity. The sum is simple: sale price minus your remaining home-acquisition debt minus the selling costs.¹ Home-acquisition debt (eigenwoningschuld) is the part of your mortgage you used to buy, improve or maintain your home. Selling costs include the estate agent, the valuation, the energy label and the advertising.¹
The Belastingdienst does not tax that gain as income.¹ The Netherlands has no capital-gains tax on the home you live in. Your surplus value still touches your tax return in two places: the interest deduction on your next mortgage and, once the money sits in your bank account, Box 3. We walk through both, option by option.
This page covers the home you live in. If you renovate without moving, the renovation-loan rules below still apply. Renting out the home you leave behind follows different rules. We explain those on our page about renting out your own house.
Meet Elena and Chris. They sell their apartment for €600,000. Their remaining home-acquisition debt is €150,000 and the selling costs are €5,000. Their surplus value is €445,000. We follow them through every option below.
In short
Surplus value = sale price minus remaining home-acquisition debt minus selling costs. In Dutch: overwaarde.
Tax-free gain: the Netherlands does not tax the profit on selling your own home.
Next mortgage: interest is deductible up to the purchase price plus costs, minus your home-equity reserve.
Three years: your home-equity reserve lapses three years after the sale.
Renovation spending on your own home lowers the reserve. Renovation-loan interest is often deductible.
Box 3: the Dutch tax on savings and investments. Parked surplus value counts on 1 January above €59,357 per person. A fiscal partner is the partner the Belastingdienst counts as yours for tax. Together the allowance is €118,714.
37.56% cap: in 2026 your deduction for own-home costs stops at 37.56%. Box 1 is the Dutch tax box for income from work and home. It includes your salary and mortgage-interest deduction. Is your Box 1 income above €78,426? Then this cap applies to you.
Which tax rules apply to your surplus value?
Four rules do the work. After the sale the Belastingdienst records your surplus value as a home-equity reserve. In Dutch: the eigenwoningreserve.¹
Buy a next home and the Belastingdienst caps your deduction. Interest counts only on the purchase price plus buying costs, minus that reserve.² This calculation rule is the so-called bijleenregeling. Our bijleenregeling guide walks through the calculation step by step.
Three more rules complete the picture. The reserve is not forever: it lapses three years after the sale.³ Money you spend on a renovation of your own home lowers the reserve by that amount.⁴ And one cap remains: in 2026 you deduct the costs for your own home at no more than 37.56%.⁵ This cap applies once your Box 1 income passes €78,426.⁵
The table below lines up the 2026 figures you will meet on this page. The deemed returns are 1.28% on savings and 6.00% on other assets.⁷
| Figure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Maximum deduction rate for costs of your own home | 37.56%(2025: 37.48%⁵) |
| Income threshold for the 37.56% deduction cap | €78,426(Box 1 income before deductions)⁵ |
| Box 3 tax-free allowance per person | €59,357(€118,714 with fiscal partner)⁸ |
| Deemed return on savings | 1.28%(provisional⁷) |
| Deemed return on investments and other assets | 6.00%(fixed⁷) |
How does your surplus value affect your next mortgage?
Your interest deduction stops at your next home's price plus costs minus your reserve. Borrow more and you deduct no interest on the extra part. That part counts as a Box 3 debt.⁷
Back to Elena and Chris. They buy their next home for €750,000 including costs, while their reserve stands at €445,000. They can therefore deduct interest on at most €305,000 of mortgage. Suppose they borrow €500,000 because they want to keep savings on hand. Then €195,000 of that loan falls outside the deduction. The Belastingdienst has its own calculator for this, the Rekenhulp Bijleenregeling (bijleenregeling calculator).²
The table below sets out their case step by step.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Surplus value at sale | €600,000 − €150,000 − €5,000 | €445,000 |
| Next home including costs | purchase price plus buying costs | €750,000 |
| Maximum mortgage with interest deduction | €750,000 − €445,000 | €305,000 |
| They actually borrow | their own choice | €500,000 |
| Interest deductible on | the capped amount | €305,000 |
Can you use your surplus value for a renovation?
Yes, and every euro you spend lowers your home-equity reserve.⁴ That works for a renovation and for maintenance of your own home.⁴ A smaller reserve means a larger part of your next mortgage keeps its interest deduction.
Do you finance the renovation with a loan instead? Then the interest is deductible on two conditions.⁶ You spend the money on improving or maintaining the home you live in. And you repay on at least an annuity schedule, within 30 years.⁶ The work has to become a permanent part of your home: a new kitchen or bathroom, window frames, insulation, solar panels or a heat pump.⁶
In the first six months you deduct the interest on the whole loan. After that you deduct only on the part you actually spent.⁶ Keep every invoice, because the Belastingdienst can ask what the loan paid for.⁶ Does the money sit in a separate account that pays out as the work progresses? Then you have a bouwdepot (a construction escrow account), and our bouwdepot page explains how it pays out.
Elena and Chris weigh this option too. Suppose they spend €50,000 of their surplus value on the renovation. Their reserve of €445,000 then drops to €395,000.⁴ Their deduction cap of €305,000 rises to €355,000. The part without deduction shrinks to €145,000.
What if you don't put your surplus value into a home?
You do not have to reinvest your surplus value. Parking it in savings or investments is allowed. Two consequences follow. Your next mortgage misses part of its interest deduction for up to three years.³ And the money itself becomes Box 3 wealth.⁷
The Belastingdienst looks at your wealth on 1 January.⁷ Above €59,357 per person you pay Box 3 tax.⁸ The rate is 36% on a deemed return.⁷ With a fiscal partner the combined allowance is €118,714.⁸
Suppose Elena and Chris pick a smaller apartment instead, for €350,000 including costs. Their reserve of €445,000 exceeds that price by €95,000. The €95,000 stays on the books as reserve for three years.³ Whatever they keep in the bank on 1 January counts toward Box 3. This is their only Box 3 asset here. Together they have a €118,714 allowance, so they owe nothing on this €95,000.
One change is still pending. The bill to tax actual returns in Box 3 from 1 January 2028 is still waiting for a Senate vote. In September 2026 the cabinet proposed an amendment.⁹ It would tax gains on shares, bonds and other financial instruments only when you sell them. Parliament has not yet decided on it. Our page on the actual-return report tracks what comes next.
“Most sellers only meet the home-equity reserve when they buy their next home. Two dates matter: the day you sell, which starts the three-year clock, and 1 January, when your savings count for Box 3. Keep those two in view and the rest is arithmetic.”
What does this mean for you?
Your best option depends on your plans for the next three years. Buying again soon? You deduct interest on the purchase price plus costs, minus your reserve.² Renovating? Your spending lowers the reserve, and the loan interest is often deductible.⁶ Waiting or renting for a while? Note the date your reserve lapses and your Box 3 position on 1 January.⁷
Elena and Chris choose the €750,000 house. Their return for the year of the move covers the sale, the purchase and €305,000 of deductible mortgage. How you finance that purchase or renovation is a separate decision. Our refinance mortgage page shows what we weigh up.
Selling, buying and renovating usually land in the same tax year. Your reserve, your deduction cap and your Box 3 position then all move together. Check your sale date and your 1 January bank balance this month.
¹ Belastingdienst, Overwaarde en eigenwoningreserve · Accessed
² Belastingdienst, Ik verkoop mijn huis - wanneer geldt de bijleenregeling? · Accessed
³ Belastingdienst, Wanneer vervalt mijn eigenwoningreserve? · Accessed
⁴ Belastingdienst, Wanneer wordt uw eigenwoningreserve lager? · Accessed
⁵ Belastingdienst, Afbouw tarief aftrekposten als u een hoog inkomen hebt · Accessed
⁷ Belastingdienst, Hoe is het Box 3-inkomen op mijn voorlopige aanslag 2026 berekend? · Accessed
⁸ Belastingdienst, Heffingsvrij vermogen · Accessed
⁹ Eerste Kamer, Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 · Accessed
¹⁰ Rijksoverheid, Wanneer betaal ik schenkbelasting? · Accessed
Common questions about surplus value
Is surplus value taxed in the Netherlands?
No, the gain on selling your own home is not taxed as income.¹ The effects are indirect: a lower interest deduction on your next mortgage,² and Box 3 tax once the money sits in savings or investments on 1 January.⁷