Tax return after buying a house: what you get back (2026)

What changes in your tax return after buying a house?

After buying a house, your tax return changes in two ways: you deduct one-off purchase costs once, and mortgage interest every year. In return, the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) adds a small notional amount to your income for owning the home.

For most buyers the deductions outweigh that addition. That means a refund — often the largest in the purchase year. This guide covers your main residence only. A holiday home or a property you rent out falls in Box 3 and follows different rules. Did you move to the Netherlands in the same year? Then your return is an M-form. Box 3 covers savings and investments and other property that you do not live in.

Which purchase costs are deductible — and which aren't?

Only the costs of arranging your mortgage are deductible — the costs of buying the house itself are not. You deduct them once, in your return over the year you bought.

The dividing line: did you pay this to get the loan, or to get the house? Loan costs count; house costs don't. The table below shows where each common cost lands. Miss them in the purchase-year return and the deduction is gone — they can't move to a later year.

Exception: ground rent (erfpachtcanon). You deduct that every year, unlike other purchase costs.

How does the mortgage interest deduction work?

You deduct the mortgage interest you paid from your Box 1 income, at a rate of up to 37.56% (2026). For every €10,000 of interest, that's up to €3,756 back.

Three conditions. The home is your main residence. The loan is for buying, improving or maintaining it. And for loans taken out from 2013: you repay annuity or linear, within 30 years. In return, the eigenwoningforfait — a notional rental value — is added to your income: 0.35% of the WOZ value for most homes (2026). Your 2026 return uses the WOZ value of 1 January 2025. The deduction minus that addition is your net benefit. Your mortgage advisor sets the loan shape; we make sure the return matches it.

Example, on €10,000 interest and a WOZ value of €400,000 you deduct €10,000. The eigenwoningforfait adds €1,400, so your net benefit is €3,230. You count interest and eigenwoningforfait from the transfer date, not the whole year. Interim step: €10,000 minus €1,400 is €8,600, taxed at 37.56 percent. Net benefit is always the interest minus the eigenwoningforfait times your rate. Box 1 is the income box for work and for your main residence. This example assumes the top rate so a lower income gives a smaller benefit. This example uses a full year, so your purchase year is lower.

When do you get your refund — and can it be monthly?

You normally get the refund after filing, but with a voorlopige aanslag you can receive it monthly during the year. A voorlopige aanslag is a provisional assessment: the Belastingdienst pays your expected refund in instalments.

The purchase-year return usually brings the biggest refund: a full set of one-off costs plus your first months of interest. You file between 1 March and 1 May over the previous year. Don't want to wait? We request the voorlopige aanslag with you, so the monthly amount matches reality — no surprise repayment later. That gives you room in exactly the months the house costs the most. Did you buy in 2026? Then you file that return in spring 2027.

What if your situation isn't standard?

Fiscal partners, a previous home, a move abroad or the 30% ruling all change what you can deduct — and how much you get back.

You bought together (fiscal partners)

Fiscal partners may split the home's tax balance between them in any ratio. The split changes the refund; we calculate the optimal one with you.

You sold another home

Profit from a previous home reduces what you may deduct on the new loan. This is the bijleenregeling: the surplus (overwaarde) is expected to go into the next home. We check how it lands in your return.

You moved to the Netherlands in the purchase year

Then you file an M-form: the return for the year you migrated. Buying and migrating in one year is exactly where deductions get missed. » More: the M-form tax return.

You have the 30% ruling

The ruling doesn't change your mortgage interest deduction: your Dutch home sits in Box 1 either way. It does change your net income and borrowing room. » More: the 30% ruling.

You are moving abroad

Leaving the Netherlands changes your deduction from the date you leave. Your home may move to Box 3. We check your final Dutch year with you.

Find your settlement statement, and we go through the deductible costs with you.

How tax on your own home works is on our overview of owning a home.