Taxes after death in the Netherlands

What happens to your taxes after a death in the Netherlands?

After a death, the Belastingdienst still expects a final return for that year.¹ This page covers the income-tax side of that year.

Two returns usually come into play. One is the final return for the person who died, the other the surviving partner's own return for that year. The surviving partner can also choose to count as fiscal partners for the whole year. That is the tax status for a couple.

This page does not cover inheritance tax. That is a separate return, and we handle it on our page about the inheritance-tax return. The forms themselves, like the F-form for the person who died, live on our F-form page.

Take Sofia. Her husband died this spring, and they lived together in the Netherlands. She now faces his final return, her own return and one real choice. We follow her through this page. Are you an heir but not the partner? Then the whole-year choice does not apply.

Does the fiscal partnership continue for the whole year?

The partnership ends at death, but the survivor may choose the whole year.² You make that choice in the return, together with the person who represents the heirs.

Why choose it? As full-year partners, you may divide shared income and deductions freely across the two returns. That includes items from after the death. You place each amount on whichever return works out better.

For Sofia this is the heart of it. Keeping the partnership for the whole year lets her use both partners' figures across the two returns.

What does the whole-year choice change in Box 3?

Full-year partners share one Box 3 tax-free amount, twice as high. Box 3 is the tax on savings and investments.

Everyone has a tax-free amount, the heffingsvrij vermogen. In 2026 that is €59,357 per person. Full-year partners share a combined €118,714. The table below sets the figures side by side.

The Belastingdienst then taxes Box 3 at 36% over a calculated return, not your real return. So a higher tax-free amount can keep more of your combined wealth out of Box 3 entirely.

Wealth abroad counts in Box 3 too, because you declare your worldwide income.³ A tax treaty can give you a deduction so you are not taxed twice.

How does the whole-year choice work out?

The choice can move much of your combined wealth out of Box 3. Here is how it works out for Sofia.

Say the couple's €110,000 in savings stood fully in Sofia's name on the reference date, 1 January. On her own, her tax-free amount is €59,357, which leaves €50,643 in Box 3.

As full-year partners, the tax-free amount is €118,714. Their €110,000 sits fully below it, so nothing is left in Box 3. The table below follows each step.

The exact tax then depends on the calculated return for the year, which we work out with you when we file. You can see how we handle a full return on our page about the Dutch tax return.

How and when do you file the returns?

You can usually file both returns online from 1 March. That is 1 March in the year after the death. You do it with a survivor's authorisation, the so-called nabestaandenmachtiging.

With that authorisation you file the deceased's return and your own together online. The Belastingdienst fills in their details for you. You log in with your own DigiD under "Filing for someone else", because the deceased's DigiD no longer works. DigiD is the personal login for Dutch government services. No DigiD yet? Ask us and we will guide you.

Prefer paper? You use an F-form for the person who died and a P-form for yourself. One shared paper form is not possible. You request both through the Belastingdienst's helpline for surviving relatives. The step-by-step form mechanics live on our F-form page.

The Belastingdienst writes to the correspondence address when a final return is needed. Has no letter arrived five months after the death? Do you expect a refund or a bill? Then file on your own initiative.

Did you or your partner move to or from the Netherlands in the year of death? Then the M-form, a special return, can apply.

What happens to an inheritance and to allowances?

An inheritance counts as Box 3 wealth the moment you inherit.⁴ It counts from the day you are entitled, even while the estate is undivided.

You declare it in Box 3 from 1 January of the following year. Have you not yet paid the inheritance tax? You may deduct it as a Box 3 debt, and you may estimate the amount for now.

Inherited property, such as a house, is the exception. You list it in your return for the year you inherit. In most cases you pay no tax on it for that year. Box 3 tax on it usually starts the year after.

Read how the inheritance-tax return works if you receive an inheritance.

What does this mean for you?

You now know the final return, the whole-year choice and the Box 3 effect. The next step is your own situation.

Look at whether the whole-year choice helps you, especially for Box 3. Review any inheritance that is now part of your wealth. And keep an eye on your allowances.

You do not have to sort this out alone at a hard time. That leaves you free to focus on the people around you. If Sofia makes the whole-year choice, her savings in our example stay fully out of Box 3.

Gift tax and inheritance tax follow the same law. The overview is on our page about gift tax in the Netherlands.