What is Dutch transfer tax?
Transfer tax is a one-off tax on buying property in the Netherlands. In Dutch this is overdrachtsbelasting. You pay it once, at the moment you become the legal owner. The buyer pays it and the seller pays nothing. It applies to existing homes and to other property.
You do not file transfer tax yourself. The notary settles it with the Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax authority, as part of your purchase. It appears on the same notary invoice as your other buying costs. Our guide to notary costs covers those.
Take Yara. She moved to the Netherlands a few years ago and is buying her first home here. We follow her purchase through this page.
In short
A one-off tax on buying property. You pay it once, when you become the owner.
2% for a home you will live in. This is the standard rate for your own home.¹
0% with the starters exemption. Buyers under 35 who never used it pay nothing, tested per buyer.²
8% for a second home or rental. Any property that is not your main home.¹
€555,000 ceiling in 2026. The exemption only applies up to this home value.²
The signing date decides. The home value and your age count on the day you sign.²
Not deductible, paid via the notary. For your own home, it is not an income tax deduction.
Which transfer tax rate do you pay?
The rate depends on what you will do with the property. For a home you will live in yourself, you pay 2%.¹ For a home you will not live in, you pay 8%. For other property such as business premises or land, you pay 10.4%.¹ The table below sets out the 2026 rates side by side.
| Property or buyer | Rate (2026) | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer under 35 (starters exemption, not used before) | 0% | Home to live in, up to €555,000 |
| Home you will live in | 2% | Your main residence, no exemption |
| Second home, holiday home or rental | 8% | Property you will not live in |
| Business premises, office or land | 10.4% | Non-residential property |
How does the starters exemption work?
You pay no transfer tax if you are under 35 and buy your own home. It must be worth up to €555,000, and you never used the exemption before. In Dutch this is the startersvrijstelling, and it brings your rate down to 0%.²
You must also be 18 or older. You can only use the exemption once. It does not have to be your very first home. What counts is that you never used the exemption. You sign the verklaring startersvrijstelling at the notary, the starters exemption declaration.
The home value is the purchase price in the deed of transfer. Your nationality plays no role, the exemption follows these conditions.
Buying together? Then the Belastingdienst tests these conditions per buyer. Is your partner 35 or older? Then they pay 2% on their share.
What does transfer tax cost in practice?
You take the home price and apply the rate that fits it. Yara is buying a home for €400,000, and she will live in it herself. Without the starters exemption she would pay 2%, which is €8,000. She is 33 and has never used the exemption, so it applies. Her rate drops to 0%, and she pays nothing. That saves her the full €8,000. The table below follows each step.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price (home to live in) | starting point | €400,000 |
| Rate without the exemption | 2% × €400,000 | €8,000 |
| Starters exemption applied | buyer under 35, exemption not used before, up to €555,000 | 0% |
| Transfer tax due | rate 0% | €0 |
| You save | €8,000 − €0 | €8,000 |
“Most buyers assume the exemption is automatic. It is not. The date you sign the deed decides whether you still qualify.”
When do you pay the 8% rate?
You pay 8% on any home you will not live in yourself. That covers a second home, a holiday home, and a home you buy to rent out.¹ Buying a home for your child to live in also counts, because you will not live there yourself. This 8% rate started in 2026. Non-residential property stayed at 10.4%.¹ On the same €400,000 home, 8% is €32,000 instead of €8,000 at 2%.
What does transfer tax mean for you?
Know your rate before you sign, so the cost is no surprise. Work out which rate fits your purchase and look at the starters exemption if you are under 35. Keep the signing date in mind, because the rules apply from that day. Yara checked her rate first and signed knowing the exemption applied.
After you buy, there is still a tax return to file for your new home. We can handle that tax return with you. Our guide to the tax return after buying a house walks through what changes. If the mortgage is your next question, our mortgage advice starts there.
How tax on your own home works is on our overview of owning a home.
¹ belastingdienst.nl, Het tarief van de overdrachtsbelasting · Accessed
² belastingdienst.nl, Startersvrijstelling · Accessed
Common questions about transfer tax
Who pays transfer tax, the buyer or the seller?
The buyer pays transfer tax. The notary settles it with the Belastingdienst as part of your purchase, so you do not pay it separately.