Your Dutch tax residency
Your registration date and where your life is based both count when you become a Dutch tax resident. We read your case and tell you where you stand.
Moving to the Netherlands: your first year
Your first year here comes with a fixed set of jobs: register, get a BSN, arrange health cover, file your moving-year return. We show you what each one involves and who picks it up.
Written by
Menno van der MadeHead of Tax - Tax Consultant
Reviewed by
Jessy te PaskeHead of Client Success
Updated 6 October 2026
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Fact-checked against
Read our editorial standards- belastingdienst.nl (the Dutch Tax Administration)
- rijksoverheid.nl (the Dutch government)
Updated 6 October 2026
Your first year
Moving to the Netherlands: what to arrange first
Moving to the Netherlands starts with four fixed jobs. You register with your gemeente (your local council). You receive your BSN, the Dutch citizen service number. You take out Dutch basic health insurance. And you file a tax return for the year you moved. Everything else in your first year follows from those four.
You register within five days of arrival in the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP), the Dutch population register. That applies if you stay longer than four months. That registration also sets the date that helps decide when Dutch tax applies to you. Dutch basic health insurance follows within four months of arrival. Arrange it in time and your cover runs back to your arrival day. Arrange it later and there is no cover for the gap.
The year you move has its own tax return, not the standard one. The deadline is 1 July of the year after you moved, later than the usual 1 May.
Not everything belongs to this moment. Buying a home, a growing family and money abroad have their own pages. You find them under my situation. Start with the job that is yours today.
Your first weeks
Registration, BSN and health cover
Your first weeks bring the first hard deadlines. Registration at the gemeente comes first, because your BSN comes out of it. Health insurance follows soon after.
Get these three right and the rest of your first year in the Netherlands is admin rather than repair.
Dutch health insurance
You choose your own Dutch basic insurer, soon after you arrive. A&H Finance, our associated company, looks across the market and arranges the cover that fits your situation.
Healthcare allowance
Healthcare allowance is a monthly contribution towards your premium, based on your income. We check whether you qualify.
First tax year
The return for the year you moved
Your moving year gets a return of its own. It covers the months you lived abroad and the months you lived here, in one form.
Your first Dutch payslip raises a question of its own. If your employer applied the 30% ruling, your first return is where that shows up.
Your moving-year return
Your moving year goes on the M-form, the return for the year you change country. We arrange the authorisation and file it for you.
The 30% ruling
Once the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration) grants it, part of your salary can be tax-free.
A tax advisor for internationals
One advisor who specialises in first Dutch tax years. You tell your story once.
Other moments
Is something else going on too?
Find your situation below and read on from there. You can find all the moments under My situation.
SETTLING
Settling in the Netherlands
You are staying. A home of your own, a partner, a mortgage question. We line up the money side.
This is meGROWINGGrowing your income here
A bigger salary, shares from work, a family. Your tax situation gains moving parts and we keep them in step.
This is meTHRIVINGThriving in the Netherlands
Savings, investments and a pension to think about. We help you take the long view.
This is meASSETS ABROADAssets you left abroad
A house, a brokerage account or a pension pot outside the Netherlands. We put it in your return correctly.
This is meFOREIGN INCOMEIncome from another country
You earn across a border, or your employer is not Dutch. We keep both tax systems straight.
This is meSUBSTANTIAL ASSETSA substantial amount of wealth
Box 3, the Dutch tax on savings and investments, starts to cost real money. We show what your wealth costs you each year.
This is meDoes more than one fit you? A tax advisor for internationals looks at your whole situation in one conversation.
Replies within one working day
“The year you arrive has the most moving parts. I have filed thousands of them. Tell me where you are and I will tell you what comes next.”
Menno van der Made
Tax advisor
EN, NL
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Frequently asked
Moving to the Netherlands, answered
Five questions we hear most in a first call about arriving here. Yours not among them? Ask Menno
What do I have to arrange when moving to the Netherlands?
Register with your gemeente, collect your BSN and arrange Dutch health insurance. You also file a tax return for your moving year. Everyone does those four. What comes on top depends on your job, your family and where the rest of your money sits.
How do I register with my gemeente?
You register in person at the gemeente where you now live, shortly after you arrive. That registration in the BRP is what issues your BSN. The date also counts when the Belastingdienst works out your tax residency. Take your passport and proof of your address. Your gemeente lists exactly what to bring. Register within five days of your arrival. Staying less than four months? Ask us which registration applies to you.
Do I have to arrange Dutch health insurance myself?
Yes, you arrange Dutch basic health insurance yourself once you live here. Arrange it right after you arrive. Our page on Dutch health insurance sets out what to look at. You have four months from your arrival to arrange it.
Do I file a normal tax return for the year I moved?
No. Your moving year needs a different return. The Belastingdienst calls it the M-form. Our page on M-form filing explains how it works.
Can you help with a mortgage or a pension in my first year?
Yes, in the same conversation. We advise on your tax. For a mortgage, insurance or pension, our associated company advises you. Buying a home usually comes a little later, so we cover that story on our page about settling in the Netherlands.
Your next step
Know what your first year still needs
Book a free call and we walk through your first year together. We look at your registration, your health cover and your first return. Brought a pension or savings from abroad? We cover that too. You're not committing to anything.
What's included
A dedicated advisor
One conversation for tax, mortgage, insurance and pension
Help in English or Dutch