Overdrachtsbelasting is the Dutch transfer tax paid by the buyer when acquiring an existing property. In 2026 there are three residential rates: 0% for first-time buyers aged 18-34 purchasing a home of €555,000 or less to live in themselves (once in a lifetime), 2% for other owner-occupiers, and 8% for investors and second homes — down from 10.4% in 2025, with 10.4% now applying to commercial property only. On a €450,000 home the gap between 0% and the investor rate is €36,000, which makes your age, the purchase price and whether you will genuinely live there the three most financially important facts of the transaction. The €555,000 limit is a cliff edge, not a taper: one euro above it costs about €11,100 in tax. Newly built homes fall outside it entirely — you pay 21% VAT inside the price instead.
Overdrachtsbelasting is the Dutch property transfer tax a buyer pays when a property changes hands. In 2026 it comes in three residential rates — 0% for first-time buyers under 35 buying up to €555,000, 2% for anyone buying a home to live in, and 8%for buy-to-let and second homes. It is paid at the notary on completion, calculated on the purchase price, and it is not deductible. On a €450,000 home the difference between the 2% and the 8% rate is €27,000 — which makes “will I live here myself?” the most expensive question on the whole transaction.
What overdrachtsbelasting actually is
Overdrachtsbelasting is a one-off tax on the acquisitionof Dutch real estate. It is charged to the buyer, not the seller, and it is settled by the notary on the day of transfer: the money leaves your account as part of the completion statement, alongside the purchase price and the notary’s own fee. You never file anything yourself — the notary declares and remits it.
The tax base is the purchase price, or the market value where that is higher. This matters in family transactions: buying your parents’ house for a friendly €300,000 when it is worth €400,000 does not reduce the tax, because it is calculated on the €400,000.
It is not deductible against income tax, and it cannot be borrowed. Dutch lending rules cap a mortgage at 100% of the property value, and overdrachtsbelasting sits on top of that — so it comes out of savings. That is why it belongs in your budget from the first viewing rather than arriving as a surprise on the notary’s statement.
The three residential rates in 2026
0% — the starter exemption (startersvrijstelling)
First-time buyers pay nothing, provided all of the following hold on the date of transfer:
- You are 18 or older but not yet 35. Age is measured at the moment of transfer at the notary, not when you signed the purchase agreement.
- The purchase price is €555,000 or less — up from €525,000 in 2025.
- The property becomes your main residence (hoofdverblijf); you will live in it rather than rent it out.
- You have not used the exemption before. It is available once per person, for life.
You declare this in writing at the notary. The maximum saving is €11,100 — 2% of €555,000.
The €555,000 cliff edge
This is a threshold, not a tapered allowance. At €555,000 you pay €0. At €555,001 you pay 2% of the entire price — about €11,100. One euro of purchase price costs eleven thousand euros of tax.
If you are bidding near the line this changes your offer arithmetic completely: bidding €560,000 leaves you roughly €16,000 worse off than bidding €555,000, once the tax is counted. It is an easy threshold to bid straight through without noticing.
2% — buying a home to live in
The 2% rate applies to residential property that becomes your main residence when the starter exemption does not apply. In practice that means one of three things: you are 35 or over, you have used the exemption already, or the price is above €555,000.
You still sign a hoofdverblijf declaration. The rate attaches to your intention to live there, not to the type of building — an apartment bought as a home is 2%, the identical apartment next door bought to rent out is 8%.
8% — investment property and second homes
A home you will not live in yourself — a rental, a holiday home, a property bought for a child — is taxed at 8% in 2026. That is a significant cut from the 10.4% that applied in 2025, worth €9,600 on a €400,000 purchase.
The stated reasoning for the cut was that 10.4% had discouraged investment in housing without measurably helping first-time buyers, while tightening supply in the rental market. Whether it achieves that is contested — critics argue it mainly returns bidding power to investors. What is not in dispute is that the arithmetic moved in favour of buy-to-let relative to 2025.
10.4% — commercial property
The reduction applies to residential property only. Offices, shops, business premises and building land stay at 10.4%. For a mixed-use building — a shop with a flat above — expect the notary to split the price across the two rates.
What it costs in practice
| Purchase price | Starter (0%) | Own home (2%) | Investor (8%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| €300,000 | €0 | €6,000 | €24,000 |
| €400,000 | €0 | €8,000 | €32,000 |
| €500,000 | €0 | €10,000 | €40,000 |
| €555,000 | €0 | €11,100 | €44,400 |
| €600,000 | over the limit | €12,000 | €48,000 |
| €750,000 | over the limit | €15,000 | €60,000 |
Starter exemption applies up to €555,000 for buyers aged 18–34 who have not used it before. Figures show the transfer tax only — notary, valuation and advice costs are separate.
Five situations that catch people out
1. You turn 35 between signing and completion
Age is tested at transfer, not at signature. An agreement signed at 34 that completes three months later, after your 35th birthday, loses the exemption. If you are close to the line, discuss the transfer date with the notary before signing — moving completion forward by a fortnight can be worth €11,000.
2. Buying together when only one of you qualifies
The exemption is personal and applies to each buyer’s share. Buy 50/50 where only one of you is under 35 and a first-time buyer, and that half is exempt while the other half is taxed at 2%. On a €400,000 home that is €4,000 rather than €8,000 — worth knowing before you settle the ownership split.
3. You intended to live there, and then didn’t
The 0% and 2% rates rest on a declaration about your intention. If circumstances change soon after purchase — you move abroad, you decide to let it — the Belastingdienst can revisit the rate applied. A genuine change of circumstances is treated differently from a declaration that was never true, but the safe course is to be accurate on the day and keep evidence of what you intended.
4. New-build works differently
Newly built homes are generally subject to 21% VAT instead of transfer tax, with the VAT already inside the developer’s quoted price. That is what vrij op naam (v.o.n.) means. Do not budget 2% transfer tax on top of a v.o.n. new-build — you would be double-counting.
5. The tax follows value, not a clever price
Where the price is below market value — family sales especially — the tax is computed on market value. Structuring a low price to reduce transfer tax does not work, and it creates a gift-tax question instead.
Where it sits in your total buying costs
Overdrachtsbelasting is the largest single line in kosten koper for most buyers, but not the only one. Budget also for the notary (transfer deed and mortgage deed), a valuation report, mortgage advice, and a buying agent if you use one.
None of it can be borrowed: the 100% loan-to-value cap applies to the property value, so every euro of buying costs comes from your own savings.
Working out your own position
The rate follows from three facts: your age at transfer, whether you have used the starter exemption before, and whether the property will be your main residence. Establish those and the rate is not ambiguous. Where it genuinely does get complicated — mixed-use buildings, uneven ownership shares, family transfers, inherited property — the notary is the right person to ask, and asking before you sign costs nothing.
Rates and thresholds move with the annual Belastingplan. Everything above is the 2026 position; if you are reading this in a later year, check the current ceiling before relying on it.
