You don't have to sell your home before you emigrate. But keeping it costs money, and how much depends on choices you make now.
When you emigrate, you become a non-resident taxpayer and your home in principle moves from box 1 to box 3. Mortgage interest relief then ends. There are two exceptions: the home is vacant and demonstrably for sale, or you are leaving temporarily and keeping it for your own use. As soon as you let it, both exceptions lapse.
As soon as you emigrate, the Netherlands regards you as a non-resident taxpayer. You then only pay tax here on Dutch sources of income. A home in the Netherlands is one such source: it remains taxable in the Netherlands regardless.
Your home is no longer your main residence and therefore moves from box 1 to box 3. Mortgage interest relief ends and the mortgage becomes a debt in box 3.
In box 3, for 2026 a deemed return of 6.00% applied to other assets and 2.70% to debts, at a rate of 36%. The tax-free allowance was €59,357 per person and €118,714 for tax partners. These figures change almost every year. Check them with the Belastingdienst (the Dutch Tax Administration) before you do your sums.
If your old home is vacant and demonstrably for sale, it can temporarily remain your own home in box 1. Mortgage interest relief then continues, subject to conditions.
The conditions: the home is for sale, it is vacant, and it was your main residence in the year you moved or in one of the three preceding years.
Note that word: demonstrably. A home that is actually for sale but is not being offered anywhere does not count. Visible on Funda or in the hands of an estate agent: that is what demonstrably means. Anyone who keeps their home quietly for sale to see what happens forfeits a tax deduction without realising it.
One caveat: that deduction often doesn't produce an immediate refund, because after emigrating you usually no longer have any Dutch income. A loss then arises. It can be offset against positive income from three years back to nine years forward.
If you are leaving temporarily and keeping the home for your own use, it can remain in box 1, subject to conditions. This is called the posting scheme (uitzendregeling), also known as the diplomats' scheme.
As soon as you let the home, that's it. The home moves to box 3, interest relief ends and the posting scheme is off the table.
Letting is also less attractive than it used to be. The box 3 rate is high, and the vacant value ratio (leegwaarderatio), the discount on the WOZ value for rented-out homes, was sharply reduced from 2023.
And you become a landlord. From a distance. Tenancy law, rent rules, maintenance, insurance, tenant selection, repairs, payment risks, sometimes legal proceedings. All while you are building a new life in another country.
The rules have also become stricter. Since 1 July 2024, permanent tenancy agreements are the norm again and new contracts are in principle for an indefinite period. The idea that you let for two years and then see what happens largely no longer works.
We are estate agents. We do not advise on qualifying non-resident taxpayer status, tax treaties, the protective assessment (conserverende aanslag) or the M form (M-biljet). These exist, they can change your situation considerably, and for them you need a tax adviser.
What we do: tell you what your home is worth now and what a realistic selling period is. Those are two figures you need before anyone else can do the calculation.
No. You can keep it or let it. But keeping it costs money, and the tax consequences vary greatly from one situation to another. Have it calculated before you leave, not afterwards.
In principle, the home moves from box 1 to box 3 and mortgage interest relief ends. A Dutch home always remains taxable in the Netherlands, even if you no longer live there.
Subject to conditions. If the home is vacant and demonstrably for sale, it can temporarily remain in box 1. The posting scheme can also offer a solution if you are leaving temporarily and keeping the home for your own use.
That the home is visibly on offer, for example on Funda or through an estate agent. A home you want to sell quietly does not meet that condition.
Then it moves to box 3 and interest relief ends. The posting scheme then no longer applies either. On top of that, you become a landlord at a distance, with everything that entails.
That has become more difficult. Since 1 July 2024, permanent tenancy agreements are the norm and new contracts are in principle for an indefinite period.
Not directly. A loss then arises. It can be offset against positive income from three years back to nine years forward.
No. That is work for a tax adviser. We tell you what your home is worth and what a realistic selling period is.
We are the estate agent of Helmond and we do things just a little differently. We take a look with you, run the numbers and tell you honestly what we would do. Even if that means you should hold off for now.
Your language. We speak English, German and French. Write to us in Polish by WhatsApp and we reply in Polish.
No surprises in the contract. The purchase agreement is in Dutch and comes with an English translation, so you understand every clause.
Selling from abroad. We guide the whole sale remotely and arrange the paperwork with the notary.
