Transfer tax and buyer’s costs when buying property in the Netherlands (2026)

Almost every home in the Netherlands is advertised kosten koper: the price is the price of the house, and the costs of transferring it are yours. The largest of those costs is a tax of 2%, 8% or 10.4%, depending on what you buy and what you will do with it. This page sets out the rates in force in 2026, the starter’s exemption, the reliefs that matter in practice and the other costs to budget for. It is legal and tax information, not financial advice.

What “kosten koper” means, and how it differs from “vrij op naam”

K.k. (kosten koper, “costs for the buyer”) means the advertised price excludes the costs of transfer; you pay those on top. V.o.n. (vrij op naam, “free on name”) means the price already includes the cost of putting the property in your name. The distinction largely tracks second-hand against new-build: existing homes are normally sold kosten koper, new homes from a developer vrij op naam, because VAT rather than transfer tax applies and the developer builds it into the price.

Under kosten koper the buyer normally carries:

• transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting);
• the notary’s fee for the deed of transfer (leveringsakte);
• the Land Registry (Kadaster) fee for registering that deed;
• and, with a mortgage, the notary and Kadaster fees for the mortgage deed.

It does not cover the selling agent’s commission, which the seller pays, nor your own buying agent, survey, valuation or mortgage advice. Nor does vrij op naam mean no costs at all: on a new-build mortgage, the deed and its registration remain yours.

Transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting): the rates in force in 2026

Transfer tax is charged on acquiring immovable property in the Netherlands and rights over it, such as long lease (erfpacht) and building rights (opstal). The rates are in article 14 Wet op belastingen van rechtsverkeer.

2026 brought a change. Until the end of 2025 there was no separate rate for dwellings the buyer would not occupy: they fell under the general rate of 10.4%. From 1 January 2026 article 14 contains a distinct rate of 8% for acquiring a dwelling, with 2% retained for a buyer who will live in it as their main residence and 10.4% left as the general rate for everything else.

Older summaries that still quote 10.4%

The three rates are settled: 2% for a dwelling the buyer will occupy as their main residence, 8% for a dwelling the buyer will not occupy, and 10.4% as the general rate for non-residential property. Because the 8% rate is new, older summaries and adviser pages sometimes still give 10.4% for a buy-to-let, a second home or a holiday home — the rate that did apply in 2025, but not to a 2026 acquisition.

The Belastingdienst’s rate pages govern. Check the position at the date of your deed and ask your notary to confirm the rate before signing.

The starter’s exemption (startersvrijstelling)

A buyer meeting every condition pays no transfer tax at all. The exemption is in article 15 Wet op belastingen van rechtsverkeer, the declaration requirement in article 15a. All of the following must be met:

• Age. The buyer must be 18 or over and not yet 35 when the deed is signed. The test applies per buyer: if one of two joint buyers is 35 or over, only the qualifying buyer’s share is exempt.
• Once only. The buyer must not have applied the exemption before. Having previously owned a home does not disqualify you; having used this exemption does.
• Owner-occupation. The buyer must use the dwelling as their main residence other than temporarily. Buying to let, to renovate and resell, or as a second home does not qualify.
• Value threshold. The value of the dwelling with its appurtenances must not exceed €555,000 in 2026 (€525,000 in 2025). This is a cliff edge, not a band: one euro above and the exemption falls away entirely, with 2% due on the whole value rather than the excess.

The threshold is indexed and changes each 1 January, so on a purchase near the limit the completion date itself can change the outcome.

The written declaration, and what happens if it is wrong

Neither the 2% rate nor the starter’s exemption applies automatically. Article 15a requires the buyer to state, clearly, firmly and without reservation, in a written declaration, that they will use the dwelling as their main residence other than temporarily — and, for the starter’s exemption, that they have not used it before. The Belastingdienst publishes standard forms, and the signed declaration must reach the notary before the transfer.

The declaration concerns your intention at the moment of acquisition, not a promise that nothing will change: if you genuinely intend to live there and circumstances later force you to move or let, the relief is not lost retrospectively. What is not permitted is declaring an intention you do not have. If the declaration proves incorrect, the Tax Administration can raise an additional assessment (naheffingsaanslag) for the difference plus interest and impose a penalty where the taxpayer is at fault. The penalties for an incorrect or incomplete return are those of art. 67d and art. 67e AWR; a voluntary correction made within two years in principle prevents such a penalty.

Who is liable, and how the tax is paid

Transfer tax is levied on the acquirer — the buyer; the seller is not liable. It is self-assessed, but in a normal purchase you file nothing yourself: where the transfer is by notarial deed, as it must be for registered property, the notary files digitally and pays on your behalf. The tax therefore appears on the notary’s completion statement: you transfer the full sum to the notary’s third-party account before completion, and the notary settles the tax, the Kadaster fees and their own fee from it. Only where there is no notarial deed must the buyer file and pay personally, within one month of becoming owner; an objection can be lodged within six weeks of payment.

Exemptions and reliefs that matter in practice

Acquisition shortly after a previous acquisition

Article 13 gives relief where the same property is acquired again within six months of a previous acquisition by someone else. The base for the second acquisition is reduced by the amount on which transfer tax, or non-deductible VAT, was charged on the first, so the second buyer is taxed only on the increase in value.

This benefits a buyer purchasing from someone who bought very recently, and it is what makes short-term resale by a trader or developer viable. The relief attaches to the property and the six-month window, not to the reseller’s identity, so ask when the seller acquired.

Family transfers, divorce and inheritance

Acquisition by inheritance or under matrimonial property law is not a taxable acquisition, so no transfer tax arises when you inherit a home or when property falls to you through a marital community; inheritance tax may arise instead. On divorce, the division of a matrimonial community or of jointly held property between former partners is covered by the exemptions in article 15, so where the family home is allocated to one spouse no transfer tax is payable. The position for unmarried cohabitants is narrower and turns on how the joint ownership arose.

Transfers between family members are, contrary to a widespread belief, not generally exempt. A parent selling to a child falls under the ordinary regime: 2% if the child will live there, or nothing if they qualify as a starter. The family exemption in article 15 is aimed at business succession, not a family home. Where a home is sold to a relative below market value, gift tax may also arise, and the transfer tax base is the market value, not the agreed price.

New-build property: VAT instead of transfer tax

New-build is not taxed twice. Where the supply is subject to VAT — broadly, a new building supplied before or within two years after first occupation, and building land — an exemption in article 15 disapplies transfer tax, so the buyer pays 21% VAT and no 2% or 8%. This is the samenloopvrijstelling.

This is why new-build is quoted vrij op naam: the 21% sits inside the developer’s price rather than on top. The exemption does not apply where the buyer can recover the VAT, so investors and companies need separate advice. And building land is not a dwelling: where transfer tax applies to a plot rather than a house, the rate is 10.4%.

The other buyer’s costs

Notarial fees are not fixed by law and vary between offices and cities, so obtain two or three quotations. The Kadaster registration fee is fixed and the notary passes it on at cost.

What is deductible and what is not

The dividing line is simple: costs of acquiring the property are not deductible, costs of arranging the loan are. Under article 3.120 Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, one-off financing costs for a mortgage on your own home are deductible in the year incurred — the mortgage deed, its registration, the adviser, the valuation for the loan and the NHG fee. Transfer tax, the transfer deed, its registration, your buying agent and the survey attract no relief.

The National Mortgage Guarantee (Nationale Hypotheek Garantie) is optional and available only up to a loan limit. For 2026 the one-off guarantee fee (borgtochtprovisie) is 0.4% of the loan, unchanged from 2025, and the NHG limit is €470,000, rising to €498,200 where energy-saving measures are financed with the loan. Lenders normally offer a lower rate in return, so it often pays for itself. NHG sets both figures annually and applies the Voorwaarden en Normen in force when the mortgage offer is issued, so check the limit for the year of your offer rather than the year of completion.

The Kadaster charge for registering a deed is fixed by the Tarievenregeling Kadaster and is the same for the transfer deed and the mortgage deed. For 2026 each registration costs €181, reduced to €103.50 where the notary submits the deed electronically in a form the Kadaster can process automatically, which is the ordinary route for a straightforward house purchase. The registration tariffs were left out of the general 2026 increase, so they are unchanged from 2025. A paper submission costs €34 more.

What to budget: an indicative outline

The figures below are indicative only: an outline built from the components above, not a quotation. Only the tax element is fixed by law.

• Qualifying first-time buyer, home under the threshold: roughly 1.5% to 3.5% — no transfer tax, so notarial and Kadaster costs, financing costs and any agent or survey you choose.
• Owner-occupier paying 2%: roughly 4% to 6%. The rule of thumb of “about 5% on top” fits this case, and only this case.
• Buyer who will not occupy, paying 8% in 2026: roughly 10% to 12% — lower than the same purchase in 2025, when the rate was 10.4%.
• Non-residential property at 10.4%: roughly 12% to 14%, often more, as due diligence is heavier.
• New-build, vrij op naam: the 21% VAT is already in the price, so budget only mortgage-related costs.

Two cautions. Dutch lenders generally will not finance the buyer’s costs, because the loan is capped by reference to the value of the property, so the kosten koper normally comes from savings. And if you buy jointly with someone who does not qualify as a starter, model the tax on each share separately.