Dutch income taxes: 6 income tax deductions

Income taxes are complex and filing your tax return optimally in the Netherlands can be quite a challenge. In this article the team from taxt will give you a handy list of possible tax deductions to claim via your income tax return.

Tax deductible costs
A number of costs are deductible via your income tax return in the Netherlands. Did you pay certain expenses in the applicable tax year? Don’t forget to submit them in your tax return to make sure that you don’t pay too much income taxes.

Homeowners deductibles
If you’ve bought the house you live in with a mortgage this creates our most well known income tax deduction. Mortgage interest is deductible from your income taxes if the mortgage is being paid back to the lender within 30 years.

In the year of purchase of your house you can also deduct the costs of the mortgage advisor, the notary costs made for the mortgage deed, and the costs for the appraisal report if these costs are made for the mortgage lender.

Medical expenses are tax deductible, but only if they exceed income related thresholds and are not covered by your insurance. Healthcare insurance premiums do not qualify as medical expenses though. And if you ever declare expenses with your health insurance, the first amount (minimum of € 385) is for your own account (eigenrisico). The eigenrisico amount is also not a qualifying tax deductible expense.

Retirement annuity premiums, a form of private pension build-up, and in Dutch called lijfrentepremies are tax deductible from your income up to a certain annual maximum. This only applies when building up such a private pension with a private pension insurer that is registered in the Netherlands. Only very limited non-Dutch parties have registered themselves in the Netherlands. So if you have such a private pension plan in another country, it could be better to switch to a Dutch registered insurer so you can enjoy tax deductibility for the paid premiums.

Occupational disability insurance premiums are insurance premiums paid by individuals who insure the risk of income loss during sickness or disability. This is a very common insurance for freelancers. In Dutch these insurances are called arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekeringen. Just like annuity premiums, these insurance premiums are also only deductible when paid to an insurance company that’s registered in the Netherlands as such. Very limited non-Dutch companies are registered in the Netherlands though. If you have a non-Dutch occupational disability insurance always make sure that the insurer is registered in the Netherlands properly.   

Donations to registered charities, called ANBI’s in Dutch, are also tax deductible, but only when exceeding an income related threshold of 1% of your taxable income. Do you donate to ANBI’s annually and plan to do so over a longer period? In that case it could be better to register the donation/gift in a written agreement, because if such a registered donation is periodic for at least five years, no income related threshold for deductibility applies to these donations!

Paid partner alimony that is paid to an ex-spouse is tax deductible in the year of payment. Please note that the partner alimony obligations will have to be agreed upon in a divorce agreement and that child alimony is never tax deductible in the Netherlands.

And what about study costs or educational expenses? These costs are no longer tax deductible per tax year 2022.