Example budget: a €400,000 home
Buyer aged 40, €400,000 mortgage with NHG
| Example amount | Tax-deductible? | |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax (2%) | €8,000 | No |
| Mortgage advice and arranging | €3,000 | Yes, financing cost |
| Valuation report (taxatie) | €800 | Yes, financing cost |
| Notary: mortgage deed | €900 | Yes, financing cost |
| Notary: deed of transfer | €1,000 | No |
| NHG fee (0.4%) | €1,600 | Yes, financing cost |
| Building inspection | €500 | No |
| Bank guarantee (about 1% of the 10% deposit) | €400 | No |
| Total | €16,200 | €6,300 deductible |
Transfer tax and the NHG fee come from the site's calculators. The other amounts are typical prices to show the size of each item: quotes vary by firm, region and home, so ask several. In this example the costs are about 4.0% of the price. A buyer's agent (aankoopmakelaar), if you use one, comes on top.
Part of the series Buying a home in the Netherlands: every step and every mortgage topic, with worked examples.
Transfer tax and the starters exemption
| Rate 2026 | On €400,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Starter, 18 to 34, own home, value up to €555,000 | 0% | €0 |
| Own main home (other buyers) | 2% | €8,000 |
| Other homes: second home, rental, home for a child | 8% | €32,000 |
| Non-residential property | 10.4% | €41,600 |
- The starters exemption is once in a lifetime, and the €555,000 cap is a cliff: one euro above it and you pay 2% on the whole price.
- Buying together: each buyer is tested on their own age, for their own share. The value cap is tested on the whole home.
- Not deductible, and it cannot be included in the mortgage above 100% of the value. More in transfer tax.
What you can deduct
Costs of getting the loan are deductible in the year you pay them; costs of buying the home are not. In the example, €6,300 of financing costs saves about €2,366 at 37.56%.
| Deductible | Not deductible | |
|---|---|---|
| Advice | Advice and arranging of the mortgage | Buyer's agent for the purchase |
| Notary | Mortgage deed and its registration | Deed of transfer and its registration |
| Valuation and inspection | Valuation or inspection needed for the loan or NHG | Inspection you chose for the purchase; delivery inspection |
| Other | NHG fee, commitment fee (bereidstellingsprovisie) | Transfer tax, purchase price, furniture taken over, renovation itself |
Source: Belastingdienst cost overview for buying a home. A bank guarantee fee is not on its list of deductible costs.
The same home for a starter
A 30-year-old buying the same €400,000 home for the first time pays €0 transfer tax instead of €8,000, so needs about €8,200 in savings instead of €16,200. Parents can help: once, €33,129 free of gift tax for a child aged 18 to 40 (2026).
General information for 2026, not financial advice. Lenders apply the rules in their own way, and rates change daily. Before you sign, have your own situation checked by a registered mortgage adviser.
How much can I borrow? · Annuity, linear or interest-only · Interest rates and fixed periods · Mortgage interest deduction · NHG · Buying costs · Mortgages for expats · Moving, repaying, divorce, selling · Mortgage glossary
Sources
This article is based on these official pages. If anything here differs from them, the official page is right.
Ready to run your own numbers?
Transfer tax calculator