Repaying extra

Most contracts let you repay 10% to 20% of the original loan each year without a fee; the exact share is in your offer. Example: €400,000 at 3.8%, after 5 years €360,609 left, you repay €20,000 extra:

	Monthly payment	Interest still to pay	Ends
No extra repayment	€1,864	€198,540	after 30 years
Lower payment, same end	€1,760	€187,529	after 30 years
Same payment, end sooner	€1,864	€168,966	about 27.8 years

Remember the deduction: less interest also means less tax back. At 37.56%, every €1,000 of interest saved is worth about €624 net. Compare that with what your savings earn after Box 3. Repaying also lowers your loan-to-value, which can lower your risk class.

Part of the series Buying a home in the Netherlands: every step and every mortgage topic, with worked examples.

Early repayment fee (boeterente)

Repay more than the free part during a fixed period, or switch lenders, and the lender may charge a fee if current rates are lower than yours. By law it may not exceed the lender's financial loss. No fee is usually due when you sell and move out, at the end of the fixed period, or after death.

Loan and contract rate: €300,000, 4.5%
Lender's current rate for the remaining period: 3.5%
Penalty-free part: 10% = €30,000
Rate gap on the rest, per month: €270,000 × 1.0% ÷ 12 = €225
Over 6 remaining years, discounted: about €14,600

A simplified version of the method lenders use; each lender's exact formula is in its conditions. The fee is deductible as interest.

Moving house

Take your rate with you

A meeneemregeling lets you keep your current rate and terms on the new loan, within a set period. Useful when your rate is low.

Bridging loan

Borrow against the equity in the old home until it sells, usually for up to two years. Interest on it is deductible if the money goes into the new home.

Two homes for a while

Interest on the old home stays deductible while it is empty and for sale: the year it became empty and the 3 years after.

The bijleenregeling: the equity from the sale (eigenwoningreserve) counts as put into the next home for three years. Example: sold for €450,000, €9,000 selling costs, €250,000 mortgage left:

Eigenwoningreserve: €450,000 - €9,000 - €250,000 = €191,000
New home plus its buying costs: €562,000
Maximum deductible new loan: €371,000
If you borrow more and keep the cash: Interest on the extra is not deductible, and that part is a Box 3 debt.

Divorce or separation

One partner takes over the home: the lender must agree to release the other (ontslag hoofdelijke aansprakelijkheid), and the one who stays must meet the norms on one income. Buying out the other's half is deductible as part of the home loan.
The partner who moved out can keep deducting their share of the interest for up to 2 years, while the ex-partner still lives there.
With NHG, a sale at a loss after a divorce can lead to the residual debt being forgiven. See NHG.
More on tax and benefits in divorce.

Death of a partner

The mortgage does not end at death: the surviving partner and the heirs remain liable. A term life insurance (overlijdensrisicoverzekering) pays off part or all of the loan; some lenders require one when you borrow a high share of the value. A payout to the partner can be free of inheritance tax up to the partner exemption. See death and inheritance.

Selling

The sale price pays off the mortgage at the notary. A gain on your own home is not taxed.
A loss leaves a residual debt (restschuld). Interest on a restschuld from a sale since 2018 is not deductible; with NHG it may be forgiven under conditions.
Buying again within three years? The bijleenregeling above applies.

A second home or rental: Box 3

A home that is not your main residence falls in Box 3: no interest deduction, no forfait, but its value minus the loan counts as wealth, and you pay 8% transfer tax. Example: a €300,000 holiday home with a €100,000 loan, single filer, no other wealth:

Transfer tax on purchase: €24,000
Box 3 tax per year (notional return, 2026): €3,930

Computed with the site's Box 3 engine. See Box 3 and actual returns for the counter-evidence route, and the wealth tax calculator.

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