Prinsjesdag 2026: what changes for your mortgage and home in 2027

On Tuesday 15 September 2026, the Dutch government presents its budget for 2027. A few changes could affect your finances as a homeowner or buyer, including your taxes, buying costs, and mortgage interest deduction.

Some changes have already been leaked, but we know the full picture after the official Budget Day announcements tomorrow.

This article is written by Toni van der Flier, our mortgage advisor at OHAO, who helps expats and internationals navigate the Dutch mortgage and housing market. Questions about your own situation or how your mortgage can look in 2027? Contact us.

What is Prinsjesdag, and why does it matter for current and future homeowners?

Prinsjesdag ( means "little princes' day") is the third Tuesday of September, when the King reads the Speech from the Throne (Troonrede) and the Minister of Finance presents the national budget (Miljoenennota) and the Tax Plan (Belastingplan) for the following year. So the plans announced in September 2026 are about 2027.

If you have bought property in another country, correct one assumption before reading on: nothing announced on Prinsjesdag is law yet. The Tax Plan goes through the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) in October and November and the Senate (Eerste Kamer) in December.

Measures are amended most years, and this year the cabinet is a minority coalition that needs opposition support to pass its budget. Treat every figure below as a proposal until it passes both chambers.

Some measures, however, were passed in earlier years and simply take effect on 1 January 2027.

Mortgage interest deduction remains in place

The decision: the mortgage interest deduction (hypotheekrenteaftrek) stays for this cabinet term. The coalition agreement between D66, CDA and VVD states that the tax treatment of the owner-occupied home will not change, to keep homes affordable and the housing market calm. Scaling it back had been one of the hardest points in the coalition talks, but that debate is now closed for the coming years.

What it is: if you own the home you live in, you deduct the mortgage interest you pay from your taxable income. The refund is capped at a fixed rate, which is tied to the second income tax bracket.

Now (2026): the maximum deduction rate is 37.56%.

In 2027: the rate rises to 38.19% if the Tax Plan passes as expected, because the second bracket rate goes up and the deduction moves with it.

Example: you have a €450,000 mortgage at 4.0%, so you pay €18,000 interest a year. In 2026 you get back about €6,761. In 2027 you get back about €6,874. That is €113 more per year.

For how the deduction works in full, read about mortgage interest rate deductions 2026.

WOZ value will rise by up to 7.5% in 2027

Your WOZ value (WOZ-waarde) is the value your municipality gives your home each year. It is used to calculate several taxes, including a small yearly tax on owning your home called the notional rental value (eigenwoningforfait).

The Waarderingskamer, the body that checks municipal valuations, expects WOZ values of homes to rise by 5.5% to 7.5% on average nationwide between 1 January 2025 and 1 January 2026. You will see this increase on the WOZ assessment you receive in early 2027.

This follows a big jump this year: the average WOZ value in 2026 is €439,000, 10.3% higher than in 2025.

What this means for your municipal taxes depends on where you live. Municipalities set their own rates, so a higher WOZ value does not automatically mean an equally large increase in your tax bill.

What it means for your income tax is decided on Prinsjesdag. In 2026 you add 0.35% of your WOZ value to your taxable income. In May the House asked the cabinet to cancel out the higher interest deduction described above, and raising this 0.35% is the most likely way to do that. This is still a proposal, so watch for that number in the Tax Plan.

Example: WOZ value €500,000 in 2026, rising 6.5% to €532,500 in 2027. At 0.35% you add €1,864 to your income instead of €1,750, about €43 more tax per year. If the rate goes up as well, the difference grows.

Transfer tax: no tax up to €615,000 for buyers under 35 in 2027

Transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting) is a tax you normally pay when buying an existing home in the Netherlands. If you buy a home to live in yourself, the standard rate is 2% of the purchase price. Transfer tax is part of your closing costs and is paid through the notary when the property is officially transferred to you.

To make it easier for younger buyers to enter the housing market, the Dutch government introduced the starter exemption (startersvrijstelling) in 2021. The exemption can significantly reduce the amount of money young buyers need to bring themselves when purchasing a home. Instead of paying 2% transfer tax, eligible buyers pay 0%, leaving more of their savings available for the other closing costs involved in buying a property.

To qualify, you must be at least 18 and younger than 35 on the day the property is transferred, use the home as your main residence and not have used the exemption before.

There is also a maximum property value. In 2026, the first-time buyer transfer tax exemption applies to homes worth up to €555,000. From 1 January 2027, the transfer tax exemption limit increases to €615,000, meaning more homes — and potentially more young buyers — will qualify for the 0% transfer tax rate.

What could this save you in 2027?

Suppose you and your partner are both 30 and buy a home for €600,000 in 2027. The property is below the €615,000 limit, so if you both meet the other conditions, your transfer tax is €0 instead of €12,000.

What if one buyer is over 35?

The exemption applies to each buyer individually. If you are 30 and your partner is 37, and you buy the same €600,000 home with 50/50 ownership, you pay €0 on your €300,000 share and your partner pays 2% on theirs: €6,000.

You can find the current rules and more examples in our guide to transfer tax in the Netherlands in 2026, or use our transfer tax calculator to estimate what you would pay today.

Rental properties and commercial property

The cabinet intends to lower the transfer tax on investment properties from 8% to 7% from 1 January 2027, if the proposal passes. This rate applies to homes you do not use as your main residence, such as rental properties and holiday homes. The rate was already reduced from 10.4% to 8% in 2026.

The lower rate is intended to make investment in rental and new-build properties more attractive and encourage more homes to become available on the rental market.

For business premises such as offices and shops, the higher rate of 10.4% continues to apply.

Transfer tax rates on residential and commercial property, 2026 and the proposals for 2027.

What changes to the 30% ruling in 2027?

The 30% ruling, officially called the expat ruling (expatregeling), is a tax benefit for eligible international employees who move to the Netherlands for work. It allows employers to pay part of an employee's salary tax-free as compensation for the additional costs of working and living abroad.

An important change takes effect on 1 January 2027: for many expats, the maximum tax-free allowance will decrease from 30% to 27%, while the minimum salary requirement will increase.

However, transitional rules apply. If you were already using the 30% ruling before 2024, you can continue to benefit from the 30% tax-free allowance for the full duration of your ruling. For those who started using the ruling from 2024 onwards, the new 27% rate will apply from 2027.

In practical terms, a lower tax-free percentage can mean slightly lower net take-home pay, even if your gross employment package stays the same.

How can the 30% ruling affect your mortgage?

The 30% ruling can also be relevant when applying for a mortgage in the Netherlands. How lenders assess income that includes the ruling can vary, and factors such as your gross salary, employment contract, the structure of your income and how long the ruling remains valid may all play a role.

A change from a 30% to a 27% tax-free allowance does not automatically mean that your maximum mortgage will decrease by 3%. Mortgage lenders use their own affordability criteria to determine how much you can borrow, so the impact will depend on your individual situation.

Want to understand what the 30% ruling means for your mortgage? Read our guide on how the 30% ruling can affect your Dutch mortgage, or book a free, no-obligation call with our mortgage team to discuss your personal situation.

Other changes to watch

• Box 1 income tax rates will rise, and the mortgage interest deduction goes up slightly with them. The first two brackets in Box 1 (income from work and home) are set to increase. Because the maximum rate for the mortgage interest deduction is legally linked to the second bracket, it moves too:

  • In 2026, the cap is 37.56%.

  • In 2027, it is expected to rise to 38.19% as the second bracket rate increases.

  Practical impact: if you are in the top bracket (49.5%), your effective relief on mortgage interest increases from 37.56% to 38.19% of the interest paid. This slightly improves the net cost of borrowing for owner-occupiers with a qualifying annuity or linear mortgage.

• Purchasing power falls slightly. Leaked budget documents show average purchasing power dropping by 0.1% in 2027 for all households on average, with the cabinet's €1.7 billion repair package only partly offsetting higher income tax.

• Box 3 stays as it is for one more year. The current flat-rate system for savings and investments continues in 2027; the switch to taxing actual returns is planned for 2028. Relevant if you own a second home or property abroad.

• NHG limit for 2027 comes later. The National Mortgage Guarantee limit is €470,000 in 2026 (€498,200 with energy-saving measures). The 2027 figure is set by the guarantee fund in the autumn, not on Prinsjesdag.

Energy label and sustainability: what changes in 2027

Your home's energy label already affects your mortgage in the Netherlands. Most lenders give a lower interest rate for a good label, and you can borrow extra to improve a poor one. Three things change or are worth knowing for 2027.

Buying a house with energy label E, F or G? NHG may reserve an energy budget from 2027

If you buy a house with a poor energy label and take a mortgage with the National Mortgage Guarantee (NHG), a change is on the way.

Today, you can choose to add an Energy Saving Budget (Energiebespaarbudget) to an NHG mortgage. This lets you borrow up to 6% more than the value of the home. The extra money goes into a separate deposit and can only be spent on approved improvements, such as insulation, a heat pump or solar panels. On a €350,000 house, that is up to €21,000 extra.

From 2027, NHG intends to reserve this budget as standard when you buy a house — not an apartment — with energy label E, F or G. In other words, the financing for improvements would be built into the mortgage from the start, instead of being something you have to ask for. The final NHG rules for 2027 are due in autumn 2026 and apply from 1 January 2027.

This matters for expats because older Dutch houses often have these labels. A better label after the work lowers your energy bills and can also lower your interest rate. How NHG works is explained on the national mortgage guarantee Netherlands 2026 page.

Solar panels: net metering ends on 1 January 2027

Under the current net metering scheme (salderingsregeling), the electricity your solar panels send to the grid is offset against the electricity you use. From 1 January 2027 this stops. You will pay the full price for what you use and receive a lower feed-in payment for what you export — at least 50% of the bare supply rate until 2030. If you are buying a home with solar panels, the savings the seller quotes are probably based on the old rules.

Rental homes with label E, F or G must reach label D by 2029

If you buy a home to rent out, or may rent out later, note that under draft rules sent to parliament, rental homes with energy label E, F or G must be upgraded to at least label D by 1 January 2029. This is a minimum standard, not a ban, but it means the upgrade cost should be part of your calculation when buying a poorly labelled property.

Current lender rules by label are explained in energy label 2026 Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions by expats

Do the Prinsjesdag plans apply immediately?

No. Measures presented on Prinsjesdag take effect on 1 January 2027 at the earliest, and only after both chambers of parliament approve them, usually in December. Changes passed in earlier years, such as the 27% ruling and the end of net metering, are already fixed. Check the status of any measure before basing a purchase decision on it.

Is it better to buy a home in 2026 or wait until 2027?

It depends on your age, your price range and your life situation. If you are ready to buy now, or tired of paying rent for a home you do not own, waiting a few months rarely pays off: every month of rent is money that does not build equity, and prices in most Dutch cities are still rising.

What Budget Day 2026 changes should expats in the Netherlands know about?

Five things. The mortgage interest deduction stays, with the maximum rate rising to 38.19%. WOZ values rise again in 2027, so the notional rental value on your home goes up. The transfer tax exemption for buyers under 35 increases to €615,000. The 30% ruling becomes 27% for those who started using it in 2024 or later. And if you buy a house with energy label E, F or G with an NHG mortgage, an energy-saving budget may be reserved as standard from 2027.