Bijleenregeling in the Netherlands: home equity and your next mortgage

Selling your home and buying another one? The bijleenregeling can affect how much mortgage interest you may deduct in the Netherlands. If your previous home creates a positive home equity reserve, that reserve reduces the amount of borrowing that can qualify for mortgage interest deduction on your next home.

You can choose to keep some of the proceeds as savings. However, if you borrow more for the new home as a result, interest on that extra borrowing may not be deductible.

This guide explains the calculation, the three-year rule and what to check before arranging your next mortgage.

Want to know how much equity to use and what your next mortgage could cost? Request a free, no-obligation consultation in English.

What is the bijleenregeling?

The bijleenregeling is the Dutch home equity reinvestment rule. It limits mortgage interest deduction when you have equity from a previous owner-occupied home and finance another home to live in.

The rule concerns the tax treatment of your borrowing. It does not require you to hand all your sale proceeds to a lender. Keeping money available for other plans is possible, but the resulting mortgage can have a deductible and a non-deductible part.

Three Dutch terms matter:

The eigenwoningreserve is a tax calculation. It is not a separate bank account.

How do you calculate your home equity reserve?

For a straightforward first sale, the calculation is:

Selling price minus selling costs minus the existing eigenwoningschuld = home equity reserve.

Relevant selling costs can include the estate agent’s selling fee and the cost of the mandatory energy label.

Suppose you sell your home for €450,000. Selling costs are €10,000 and your qualifying home loan is €300,000.

For this example, there is no earlier reserve or other adjustment.

Your mortgage balance may not be the right starting figure

The tax calculation uses your eigenwoningschuld, which can differ from the mortgage balance shown by your bank. For example, borrowing previously used for a car or other private spending may fall outside your qualifying home loan.

That can create a difference between the cash you receive after completion and your equity for tax purposes. Bring the history of your mortgage loan parts to your adviser, particularly if you have increased the mortgage before.

How much of your next mortgage can qualify for interest deduction?

In a straightforward purchase, start with the purchase price and qualifying purchase costs, then subtract the applicable positive home equity reserve.

Purchase price + qualifying purchase costs − home equity reserve = maximum qualifying acquisition borrowing.

Qualifying purchase costs can include transfer tax, a buying agent’s fee and notary fees for transferring ownership. Mortgage financing costs have their own treatment and should be assessed separately.

The actual loan must also meet the other conditions for interest deduction. A calculated tax ceiling does not mean a lender will approve that amount.

Example: using all your equity or keeping €60,000

You buy another home for €600,000. Qualifying purchase costs are €15,000, giving a total acquisition cost of €615,000. Your home equity reserve is €140,000.

The maximum qualifying acquisition borrowing is €615,000 − €140,000 = €475,000.

Both scenarios assume the borrowing otherwise qualifies and the lender accepts the financing. They exclude separate financing costs, renovations and other tax-history adjustments.

Keeping €60,000 gives you more cash available, but you also owe €60,000 more. At an illustrative interest rate of 4%, that additional loan part would cost €2,400 in annual interest while its balance remains €60,000. That interest would fall outside the mortgage interest deduction.

Compare both the cash buffer and the net monthly costs before deciding. You can use our Dutch mortgage calculator as a starting point, then request a calculation that includes your equity reserve.

What does the three-year rule mean?

An unused home equity reserve expires after three years. If you sell, rent for a period and buy another owner-occupied home before the reserve expires, it still affects the calculation.

For example, if a reserve arises from a sale on 1 July 2026, a purchase on 1 June 2029 is still within that period. If you buy after that reserve has expired, it no longer reduces the qualifying borrowing for that later purchase.

If your reserve consists of amounts from different sales, each part has its own expiry date. Record those dates separately.

Do not assume that spending the money on a car, investments or living costs removes the reserve. The remaining cash in your bank account does not determine the tax record.

What if you buy before selling your old home?

Buying first does not make the bijleenregeling disappear. While the old home still qualifies under the owner-occupied home rules, its eventual sale equity is not yet included in the calculation. An existing reserve from an earlier sale still matters.

Once the old home is sold, calculate the actual equity and reassess the qualifying borrowing for the new home. The position can also change if the old home stops qualifying before it is sold.

If you use bridging finance, ask your adviser to show two financing schedules:

1. The temporary position while you own both properties.

2. The final position after the sale proceeds are received and the bridging loan is settled.

This makes it easier to see how much cash remains and which mortgage loan parts will qualify for interest deduction after the move.

Does the bijleenregeling apply if you buy a cheaper home?

Yes. Moving to a cheaper home does not automatically protect your previous level of mortgage interest deduction.

For example, a home costing €350,000 with €10,000 of qualifying purchase costs and a €140,000 reserve gives a maximum qualifying acquisition loan of €220,000. The calculation is based on the new acquisition costs and the applicable reserve, rather than simply carrying over the old mortgage amount.

If your reserve exceeds the qualifying cost of the new home, a reserve can remain after the purchase. Its expiry date still needs to be tracked.

Can you use the equity for a renovation?

Qualifying maintenance or improvements to your own home can reduce a remaining home equity reserve. Keep invoices and payment records so the spending can be identified.

A renovation loan is not automatically fully deductible when you still have a reserve. For example, with a €20,000 reserve and a qualifying renovation loan of €50,000, the reserve can limit the additional qualifying borrowing to €30,000, subject to the other conditions.

Discuss the purchase and renovation together. Reserving equity for work on the home requires a different calculation from keeping it for furniture, a car or general savings.

Buying with a partner or moving after a separation

The equity reserve is personal, but buying with a fiscal partner can affect how the rules apply. A 50/50 purchase does not automatically mean both partners have identical mortgage tax histories.

Before signing, check the ownership shares, responsibility for the debt, each person’s reserve and any earlier agreements about using equity jointly. The way these are arranged can also affect a later separation.

If an ex-partner buys your share of the home, the transaction can create equity relevant to your next purchase. Have the settlement and the new mortgage assessed together rather than relying only on the amount paid into your bank account.

What should expats check about a home abroad?

Owning or selling a foreign home does not produce the same Dutch tax outcome in every case. Relevant questions include when you became a Dutch tax resident, how the property was used and whether it falls within the Dutch owner-occupied home rules.

In some immigration situations, a former home abroad that is empty and genuinely for sale can qualify under the Dutch moving-home rules. Its location abroad is therefore not enough to rule it out of the assessment.

Bring the foreign purchase and sale documents, mortgage statements and moving dates to the consultation. This allows the cross-border position to be checked before you decide how much of the proceeds to use in the Netherlands.

Keeping your old home and renting it out

Not selling does not necessarily avoid the rules. If an owner-occupied home becomes a rental property or second home and moves from Box 1 to Box 3, this can be treated as a disposal for the bijleenregeling, even without a sale or cash proceeds.

Have the timing and market value checked before changing the property’s use. Temporary rental situations have separate rules and need their own assessment.

Other mortgage interest deduction conditions still apply

Using your equity does not, by itself, make every mortgage payment deductible. Repayment of the principal is not mortgage interest.

For new qualifying borrowing from 2013 onwards, interest deduction generally requires at least annuity or linear repayment within 30 years. Existing loans can have transitional rules and an existing deduction history.

Our guide to mortgage interest deduction in the Netherlands explains the wider tax framework. For the full transaction budget, read about the costs of buying a Dutch home.

What to prepare for your mortgage consultation

To assess the equity calculation, gather:

• The expected selling price and selling costs of your current home.

• Mortgage statements showing the balance and purpose of each loan part.

• Dates and calculations from any previous home sales.

• The new property’s purchase price and expected purchase costs.

• Renovation plans and a cost estimate, if relevant.

• Ownership shares and any agreements with a partner or former partner.

• Details of foreign property and tax residency, where applicable.

If the new mortgage changes your expected tax deduction, also review any provisional monthly tax refund.

For many standard situations, the Belastingdienst’s official bijleenregeling calculation tool can help. It starts with eligibility questions because it cannot handle every ownership or property history.

Frequently asked questions

Is the bijleenregeling a tax on the profit from selling my home?

No. It limits the mortgage interest deduction available on borrowing for another owner-occupied home. It is not itself a capital gains tax on the sale proceeds.

Can I keep part of my home equity as savings?

Yes. Compare the benefit of retaining cash with the extra mortgage costs and the interest deduction you may lose on the additional borrowing.

Does the bijleenregeling apply to first-time buyers?

Someone who has never owned a qualifying home and has no equity reserve will generally have no personal reserve to apply. Buying with a partner who has an existing reserve still needs checking.

Can I deduct the interest on the non-qualifying part somewhere else in Box 1?

The interest on the loan part excluded by the bijleenregeling is not deductible as owner-occupied home interest in Box 1. That loan part is generally reported as a debt in Box 3, subject to the applicable Box 3 rules.

Does a sale at a loss change the calculation?

Negative equity can reduce an existing reserve. However, a loss compared with your bank mortgage balance is not necessarily a loss for tax purposes. Use the qualifying eigenwoningschuld in the calculation.

Arrange your next mortgage with a clear equity calculation

Before committing your sale proceeds, compare how much you want to reinvest, the cash buffer you want to retain and the resulting mortgage costs.

Expat Mortgage Platform can help you assess the financing for your next home and identify the equity questions that need to be resolved before completion.

Request your free mortgage consultation in English. Tell us whether you have already sold your home, whether you are buying with a partner and when you expect to move.

Official guidance

For the underlying rules, see the Belastingdienst’s explanations of the bijleenregeling, home equity reserve expiry and fiscal partners. These official pages are in Dutch.