Investing in a holiday home: 4 smart tips

Purchase costs 

Buying a holiday home always involves extra costs. The notary fee is one example, and you may have to pay an estate agent or a fee for arranging a mortgage. These costs are often higher in other countries. 

Property transfer tax

You will also have to pay property transfer tax. If you’re buying a second home in the Netherlands, you’ll pay 8% property transfer tax in 2026. This might be slightly lower on homes abroad.  

Renovation costs 

If you’re planning to do up the holiday home, you will also have to pay for the renovation work. Remember to include these costs in your calculation. With the right approach, you could increase the value of your holiday home. 

Recurring costs 

Think about the fixed costs and any other recurring costs such as maintenance, insurance and council taxes. 

Buying a holiday home with your equity 

You can buy a holiday home using your own money, or you could use the equity on your residential home in the Netherlands. You do this by increasing your mortgage.  

Find out more about equity and what you can do with it 

Buying a holiday home with a foreign mortgage 

If you want to arrange a foreign mortgage to buy a holiday home abroad, you must apply to a bank in the country concerned. The holiday home will serve as collateral for this mortgage. 

You should be aware that you may be required to pay at least 30% of the purchase price from your own money and that you will have to make repayments annually. You may also be expected to repay the total amount sooner than in the Netherlands. 

Tax on income from savings and investments (box 3) 

You must declare your holiday home on your tax return. It is taxed in box 3, under the category ‘other assets’. The tax is calculated on the basis of a flat-rate return, known as an assumed or fictitious return. In 2026, this return will be 6%. 

Holiday home in the Netherlands: return 

The return for a holiday home in the Netherlands is calculated on the basis of the ‘WOZ’ value of the home on 1 January of the year preceding the tax return. 

Holiday home abroad: return 

The return on a holiday home abroad is not calculated on the basis of the ‘WOZ’ value, but on the ‘economic value'. This is the market value. 

You may be able to offset the debt 

If you took out or increased a mortgage or loan for the holiday home, you can partially offset the debt against the value of your assets in box 3 (the value of your income from savings and investments). This is also the case if the equity on your house in the Netherlands (box 1) serves as collateral.  

Take a look at how the changes in box 3 affect your holiday home (in Dutch)

Foreign tax 

Some countries tax wealth separately such as France or Spain. The high threshold means that you often do not have to pay wealth tax.

You will, however, nearly always pay council taxes in other countries, similar to the Dutch municipal tax on real estate (OZB). And in some cases, you may have to pay tax on any increase in value if you sell your holiday home.

Inheritance tax

If you leave your holiday home to your heirs in the Netherlands, they will owe>inheritance tax on the part that they inherit. 

If the second home is abroad, they may be charged inheritance tax in 2 countries: in the Netherlands and in the country concerned. The heirs are usually allowed to deduct the foreign inheritance tax from their Dutch inheritance tax. Inheritance tax varies between countries and it’s a good idea to seek expert advice. 

Considering renting out your holiday home? This will earn you a profit, but it will also generate extra costs. It’s a good idea to calculate your net return before making a decision. 

Yield

You can use the rental income to cover all or part of the costs. You might even make some money. This depends on various factors, including the period you’re planning to rent the holiday home out. 

You have a greater chance of making a profit if you rent it out in the holiday season. Think about whether you want to rent out your holiday home in high season, or whether that’s when you’d rather spend time there yourself.  

Costs

There are certain costs involved in renting out a holiday home, such as fees for cleaning and maintenance. And for managing the property. Who checks your guests in, for example? And what do you do if the fridge breaks down while someone is staying there? 

Tax

Hiring out a holiday home can affect the tax you pay in box 3. The way your taxes are affected depends on your returns. You may also have to pay tax on your rental income in another country.