Buying in Amsterdam vs back home: what Australians pay to own

In the Netherlands, the tax on buying depends on one question: will you live there? Your passport doesn't come into it.

The short version

• Anyone can buy in the Netherlands. There's no approval, quota or foreign buyer tax.
• The single biggest cost difference: Dutch transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting) is 2% on a home you'll live in, or 8% on one you won't [1]. NSW transfer duty on a A$1 million home is about 3.9% [8].
• Dutch lenders can lend up to 100% of the home's value, but not the buying costs, so those come from your savings [3].
• In Amsterdam, homes with a WOZ value up to €623,000 (2025) can't be rented out for the first four years [5].
• Second homes and rentals fall into box 3, taxed each year on a deemed return [7]. In Australia, foreign residents lose the main residence exemption and face 15% withholding when they sell [10].

Can an Australian buy in the Netherlands?

Yes, on exactly the same terms as a Dutch citizen. The Netherlands has no foreign ownership rules for housing. Whether you're on a highly skilled migrant permit, the Dutch–Australian working holiday or a partner visa, you can buy a canal-side apartment in the Jordaan, a 1930s flat in De Pijp or a new build on IJburg.

The Dutch system sorts buyers by use instead:

• Living in it yourself means the 2% rate, or 0% if you're under 35, have never used the starter exemption before and the value is no more than €555,000 in 2026 [1][2]. For a leasehold home, the capitalised ground rent counts towards that limit [2].
• Not living in it (a second home, a flat for your kids, a rental) means 8% [1].

Being an EU citizen, say through Dutch or Irish descent, doesn't change any of this.

Amsterdam's two local catches

Buy-to-let protection (opkoopbescherming). Since 1 April 2022, if you buy an Amsterdam home with a WOZ value of up to €623,000 (the 2025 limit), you can't rent it out for four years [5]. That covers a big slice of the city's apartments. The aim is to keep affordable homes for owner-occupiers.

Ground lease (erfpacht). Much of Amsterdam sits on land owned by the city, which the home owner leases. Depending on the contract, you may pay an annual ground rent (canon), have bought it off in advance, or be on a perpetual lease. It affects your running costs, your borrowing and the resale price, so read the erfpacht terms with the notary before you sign.

Upfront costs side by side

Rates as at November 2026. Euro converted at the RBA rate of €0.6228 per Australian dollar on 5 November 2026 (€1 is about A$1.61).

In Dutch listings, "k.k." (kosten koper) means these costs are on you. Allow for them on top of the deposit.

Signing is fast. After you sign the purchase agreement, you usually have a three-day cooling-off period, and a 10% deposit or bank guarantee is common before the transfer at the notary.

Getting a loan

In Amsterdam

The Dutch rules are unusual. You can borrow up to 100% of the home's value as set by an independent valuer, but no more [3]. Everything else, including transfer tax, notary and advice fees, comes from your savings. How much you can borrow against your income is set by law each year, using standard tables that take your interest rate and other debts into account [3]. For 2026, the energy label of the home also nudges the maximum up or down [4].

Dutch banks lend to foreigners with a Dutch income and a residence permit, though some want a permanent contract or a minimum time in the country. If you have the 30% ruling, ask how a lender treats it.

The tax system rewards owner-occupiers. Mortgage interest on your own home is deductible at up to about 37.5% in 2026, for at most 30 years, while you add a small notional income of 0.35% of the WOZ value to your taxable income [6]. That deduction is a big reason Dutch buyers borrow up to the limit.

Back home

Australian lenders accept euro income but count only part of it and usually lend at a lower LVR than for local borrowers. As an Australian citizen buying in your own name, you don't need FIRB approval and pay no NSW foreign surcharge [9]. Our guides to foreign income and deposits go into detail.

Holding costs

Box 3 is about to change. The government plans to tax actual returns from 2028, including rent and gains on sale, so check the latest rules before buying a second property [7].

Once you're Dutch tax resident, your worldwide assets count, so an Australian investment property may sit in your box 3 too, with relief available under the Australia–Netherlands tax treaty. If you're still an Australian resident, Australia taxes your worldwide income, Dutch rent included.

Selling and tax

Amsterdam

Sell your main home and the profit isn't taxed as such. But if you buy another home, you're expected to put that profit into it; borrow more instead and the extra loan generally loses the interest deduction. A second home or rental currently sits in box 3, where you're taxed yearly rather than on sale [7].

Australia

If you're a foreign resident when you sign the sale contract for an Australian property, you generally can't claim the main residence exemption, even for years it was your home, unless the narrow life events test applies. Since 1 January 2025, buyers must withhold 15% of every property sale price unless the seller provides an ATO clearance certificate by settlement, which foreign residents can't get [10]. The May 2026 federal Budget also proposed replacing the 50% CGT discount with indexation and a 30% minimum tax for gains from 1 July 2027, pending legislation.

Currency risk

A euro home on a euro salary carries no currency risk until you move. Hold an Australian loan on euro pay and every repayment depends on the exchange rate.

A worked example

Illustration only. We use €620,000 for an Amsterdam apartment, about A$995,500 at the 5 November 2026 RBA rate, against a A$1,000,000 NSW home. Notary, valuation and advice fees are left out because they vary.

Three things to notice:

1. The under-35 starter exemption doesn't apply, because €620,000 is above the €555,000 limit, and there's no partial exemption [2].
2. If the WOZ value is €623,000 or less, Amsterdam's buy-to-let protection would stop you renting it out for four years anyway [5].
3. Your loan covers at most €620,000, so the €12,400 and the other fees come from savings [3].

The NSW sum is A$11,602 plus 4.5% of A$613,000.

Which suits whom

There's no single answer. Think about:

• Whether you'll live in it. The Dutch system is built for owner-occupiers, with low transfer tax, interest deductions and no tax on the profit from your home.
• How long you'll stay. If you might leave within four years, remember the city may stop you renting it out.
• The erfpacht terms. Two similar flats can have very different long-term costs.
• Whether you'll move home. An Australian property can be the place you return to. Plan the main residence rules before you sell as a foreign resident.
• Estate planning. Dutch and Australian inheritance rules differ. Get advice in both.

Want to ask other Australians about Dutch mortgages and bidding wars? Join Cooee Netherlands, our Facebook group for Australians in the Netherlands.

Sources

1. Het tarief van de overdrachtsbelasting – Belastingdienst
2. Wanneer kunt u de startersvrijstelling krijgen? – Belastingdienst
3. Hoeveel kan ik maximaal lenen voor mijn koopwoning? – Rijksoverheid
4. Veranderingen hypotheekregels 2026 – Rabobank
5. Evaluatie opkoopbescherming 2025 – Gemeente Amsterdam, Onderzoek en Statistiek
6. De belastingheffing over uw eigen woning in 2026 – ABN AMRO
7. Changes to the way your second home is taxed in box 3 – ABN AMRO
8. How to calculate transfer duty – Revenue NSW
9. Surcharge purchaser duty for individuals – Revenue NSW
10. Foreign resident capital gains withholding overview – Australian Taxation Office

Keep reading

• Renting in Amsterdam as an Australian
• Dutch tax basics for Australians, including the expat ruling
• Deposit and LVR as an expat borrower: how much you need
• Renting out your home while you live abroad: loans and tax basics