Netherlands mortgage calculator 2026: how much you can borrow and what it really costs

Ask three people in the Netherlands how much a bank will lend and you will get three different rules of thumb. The real answer comes from a yearly table, a few fixed adjustments and your interest rate. The calculator below follows that route using the 2026 rules, then adds what decides whether a purchase works in practice: transfer tax, the NHG fee and the tax refund on mortgage interest. That gives you a monthly figure much closer to what will actually leave your account.

Updated 4 October 2026. Rules and limits shown are for 2026.

Using the calculator

1. Enter your gross yearly income. If you are buying with a partner, switch the first field and add their gross income too, because lenders count both in full.
2. Type the rate from your quote or a lender’s website, and say whether it stays fixed for ten years or longer.
3. Add any monthly loan payments, such as a student loan, a car lease or credit, and pick the energy label of the home if you know it.
4. Enter the purchase price and your savings. The results show the mortgage you would need, the costs on top, and a monthly payment before and after the interest deduction.

How lenders set your maximum mortgage

Since 2013, Dutch lending limits have been written into a ministerial regulation that is updated every year. At its core is a table compiled by Nibud, the national budget institute. For every income level and interest-rate band it lists a financing-burden percentage: the share of your gross income you may spend on mortgage payments, interest and repayment together.

The sum runs in three steps. The lender takes your gross yearly income, or both incomes if you buy together, and looks up the percentage for your rate. Income multiplied by that percentage gives the maximum gross payment per year. That payment is then turned back into a loan size using a 30-year annuity, which is why your interest rate matters twice: once for the table and once for the repayment maths.

Two details catch people out. The percentage creeps up when rates rise, because more of each payment is deductible interest and the tax refund makes room in your budget. Even so, the loan you can afford still falls, since a bigger share of every payment goes to interest rather than repayment. And if your rate is fixed for less than ten years, lenders must test you at a minimum rate set each quarter by the AFM, which has been 5% in recent quarters. A shorter fixed period can therefore lower your borrowing limit even when the actual rate is low.

Maximum mortgage by income in 2026

To give you a feel for scale, these are the standard-table maximums Nibud published for 2026, for a buyer with no other debts and none of the extra allowances described further down. They are shown at two interest rates.

Rounded to the nearest €100. Source: Nibud, Advies hypotheeknormen 2026, standard table.

Look at how the pattern bends. At lower and middle incomes the percentage barely moves, so the maximum rises in a fairly straight line. From around €70,000 it climbs faster, because tax credits phase out and the budget has more room. A household earning €100,000 can borrow roughly 2.3 times what a €50,000 household can, not twice as much.

What changes the number

The table is only the starting point. Several things move your personal maximum up or down.

• Buying alone. The 2026 standards keep a flat extra allowance of €17,000 for single buyers, added on top of the table amount.
• Energy label. A more efficient home lets you borrow a little more: nothing for labels E, F and G, €5,000 for C or D, €10,000 for A or B, €20,000 for A+ or A++, €25,000 for A+++, €30,000 for A++++ and €40,000 for A++++ with a guarantee.
• Existing loans. Student loans, car leases and consumer credit take room away. Lenders convert the monthly payment into a gross figure with a factor, 1.25 for rates between 4% and 4.5% for example, and subtract it from your allowed payment. A €100 monthly payment therefore costs you about €125 of mortgage budget each month, which is roughly €25,000 less borrowing power at 4.25%.
• A partner’s income. Since 2023 the lower income counts in full, so two earners with the same combined income can borrow the same amount whichever way it is split.
• Fixed period. Under ten years, the 5% test rate described above applies, and the calculator uses it for the borrowing limit while still pricing your monthly payment at the real rate.

The costs that come on top of the price

Transfer tax

If you will live in the home, transfer tax (overdrachtsbelasting) is 2% of the purchase price. It is 8% for a home you will not live in. Buyers aged 18 to 34 pay nothing on a home up to €555,000, and they can use the exemption once. It is all or nothing: at €555,001 you pay 2% on the whole price. On a €425,000 home, the standard 2% comes to €8,500. The Rijksoverheid page on the exemption lists the conditions.

NHG, the national mortgage guarantee

For homes up to €470,000 in 2026 you can take a mortgage with NHG. The limit rises to €498,200 when the amount above €470,000 pays for energy-saving measures. The guarantee protects you if you cannot keep up with payments after events such as job loss, divorce or disability, and it usually comes with a slightly lower rate. The price is a one-off fee of 0.4% of the mortgage, so €1,200 on a €300,000 loan.

Notary, valuation and advice

You will also pay a notary for the deed and the mortgage deed, a valuer for the report the lender requires, and usually a mortgage adviser. Together these land in the range of a few thousand euros. The calculator starts with €6,000 as a placeholder, so replace it with the quotes you receive.

One rule shapes how you fund all of this: lenders generally cap the loan at 100% of the home’s value. Buying costs therefore have to come from your savings, not from the mortgage, and the calculator flags it when your savings fall short.

The mortgage interest deduction and your real monthly cost

Interest on the mortgage for your main home is deductible in box 1 for up to 30 years, as long as the loan is at least an annuity or linear mortgage. In 2026 the deduction is capped at 37.56%, even if your top tax rate is 49.5%. Set against it is the eigenwoningforfait, a notional income of 0.35% of your WOZ value (for homes up to roughly €1.3 million) that you add back. If your income sits in the first tax bracket, your deduction rate is slightly lower.

The benefit works out as the interest you paid, minus 0.35% of the WOZ value, multiplied by the deduction rate.

Take a €400,000 mortgage at 4% on a €425,000 home. First-year interest is about €15,900 and the eigenwoningforfait is €1,487.50. Subtract one from the other and multiply by 37.56%, and you get a refund of about €5,400 a year, or roughly €450 a month. Because you repay a little more principal each month, the interest falls over the years and the refund shrinks with it. That is why net payments on an annuity mortgage creep up slowly over time.

Tips for expats and first-time buyers

• Your contract matters as much as your pay. A permanent contract is the simplest case. Fixed-term or freelance income usually means more paperwork, so ask a lender early what it will accept.
• Ask how the 30% ruling is treated. If you receive it, check with your adviser which income the lender will use before you settle on a price range. Our 30% ruling calculator shows what the ruling does to your pay.
• Test the monthly budget. The maximum is a ceiling, not a target. Compare your estimated payment with your take-home pay, then add everyday spending using the cost of living calculator. If you are weighing a job offer too, the salary calculator shows the net figure.
• Leave a margin. Many buyers borrow less than the maximum so that a rate reset or a drop in income does not hurt.
• Comparing countries? Our German mortgage calculator uses the same layout, so you can set the two side by side. More tools for the Netherlands are on the Netherlands calculators page.

What this calculator does not do

Treat the result as a planning estimate. It follows the structure of the 2026 rules and tracks the published Nibud figures closely, but it is not the full table, and every lender adds its own policy on top: contract type, existing debts, the property and your residence status. Check the numbers with a licensed adviser before you make an offer. The figures on this page come from Nibud’s 2026 mortgage standards, the Rijksoverheid, NHG and the AFM.

Frequently asked questions

This page gives general information, not financial advice. Read our disclaimer.