Does the 5% test rate apply to every mortgage?

No. It applies when your rate is fixed for less than ten years; the lender then tests at the AFM rate, which is 5% for the fourth quarter of 2026, or at the offered rate if that is higher. With a fixed period of ten years or longer, the lender tests at the rate it actually offers you.

Can I borrow the buying costs on top of the purchase price?

Generally not. The loan may be at most 100% of the home's value, so transfer tax, notary and valuation costs come from your own money. The exception is energy-saving measures, which can take the loan up to 106% of the value.

Does student debt from DUO lower my maximum mortgage?

Yes. The lender takes your monthly DUO repayment and multiplies it by a factor linked to the test rate, 1.30 at a test rate between 4.501% and 5%. That grossed-up amount is taken off the payment you are allowed, which lowers the loan you can get.

How Dutch lenders set your maximum mortgage as an expat

Every Dutch lender works with the same two legal limits. One is based on your income, the other on the value of the home, and the lower of the two is your maximum mortgage. Expats are tested under exactly the same rules as Dutch buyers. What differs is which parts of your income a lender will count, and what paperwork it needs to count them.

Two limits, and the lower one wins

The rules sit in the Tijdelijke regeling hypothecair krediet (Temporary Mortgage Credit Regulation), a ministerial regulation under the Financial Supervision Act. Its income tables are replaced every year on the advice of Nibud, the national budget institute. The 2026 tables were published in the Staatscourant (the government gazette) and apply from 1 January 2026.

The income limit. Your yearly mortgage payments may not exceed a set share of your gross income. That share is the financieringslastpercentage (financing-burden percentage).
The value limit. The loan may be at most 100% of the value of the home. For this purpose "value" means the purchase price, or the market value in a valuation report (taxatierapport) that is no more than a year old. A lender may go up to 106% only when the extra money goes into energy-saving measures.

In practice the value limit means you pay the buying costs, such as transfer tax, the notary and the valuation, from your own savings. The guide to the costs of buying a house lists them.

How the income test works

A lender takes four steps.

Set your test income (toetsinkomen). This is your current fixed and stable income. If your income is not fixed, the lender may use your average over the last three calendar years or 36 months.
Pick the test rate (toetsrente). If your rate is fixed for ten years or longer, the lender tests at the rate it offers you. If it is fixed for less than ten years, the lender tests at a rate the AFM (the financial markets regulator) publishes every quarter, or at the offered rate if that is higher. The AFM rate is never set below 5%, and for the fourth quarter of 2026 it is 5%.
Look up the percentage for your test income and test rate in the 2026 table.
Turn it into a loan. Test income times percentage gives the maximum yearly payment. The lender then works out what loan that payment would repay over 30 years on an annuity schedule at the test rate.

Here are some rows from the 2026 table for buyers below state pension age, in the 4.501–5.000% test-rate column:

Test income	Share of gross income for mortgage payments
€40,000	24.6%
€60,000	24.6%
€70,000	25.3%
€80,000	27.2%
€100,000	28.0%
€125,000	29.2%

The table goes up in steps of €1,000, and its last row is €125,000.

A worked example

Say you are single, earn €70,000 gross on a permanent contract, have no other debts and are tested at 5%. The table gives 25.3%, so your payments may be €17,710 a year, or about €1,476 a month. Over 30 years at 5% that repays a loan of roughly €275,000. Lenders round slightly differently, so treat this as an estimate.

Two rules can raise that figure:

A single buyer with a test income above €30,000 may have up to €17,000 of the loan left out of the calculation. That brings you to roughly €292,000.
The energy label also counts. With label A or B, a lender may leave another €10,000 out of the calculation. For A+ and A++ it is €20,000, and for the best labels it is more. The guide to the energy label and your mortgage explains how this works.

The value limit still applies on top of all this. If the home is valued at €260,000, you cannot borrow more than €260,000.

What lowers the number

Other loans and obligations. These are either added to your mortgage payments or taken off your allowed payments. The result is the same: a lower maximum. For a loan with NHG, partner alimony you pay is deducted from your income.
Dutch student debt. The lender starts from your monthly DUO repayment and multiplies it by a factor that depends on the test rate: 1.30 at a test rate of 4.501–5.000%. For example, a €150 monthly repayment counts as €195, which at 5% cuts the maximum by roughly €36,000. If you are not yet repaying, are in a repayment-free period or pay a reduced amount after an income assessment, the lender instead works from your actual remaining debt, the current interest rate and the remaining term.
Reaching state pension age within ten years. The lender must then also look at your expected retirement income.

A lender may lend above the income limit only in individual cases. It has to record why, back it up with documents and calculations, check the data, and judge that the situation behind it will last. Do not count on this when you plan.

Buying with a partner

If you both take out the loan, the lender adds your test incomes together and uses the percentage for the combined figure. Since 2023 the second income has counted in full. That means two households with the same total gross income can borrow the same amount, however the income is split between the partners. The details, including what happens when only one of you has the 30% ruling, are in mortgage with a partner without the ruling.

What is different for expats

The tables are the same for everyone. For an expat, the harder question is what goes into the test income.

The 30% ruling. The regulation says nothing specific about the tax-free allowance, so each lender sets its own policy. This can change your maximum by a large amount. See the 30% ruling and your mortgage.
A fixed-term contract. Many expats start on one. A declaration of intent from your employer, or one of the other routes, decides whether that income counts for the full term. See buying a house on a temporary contract.
Income in another currency. NHG, the national mortgage guarantee, lets a lender test on foreign-currency income where that is suitable and responsible. The lender may need to take steps to limit your currency risk, and a loan with NHG must stay in euros for its whole term.
Your residence status. For a loan with NHG, each borrower needs EU, EEA or Swiss nationality, or a permanent permit, or a permit for a non-temporary purpose. A co-borrower with a permit for a temporary purpose can still sign, but their income is left out. In 2026 NHG is available for homes up to €470,000, or €498,200 with energy-saving measures. More in NHG for expats.

Where to go from here

The maximum mortgage calculator runs the income test above using the 2026 table. If your income includes the 30% ruling, a fixed-term contract or a partner's foreign salary, lenders' answers will differ, and an adviser who knows their policies can tell you which ones will count what. You can request mortgage advice from up to three independent advisers who work in English.

Sources

Figures checked against the sources above on 23 September 2026.

Photo: Gouwenaar, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.