Can I deregister from my municipality a few weeks before I leave?

No. You can deregister at most 5 days before your departure, in person at the municipality where you live. The rule applies if you will live abroad for more than 8 months within a year. Ask for proof of deregistration while you are there.

Do I have to pay the protective assessment on my Dutch pension?

Normally not. You don't have to pay it for up to 10 years as long as you keep to the Dutch rules, for example by not buying out the pension. After 10 years you can ask for it to be cancelled. The Belastingdienst writes to you when the period ends.

What happens to my mortgage interest deduction if I rent out my home after I leave?

It stops from the day the tenancy starts. The home and the mortgage then fall into box 3, where Dutch real estate is still taxed for non-residents. You don't declare the rent as income and can't deduct costs. Renting out often needs your lender's permission as well.

Leaving the Netherlands: the tax side, step by step

When you leave the Netherlands for good, a few things happen at once. You deregister at your municipality, which tells the Belastingdienst your new address. You file an M return for the year you leave. Your 30% ruling ends. From your departure date, the Netherlands only taxes your Dutch income and Dutch real estate. If you built up a Dutch pension, you may get a conserverende aanslag (protective assessment) that you don't have to pay as long as you keep to the rules. Most toeslagen (benefits) stop or need checking, and your Dutch basic health insurance usually ends.

Here is the order to deal with it in.

Before you go: deregister at the municipality

If you are going to live abroad for more than 8 months within a year, you must deregister from the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP, the Personal Records Database). The 8 months don't have to be one continuous stretch.

You deregister at the municipality where you live, in person.
You can do it at most 5 days before you leave, not earlier.
You tell them which country you are moving to and, ideally, your address there.
You must deregister even if you keep your home in the Netherlands.

Your details then move to the Registratie Niet-ingezetenen (RNI, the non-residents register). Ask for proof of deregistration and keep it. The Belastingdienst says you will need it for several organisations, and your new country may ask for it too.

Two things to sort out before you leave. First, make sure your DigiD works from abroad: activate it, install the app with the ID check, and add your mobile number for SMS codes. Once you have moved, you can only apply for a DigiD at a counter. Second, if you pay or receive money monthly through a voorlopige aanslag (provisional assessment), change it. It is based on your situation in the Netherlands.

Your last Dutch tax year: the M return

For the year you leave, you don't file the normal return. You file the M-aangifte (M return, M for migration), which covers both parts of the year: the months you lived here and the months you didn't. The M-form explained goes through it line by line.

For the 2025 year, the online M return was available in Mijn Belastingdienst from 1 May 2026, and the deadline was 1 July 2026. Expect the same timing for a 2026 departure. You usually hear within 3 months of filing. The Belastingdienst has up to 3 years after the end of the year to issue the final assessment.

In later years, if you still have Dutch income or Dutch property, you may have to file as a buitenlands belastingplichtige (non-resident taxpayer). Different rules apply.

The 30% ruling ends

The ruling is tied to your Dutch job. It ends at the latest on the last day of the pay period after the one in which your last working day falls. The Belastingdienst's example: if your last working day is 15 February 2026 and you are paid monthly, your employer can apply the ruling up to and including 31 March 2026.

If you were using partial non-resident status under the transitional rules (see box 3 for expats), that stops when the ruling stops.

After you leave: what the Netherlands still taxes

Once you live abroad, the Netherlands taxes your Dutch income and assets, not your worldwide income.

Income (box 1): for example, pay for work you still do in the Netherlands, or income from a Dutch source such as a pension or benefit. Tax treaties decide which country may tax what. You won't pay tax twice on the same income, but you may have to file in both countries.
Savings and investments (box 3): only Dutch real estate, rights relating to it, and certain profit rights in a Dutch business. Your Dutch bank account no longer counts.

If you receive a Dutch pension, annuity or benefit while living abroad, a treaty may mean the Netherlands shouldn't tax it. You can ask the Belastingdienst for an exemption from Dutch wage tax using the form Aanvraag Vrijstellingsverklaring (application for an exemption statement).

Keeping your Dutch home

What happens to the mortgage interest deduction depends on what you do with the home.

It stands empty and is for sale. You can keep deducting the interest for the year the home becomes empty and the 3 years after that, if you meet the conditions. As a non-resident you only keep the deduction if you are a kwalificerend buitenlands belastingplichtige (qualifying non-resident taxpayer), a status with its own conditions. If you qualify, the same rules as for residents apply.

You rent it out. From the day the tenancy starts, it is no longer your eigen woning (own home) for tax purposes. You lose the interest deduction, and the home and its mortgage go into box 3. You don't declare the rent as income and you can't deduct costs. The home is taxed in box 3 through its value. You also have to work out any overwaarde (surplus value) or remaining debt at that point. That can matter if you buy a home in the Netherlands again later.

Renting out a mortgaged home often needs your lender's permission. Some municipalities have their own rules and permits for renting out homes, and your buildings and liability insurance may change. Check all three before you sign a lease. Your mortgage terms are something to discuss with an adviser or your lender; the tax treatment is something to discuss with a tax adviser.

Pension and the conserverende aanslag

If you built up a pension in the Netherlands, or deducted pension or annuity premiums from your income, you had a tax advantage. When you emigrate, the Belastingdienst can send a protective assessment for that advantage. It usually arrives after you have filed the M return.

You don't have to pay it for up to 10 years, as long as you keep to the Dutch rules. Buying out the pension or annuity, for example, breaks them. After 10 years you can ask for the assessment to be cancelled, and the Belastingdienst writes to you when the period ends. If you break the rules within those 10 years, you have to pay.

A protective assessment for an aanmerkelijk belang (substantial shareholding in a company) works differently. It has no time limit.

Benefits: stop them in time

Toeslagen are based on your situation in the Netherlands. Your municipality passes on your new address, so you don't have to report it separately to the Belastingdienst. You do have to check each benefit yourself.

Benefit	What happens when you move abroad
Huurtoeslag (rent benefit)	Stops. Switch it off in Mijn toeslagen.
Zorgtoeslag (healthcare benefit)	Sometimes continues, for example if you keep Dutch health insurance through a Dutch pension or income. Otherwise stop it.
Kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit)	Sometimes continues. Check whether you still qualify; if not, stop it.
Kindgebonden budget (child budget)	Only continues if you get Dutch child benefit from the SVB. If not, call the BelastingTelefoon to stop it.

Stopping on time is what matters. If you keep receiving money you are no longer entitled to, you will have to pay it back.

Health insurance

The Dutch basisverzekering (basic health insurance) is for people who live or work in the Netherlands. You can only take it out if you live here. If you move abroad and no longer work here, your Dutch insurance normally ends, and you need to arrange cover in your new country. If you keep working in the Netherlands, or will receive a Dutch pension or benefit, your situation is different. Check it before you leave, and let your insurer know when you go.

Where to go from here

The year you leave is the most complicated Dutch tax year you will have, especially with a ruling ending, a home you keep or a pension. If you want someone to go through your M return and the treaty position, you can request tax advice from an adviser who works in English. For the mortgage side of renting out your home, you can request mortgage advice.

Sources

Figures checked against the sources above on 23 September 2026.

Photo: Waterkoker1, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.