Municipal taxes in the Netherlands to increase by average of 6,5 percent
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By Simone Jacobs
Based on most recent figures, Dutch municipalities are poised to collect 15,3 billion euros in taxes this year - 6,5 percent more than in 2025. Property tax, waste disposal tax, sewage tax and parking fees will be the biggest contributors.
Dutch municipalities to raise 15 billion euros from levies
In 2026, municipalities will earn an average of 6,5 percent more from levies, amounting to 15,3 billion euros. This increase is smaller than the year before, when municipal taxes rose by 8 percent, but it is still significant.
According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), almost 85 percent of the budgeted tax revenue is made from property tax (OZB), waste disposal tax, sewage tax and parking fees. Other levies such as tourist tax, building fees and admin fees, among others, account for the rest.
Municipalities are free to choose for what they use the income from OZB and parking fees, while proceeds from waste and sewage taxes go towards the costs of the services.
Property taxes and parking fees raise more for municipalities
Municipalities in the Netherlands are expecting to receive 6,3 billion euros in property taxes for 2026 - 6,3 percent more than last year. "The fact that it's going up again is partly due to higher rates and the fact that houses have increased in value," CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told NOS.
However, large differences between municipalities remain. Utrecht will see the highest increase of 9,7 percent, while The Hague will see the lowest at 2,6 percent. Property tax revenue will also rise in Rotterdam (5,6 percent) and Amsterdam (5,5 percent).
Due to the expansion of paid parking areas and higher parking rates for maintenance, municipalities plan to collect 8,8 percent more in levies for this area, totalling 1,6 billion euros. The cities that will see the biggest increase in income from parking are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.
Secretarial fees, which are charges per service supplied, include fees for driving licences, travel documents and weddings that municipalities have to process. This levy is expected to see the strongest revenue increase this year, rising by 15,7 percent to 427 million euros, mainly due to the 2014 extension of travel document validity from five years to 10 years.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more