Taking your mortgage with you to a new home means that when you move, you transfer your current loan, with its agreed interest rate and fixed-rate period, to the new house. Whether that is possible, and on what terms, is up to your lender. On top of that, the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) has its own rules for moving: in 2026, the additional borrowing rule (bijleenregeling) and the transitional rules for mortgages from before 2013 decide how much of your interest is deductible, even if you take out a new mortgage.
Two kinds of taking it with you
Taking your mortgage with you covers two separate things. The first is the loan itself: do you keep your current rate and fixed-rate period, or do you take out a new mortgage at today's rate? The second is tax: which repayment and interest deduction arrangements move from your old mortgage to the new one? The two do not always go together. Even with a new mortgage, the tax rights of your old loan can carry over.
What your lender decides
Many Dutch mortgage terms include a moving arrangement, sometimes called a porting arrangement (meeneemregeling). It lets you transfer the existing loan part, with its current rate and remaining fixed-rate period, to the new home. If you need more, you borrow the difference as a new loan part at the rate that applies at that moment.
Whether porting pays off depends mainly on your current rate. If it is lower than what you would pay for a new mortgage now, porting is often worthwhile. If it is higher, a new mortgage may turn out cheaper. In that case, also check whether you owe a fee for repaying the old mortgage when you sell. That is in the same terms.
Even when you take your mortgage with you, the lender looks again at your income, your fixed costs and the value of the new home. It assesses the mortgage against the Dutch lending standards for 2026. How these work is explained in How much mortgage can I get in 2026?
Equity and the additional borrowing rule
If you sell your home for more than your mortgage, you have equity (overwaarde). Dutch law calculates it like this: the sale price, minus selling costs such as the estate agent, minus your owner-occupied home debt. That amount is called the owner-occupied home reserve, or eigenwoningreserve (Article 3.119aa of the Dutch Income Tax Act 2001, rules for 2026).
For the new home, you can deduct interest on no more than the purchase costs minus that reserve. If you borrow more, for example because you want to keep part of the equity in the bank, the interest on that extra part is not deductible. That loan then falls into box 3. The reserve lapses three years after the sale. If you buy a new home within those three years, the equity counts, even if you rent somewhere in between.
A mortgage from before 2013
If you already had a mortgage for your own home on 31 December 2012, the old rules apply to that part. You do not have to repay it to keep deducting the interest. These transitional rights move with you to your next home, up to the amount of that old debt minus what you have repaid since 2013.
If you repay the old mortgage when you sell, you keep the transitional rights as long as you have a mortgage for an owner-occupied home again by the end of the following calendar year, up to the same amount. This is set out in Article 10bis.1 of the Dutch Income Tax Act 2001, and these transitional rules end on 1 January 2044. These loans are also limited to 30 years of interest deduction. For loans taken out before 2001, that period started on 1 January 2001.
Anything you borrow on top falls under today's rules. To deduct the interest on that part, you repay it at least on an annuity or linear basis within 30 years.
A mortgage from 2013 or later
If you took out your mortgage in 2013 or later, you already repay it on a schedule of no more than 30 years. When you move, the repayment status and the remaining term carry over to the debt for the new home, up to the amount of the old debt. For that part you do not start again at 30 years. For the amount you borrow on top, a new 30-year period does begin.
An example from Almere
The example is indicative and based on the rules for 2026.
A couple have lived in an apartment in Almere Stad since 2010. On 31 December 2012 they had an interest-only mortgage of € 200,000, and they have not repaid any of it since. They sell the apartment for € 340,000 and pay € 5,000 in selling costs. Their owner-occupied home reserve is € 340,000 minus € 5,000 minus € 200,000, so € 135,000.
They buy a family home in Almere Hout for € 475,000. With 2 percent transfer tax (€ 9,500) and the other buyer's costs, their purchase costs in this example come to € 490,000. For the new home they can deduct interest on no more than € 490,000 minus € 135,000, so € 355,000. Of that, € 200,000 falls under the transitional rules, even if they keep that part interest-only. On the other € 155,000 the interest is only deductible if they repay it on an annuity or linear basis within 30 years.
If they want to borrow more and keep part of the equity in the bank, the interest on anything above € 355,000 is not deductible. Whether their lender lets the old loan move with them at the current rate is set out in their mortgage terms.
Take it with you or start over?
What makes sense for you depends on your rate, the remaining fixed-rate period, the amount you need to borrow on top and how long you plan to stay in the new home. Often it ends up as a combination: taking the old part with you and borrowing the extra part at today's rate.
If you get the new home before the old one is sold, also read Bridging loan: when do you need one and what does it cost? Which buyer's costs you pay from your own money is explained in How much of your own money do you need to buy a house? Our page for homeowners moving on has more about moving to your next home, and our mortgage advisor in Almere page explains how we work.
Are you moving and do you want to know whether taking your mortgage with you works out well for you? Book a free introductory meeting at our office on Schoutstraat in Almere, in English or Dutch. We will compare the options using your own figures.