Mortgage for self-employed expats in the Netherlands

Why it’s tougher for you

A Dutch bank assessing a salaried employee sees one number: gross annual income. For a freelancer or company director, there is no single number. Lenders look at your average profit over the past years, your sector, and how stable your income really is. Add an expat profile, a residence permit with an end date, income partly abroad, a short credit history in the Netherlands, and a standard lender often says no by default.

The good news: “most lenders” is not “all lenders”. Some specifically finance entrepreneurs and internationals, and they judge your situation on its merits.

Can an expat get a mortgage in the Netherlands?

Yes, self-employed expats can get a Dutch mortgage. Dutch nationality is not required. Lenders check residence status, time in self-employment and business registration. ABN AMRO and ING apply regular rules to EU/EEA and Swiss nationals, and applicants with a permanent residence permit or a temporary permit for a non-temporary purpose.

For a temporary permit with a temporary purpose, ABN AMRO lends at most 85% of the market value. ING lends at most 90% in that case. For applicants from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland with a temporary permit, Nationale-Nederlanden lends at most 75% of the market value. It also requires household income from employment of at least € 70,000 and a permit of at least 5 years. For self-employed applicants from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, the choice is narrower: bunq asks for employment income, Venn does not count self-employed income with a temporary permit, and Nationale-Nederlanden lends at most 75% of the market value. ABN AMRO and ING remain options.

Who is the easiest lender to get a mortgage from?

There is no single easiest mortgage lender for self-employed expats. The right fit depends on how long you have been self-employed, your residence status, and where your business is registered and taxed. We compare lenders on both rate and conditions.

• Years self-employed. bunq accepts a business active for at least 12 months. It averages the first business year with the two years of employment before it. ABN AMRO does not count self-employed income with less than one financial year. With one to two years, it uses at most 75% of average profit. With two to three years, it uses at most 90%. From three years, it uses the average of the last three years, capped at the most recent year. Nationale-Nederlanden's starting point is three years, but it also accepts starters with at least 12 months, based on an income statement. It uses the average of the last three years, capped at the most recent year.
• Income statement. Several lenders, including Nationale-Nederlanden and bunq, assess your income through an income statement (inkomensverklaring). An independent party approved by the lender prepares it using your annual accounts and tax returns. You usually pay for the income statement yourself; bunq states this explicitly.
• Where your business is registered. Most lenders want your business to be registered and taxed in the Netherlands. ABN AMRO also accepts businesses established in Belgium, Germany or Luxembourg. bunq does not lend to applicants who are taxable abroad.
• Residence permit. A temporary residence permit can limit the share of the home's market value you can borrow at ABN AMRO, ING and Nationale-Nederlanden, while Venn does not count self-employed income for applicants with a temporary permit.

This overview comes from the 2026 acceptance guides of these lenders that we hold. It is not a ranking. We prepare your file for the lender you choose with us.

Mortgage as director-shareholder of a Dutch BV

Once your shareholding passes the lender's threshold, your payslip alone does not decide what you can borrow. Most of the lenders we checked then set your qualifying income through an income statement (inkomensverklaring) from a calculation expert they accept, based on your annual accounts and tax returns. Some lenders spell out when dividend and profit left in the BV can count, and their conditions are strict, for example ABN AMRO and Venn. Where an income statement is used, the calculation expert applies the lender's own framework.

• When you count as director-shareholder. At a.s.r., bunq and Venn, the threshold is a 5% shareholding. Venn also counts your partner's and children's shares. At Rabobank the threshold is a shareholding or control above 25%, together with your partner. At 25% or less, Rabobank applies its employee rules with an employer's statement. ABN AMRO only counts a DGA's business income if you hold at least 20% in the operating company, directly or indirectly, and the company made a positive net result in the last financial year and in one of the two years before. Nationale-Nederlanden requires an income statement for salaried clients with a substantial interest, without naming a percentage.
• Salary from your BV. A calculation expert approved by the lender prepares your income statement. ING, a.s.r. and Rabobank (through an adviser) name the same experts, including Zakelijk Inkomen. Rabobank can also prepare it itself. ING sets your DGA income at 100% of your income from work from the company, possibly plus distributable profit, and checks whether that income can be withdrawn from the company permanently. It uses the tax returns and annual reports of the last three financial years. ABN AMRO corrects the salary on your tax return for the company car addition (bijtelling).
• Dividend. ABN AMRO and Venn count dividend already paid at no more than the average of the last three years, capped at the last year. It can never exceed the average net profit over three years. ABN AMRO also requires sufficient cash flow and buffers. Your company must pass the balance sheet and distribution tests. You must be able to decide on a dividend on your own.
• Profit left in the BV. ABN AMRO can count undistributed profit if operating cash flow supports it. The maximum is the lower of the three-year average net profit and the last year's net profit. Venn counts retained profit only with more than 50% control (or control shown otherwise), after a 25% haircut. It requires profit in the last two years and at least 36 months in business. Rabobank, Nationale-Nederlanden, a.s.r. and bunq have no separate rule for retained profit in their guides. It runs through the income statement.

In 2026, the part of your debts to your own company above € 500,000 (you and your partner together) is taxed in box 2. A home loan for your own main residence is left out of that limit to the extent your BV holds a mortgage right on the home, and so is a home loan that already existed on 31 December 2022.

Buying an investment property through your BV is a different kind of loan: short-term commercial property finance in a BV. We prepare the income statement route with you and check which lender's threshold fits your structure. You can read more about the director's side on our page on mortgages for the DGA (in Dutch).

Can I deduct mortgage interest on my taxes in the Netherlands?

You can deduct mortgage interest in box 1 of Dutch income tax if the home is your main residence and the loan is used for that home: buying it or, under certain conditions, maintaining or improving it. For loans taken out from 2013 onwards, you must repay at least on an annuity basis within at most 30 years.

• The home must be your main residence.
• For the tax deduction, the loan must be used for that home: buying it or, under certain conditions, maintaining or improving it.
• For loans taken out from 2013 onwards, you must repay at least on an annuity basis within at most 30 years (360 months). Linear repayment also qualifies. Interest on a new interest-only loan taken out from 2013 onwards is not deductible.
• You can deduct interest for at most 30 years per loan.

How much mortgage interest can I deduct in 2026?

In 2026, the tax benefit is capped at 37.56% of your deductible mortgage interest. This also applies if part of your income is taxed at 49.50%. You deduct the full interest from your taxable income, but you never get 100% of it back. As an illustration, € 10,000 of deductible interest gives a tax benefit of at most € 3,756.

You also add a notional amount for owning your home to your income. This is 0.35% of the WOZ value, the municipal property valuation, for WOZ values between € 75,000 and € 1,350,000. Above € 1,350,000 it is € 4,725 plus 2.35% of the value above that amount. Whether the deduction applies depends on your tax position. We check this with you. Your full tax return stays with you or your own tax adviser.

How we help

We’re an independent expat mortgage advisor, not tied to one bank. We compare the lenders that accept self-employed and expat applicants, on both rate and conditions, and we prepare your file so the underwriter sees a clear, fundable picture instead of a list of question marks. We handle the Dutch paperwork and explain every step in plain English. We are not tied to any lender and no lender pays us; you pay us a fixed fee agreed in advance, as explained in our fees. The first hour is free; if we need more time after that, we agree together beforehand what it costs.

What to prepare

Income figures (annual accounts or profit statements), your residence permit, ID, and a sense of the home and price range you’re aiming for. With that, one conversation is usually enough to tell you what’s realistic and which lenders fit.