What are the deductible expenses when buying a home?
When you buy a house, in addition to any mortgage interest deduction, you are also entitled to a one-off tax deduction of some expenses you incurred while buying the home. We list these deductible home purchase costs for you.
What part of buyer's costs is deductible?
The purchase costs you incur as a buyer to buy a house are also called buyer's costs. You may report part of these purchase costs of your house to the tax authorities as a deduction. You do this on your income tax return for the year in which you bought the house. So if you buy a house in 2024, you'll declare the deductible costs in your tax return before 1 May 2025.
The following costs are deductible:
- The mortgage adviser's advisory and brokerage fees
- Preparation commission (when an offer needs to be extended)
- Notary fees for the mortgage deed
- Land registry fees for the mortgage deed
- Valuation costs for getting the loan
- Costs for applying for the National Mortgage Guarantee
Are you buying a newly built house? Then the following costs are additionally deductible:
- Construction interest you paid after signing the provisional sales contract, but before signing the mortgage deed
- Costs for the construction deposit
By adding up the above costs you incurred, you can calculate the one-off deductible costs of your own home yourself.
What home purchase costs are not tax deductible?
Unfortunately, not all purchase costs incurred by the buyer are tax deductible. The costs of acquiring the property itself, such as the costs of an estate agent, are not deductible. These are also called acquisition costs. However, you can deduct the mortgage interest if you co-finance these acquisition costs in your mortgage. The following acquisition costs are not deductible:
- Brokerage costs
- Transfer tax
- Notary fees and land registry fees for the deed of purchase (as opposed to the mortgage deed)
- Maintenance and renovation costs
- Costs of a bank guarantee
- Costs for energy label