Good day! Not so long ago I received letters asking me to pay some taxes, but I’m just recently in the NL and I don’t understand what exactly these taxes are, should I (I rent an apartment) pay them or should it be transferred to the owner? And will it be necessary to somehow indicate them in the tax return? The envelopes say that they are from gemeente Amsterdam, but inside there are different things, for example, watersysteemheffing, zuiveringsheffing or AVF. Please help me figure it out. Regards, Tatiana.
Tatiana, hello, what came to you is municipal taxes, which are paid once a year in March.
These amounts are sent by the municipality (gemeente) to all residents at the place of registration, and they are calculated based on the number of people living.
Watersystemheffing - This is a tax for maintaining the country's water system (dams, embankments, ponds, and so on) in working order and water purification.
zuiveringsheffing Is actually a sewer tax. It is paid by users (tenants or landlords, if they live there) of independent housing connected to the sewer.
These taxes are sent for payment by BSGR - De Belastingsamenwerking Celandine-Rhineland organization for water taxes.
Also exists in some municipalities
Sewage charges – sewerage tax, which is levied by the municipality for (the opportunity to) use the sewerage system.
AVF - waste charges – This is an annual tax for garbage removal. The gemeente (municipality) calculates it and sends you an invoice. And it is paid by the “user” of the living space according to the number of registered residents. In this case, the tenant.
Therefore, it is important to know that you and your family and no one else are registered in this apartment so that you do not count an additional tax.
This information is decrypted on the back of the letter (woz3)
There are also other municipal taxes that must be paid by either the landlord or the tenant.
– onroerendezaakbelasting (OZB): voor eigenaren van woningen en bedrijfspanden en gebruikers van bedrijfspanden – commercial property tax – paid by the property owner
– roerenderuimtebelasting (RRB): voor woonboten, woonarken of woonwagens – if you own a houseboat, caravan, commercial vessel or kiosk – paid by the tenant who is currently registered in the property
WOZ waarde is the economic value of real estate, which is determined every year.
The calculation is made by gemeente on the basis of various factors - the standard of living, building and development of the area, infrastructure, etc.
We hope that we have answered your question as fully as possible. You can read more about the tax system of IP on our website in the article The tax system of the Netherlands (link).
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