If you receive an inheritance, the value of the inheritance determines whether you must file a tax return and whether you must pay erfbelasting (inheritance tax). You file the inheritance tax return with the Belastingdienst (Tax Administration).
Last updated on 23 December 2025
20 months to file a return
From 2026, you will have more time to file your inheritance tax return. If your close relative dies on or after 1 January 2026, you have 20 months to file the inheritance tax return. Only if no full return has been filed after 20 months will you be required to pay interest on the inheritance tax.
How much inheritance tax do I pay?
You do not pay inheritance tax on part of the inheritance. This is the exempt amount. The amount of the inheritance tax exemption (in Dutch) depends on your relationship with the deceased. For example if the deceased was your parent or partner.
If you inherit more than the exempt amount, you must pay inheritance tax and file a tax return. You can use the Rekenhulp erfbelasting (Inheritance Tax Calculation Tool) to calculate how much inheritance tax you will pay (in Dutch).
Inheritance tax return
You file the inheritance tax return with the Tax Administration.
Laws and regulations (in Dutch)
More information on this topic
Yes, you can. More information about filing a paper inheritance tax return (in Dutch) can be found on the website of the Tax Administration.
If you receive an inheritance from abroad, you may sometimes have to pay inheritance tax in the Netherlands. For example, you do not pay inheritance tax if the deceased did not have Dutch nationality and did not live in the Netherlands.
More information about inheritance tax on foreign inheritances can be found on the website of the Tax Administration.