Frequently asked questions taxes

What are the standard waiver amounts?

You can find the standard amounts on the VNG website | Standard amounts for tax waiver 2025 .

What is the cost-sharing standard?

The cost-sharing standard means that if you live together with more adults, the municipality will adjust your social assistance benefit accordingly. The more adults living in your home, the lower your benefit. Not all housemates count towards the cost-sharing standard.

Roommates who do not count toward the cost-sharing standard are:

• young people up to 27 years
• the person with whom you have a joint household, if no others live in the home
• the commercial tenant/subtenant/lodger or the landlord/sublessor/lodger who lives in the same home
• Room tenants with commercial contracts and paying commercial rents
• students who are following a course of study that may entitle them to student finance or a contribution towards study costs
• students who follow a Work-Based Learning Pathway (BBL students)

Does student finance also count as income?

Student finance (basic grant, supplementary grant and loan) counts as income. Money you earn with part-time jobs also counts. Please report this. Then we know what you use to pay your expenses.

I have applied for a waiver, but I have already paid (part of) the assessment. What happens to that?

Do you receive a waiver? Then we will refund the amount you have already paid, or it will be offset against an outstanding assessment.

My request for a waiver was denied. I disagree. What can I do?

You may file an appeal within 10 days of the date of the decision. Please include supporting documents with the appeal. The signed notice of appeal should be addressed to the board of mayor and aldermen and can be submitted to:

Municipality of Zoetermeer
Team Belastingen
PO Box 15
2700 AA Zoetermeer

If your request was denied because you did not send the requested information, you may still send it by mail or e-mail to kwijtschelding@zoetermeer.nl.

Is the assessment invalid if my name is misspelled?

No. A strike with a spelling error remains valid. If you recognize the name, it is correct according to the law.

Can the assessment be put in a different name?

Would you like to have the tax assessment for subsequent years transferred to another owner and/or user's name?

You arrange this by mail. Note! Both persons must sign the letter.

Send your request to:

Municipality of Zoetermeer
Team Belastingen
PO Box 15
2700 AA ZOETERMEER

This is possible according to the Policy Rules for designating a taxpayer in a choice situation .

What happens to the assessment(s) if the taxpayer has died?

The waste disposal tax is reduced. The heirs must pay the remaining amount. The assessment is reduced from the first month after the date of death.

For property taxes (OZB) and sewer tax, the municipality assumes the situation on January 1. Those assessment(s) apply for the entire year and are not reduced.

My partner has passed away. Why am I now receiving an assessment in my name when everything has already been paid?

Was the assessment in the name of your deceased partner? Then the assessment will be offset. After all, your partner was the taxpayer. You are now the main resident and therefore liable for tax. You will therefore receive the assessment for the rest of the year.

Has the entire amount of the assessment already been paid? Then you will receive a portion back with which you can pay the new assessment. Unfortunately, we cannot settle this for you. Please note! The amount will be transferred to the account number with which payment was made.

The tax assessment is in the name of 'the heirs of'. What does this mean?

The deceased is still registered as the owner at the Land Registry. As long as this is the case, the assessment will automatically be in his or her name with the addition 'the heirs of'. Do you not want this? Then you can have this changed by a notary.

The situation on 1 January of the tax year determines the assessment. Therefore, the municipality can no longer change an assessment already received. This assessment must be paid by the heirs.

Will my assessment change after I move?

Sewer tax assessment and property tax (OZB) will not change.

The garbage tax assessment changes only if:

• You are moving to another municipality.
• You are moving in with someone who has already received a garbage tax assessment at that address.

How do we calculate the WOZ value?

Every year, the municipality of Zoetermeer reassesses the WOZ value of your object. An object is a home or non-home (for example, a business premises or building site). We use the rules concerning the Valuation of Immovable Property Act (WOZ).

The WOZ value is an estimate of the possible sales price (market value) of your object. To determine it, we compare your property as closely as possible with properties sold around the value date.

To explain how a municipality determines the WOZ value of a home, a video was made by the Valuation Chamber. The Valuation Chamber oversees the municipality's WOZ valuations. Watch the video via:

Video with explanation of the WOZ value of a home

In the absence of comparable sales prices, we determine the WOZ value for a non-residential property in a different way. We then use market data such as rents, foundation costs, land prices, sales data and key figures.

We do not calculate the current WOZ value based on previous years' WOZ values and do not use general rates of increase or decrease. These percentages only give a general picture of value development.

The assessment report tells you how your WOZ value was calculated. You can view the assessment report via MijnBelastingen. You can log in with your DigiD or E-recognition (for companies). The valuation reports are not public.

What is the value date?

Your WOZ value is the market value of your property on January 1 of the previous year. We call this the value date. Your WOZ value is therefore one year behind the current market. An increase or decrease in the current market data will not be reflected in your WOZ value until one year later.

For the WOZ value for the year 2025, the valuation date is January 1, 2024.

When determining the WOZ value, is the remodeling included?

When determining the WOZ value, we usually take into account the condition of the property on the valuation date. This means we look at the following characteristics, among others:

• Area and any associated land.
• Location.
• Interior and exterior maintenance.
• Type.
• Year built.

With new construction, remodeling or demolition, we look at the condition of the property to determine the WOZ value. We do not look at the condition of the property on the value assessment date. However, we do use the price level around the value reference date when determining the WOZ value.

How does the municipality select comparable homes?

We examine for the WOZ value the homes sold in the previous 2 years of the tax year that are comparable to your home. If no comparable homes were sold during this period, we look at previous sales prices. The sold homes we then compare your home to may look different from your home. This is because homes are not sold on your street every year. We determine the differences between your home and the comparable homes sold. In doing so, we look at the following characteristics, among others:

• Area and any associated land.
• Location.
• Interior and exterior maintenance.
• Type
• Year built.
• Outbuildings present.

How can the WOZ value be determined without me having seen an appraiser?

All changes to residential and non-residential properties in Zoetermeer are tracked. We obtain information from, among other things, environmental permits, sales and rental information, photographs (e.g. aerial photographs) and from the Land Registry. The WOZ value is determined on the basis of this information.

I have just bought a property. For the income tax return, I need the WOZ value for the past year. How can I request this?

You can view the WOZ value online through the WOZ value desk.