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.

Not all housemates count towards the cost-sharing standard. Exceptions are:

• young people up to 27 years
• the person with whom you share a household, if there are no others living in the home
• the commercial tenant/subtenant/lodger or the landlord/sublessor/lodger who lives in the same home
• room tenants with a commercial contract (and who pay a commercial rent)
• 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. The amount will be refunded to the account used to pay.

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

You can file a notice of appeal within 10 days of the date of the ruling. Tell us why you think you are entitled to a waiver. Attach supporting documents.

Send the appeal to:

Municipality of Zoetermeer
Tav Team Taxes
PO Box 15
2700 AA Zoetermeer

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?

Do you want to have the tax assessment for the following years put in the name of another owner and/or user? You can arrange this by post. Please note! Both persons must sign the letter.

Send your request to:

Municipality of Zoetermeer
Tax Department
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 do I now receive a tax assessment in my name, even though 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 in the following cases :

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

How is the WOZ value determined?

When determining the WOZ value, we use a 'valuation date'. This is a date on which we determine the market value of your home. We determine the WOZ value on 1 January of the previous year. The WOZ value for tax year 2024 therefore has 1 January 2023 as the valuation date. For the valuation, we compare your home with other homes that were sold around the valuation date. Municipality of Zoetermeer collects as much market data as possible. These include sales figures, rental and asking prices and information about the condition of the home or special circumstances when selling. Value-determining factors are the type of home, the size, the year of construction and the location of the home. Based on this data, all homes are compared with each other. A model then automatically determines the value of a home thanks to this data. This is also called 'model-based valuation'.

Non-residential properties are valued using a different method.

Do you also include the WOZ value of the renovation?

For the WOZ we look at the situation of a house on 1 January of the tax year. Is the dormer on it on 1 January? Then it counts towards the value. We do use the price level of a year earlier.

How does the municipality select comparable homes?

We examine all sales prices of comparable homes that were sold between January 1, 2022 and January 1, 2024. Were no comparable homes sold during this period? Then we look at previous sales prices. Of course, there can be major differences in the construction of homes. We therefore look at the characteristics that we can compare. For example:

• the year of construction is approximately the same
• the size is about the same
• the house is located in the same neighborhood
• the type of house is the same: a terraced house, corner house, semi-detached house, detached house, apartment, etc.

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

All changes to homes in Zoetermeer are recorded. We receive information from building permits, sales and rental information, photos (such as aerial photos) and from the Land Registry. The WOZ value is determined based on this data.

I just bought a house. For tax purposes I need the WOZ value of the past year. How can I request this?

View WOZ value online via the WOZ value counter

Via the WOZ value counter you can see the WOZ value of various houses.