In addition to national taxes, every resident in Rotterdam (or any city in the Netherlands) also pays local taxes. Every year the municipality sends you a tax form that covers your local tax contributions for the year. If you own a house or a dog, you will have additional taxes for those. A general list is provided below to explain which taxes apply in various tax situations.
I rent a house
If you rent a house, it is quite likely that you will have to pay two local taxes: household waste tax and water tax. The household waste tax is meant to cover the cost of collection and processing of household refuse.* For a household with a single occupant, this tax costs you € 296,00 per year as of 2023. A 2-person household pays € 354,60 per year. And a household of more than 2 persons pays € 383,90 per year. The costs for water treatment and sanitation are charged separately through the Delfland Water Board. This water tax (waterschapsbelasting) is charged per household (regardless of the number of occupants) and is € 120,68 in the 2023 fiscal year.
I own a house
If you own the place where you live, you will also have to pay household waste tax and water tax. On top of that, each year you will be charged property tax (onroerendezaakbelasting, OZB) and sewage tax. Just the same as for rental homes (see above): for household with a single occupant, the household waste tax costs € 296,00 in 2023. For a multi-person household, it costs € 383,90. The water tax (waterschapsbelasting) is € 120,68 this year for single and multi-person households alike.
The OZB is a general property tax and is calculated as a percentage of the total value of your house or apartment (WOZ-waarde). The municipality uses the money collected from the real-estate owners in an area to maintain the local infrastructure. The OZB in 2023 for each house is 0,0652 % of the value of the house. An example: the your house is valued at € 100.000,- Your property tax assessment for 2023 is € 100.000,- x 0.0652 % = € 65,20 per year.
Sewage tax is charged to cover the cost of waste sanitation. Home-owners pay a yearly flat fee, regardless of the value of the property. In 2023 the sewage tax for any house more worth than € 50,000 was € 258,60.
How to pay municipal taxes
You will receive a bank transfer form (giro) from both the municipality and Delfland Water in your postbox in January. This bank transfer form specifies an account number for transferring the taxes you need to pay. Please don’t forget to mention the reference number that was listed on your tax bill.
Questions about the municipal taxes
For more information or explanation, you can contact the Rotterdam Municipal Tax Authority (Gemeentebelastingen Rotterdam) by calling +31 (0)10 -267 1625 (press 2 for an English-speaking officer).
*If you can’t pay this tax because your income is too low, it might be possible to ask for an exemption. You can do this by requesting an exemption on this page (in Dutch). Please note that this is not possible if you have significant amounts in savings or if you own immovable property (real estate).
Schiedam
Local taxes in Schiedam are collected by the RBG on behalf of the various water boards and municipal authorities.