As a rule of thumb, in 2026 you can borrow roughly 4 to 4.5 times your gross annual income for a mortgage, at the current interest rate of around 4%. If you earn €45,000 gross per year, that puts you roughly between €180,000 and €200,000. With a partner, the second income counts in full and your borrowing capacity quickly doubles. The exact amount depends on the interest rate, your student debt, other loans and even the energy label of the home. Below, we explain how the calculation works and what raises or lowers your maximum.
How is your maximum mortgage calculated?
Lenders use statutory lending standards. These determine what share of your gross income may go towards housing costs: the financing burden percentage. The higher your income, the larger that share. The calculation revolves around three dials:
- Your gross annual income, including holiday pay and a fixed thirteenth month.
- The mortgage interest rate. The higher the rate, the higher your monthly costs and the lower the amount you can borrow. A one percentage point rise in interest rates can easily knock tens of thousands of euros off your maximum.
- The term, typically thirty years with full repayment (annuity or linear) if you want mortgage interest tax relief.
What counts as income?
A permanent contract is no longer sacred, but it does make things easy. The following usually counts:
- Your partner's income: this counts in full in the calculation.
- Structural salary components such as holiday pay, a fixed end-of-year bonus and shift allowances.
- Income as a freelancer or business owner: usually based on the average of recent years; with a short track record, lenders look more critically.
- Flexible work with prospects: with an employer's statement or a labour market assessment, you can get far even without a permanent contract.
What lowers your maximum mortgage?
This is where the setbacks come from. Anything that costs you money each month is deducted from your borrowing capacity:
- Student debt: the monthly payment on your student loan reduces your maximum mortgage, even if you repay extra. Concealing it is pointless and unwise.
- Private lease and other loans: a lease car of a few hundred euros per month can cost you tens of thousands of euros in borrowing capacity.
- Overdrafts and credit card limits: even unused credit can count against you.
- Alimony obligations to an ex-partner.
The energy label counts too
For a few years now, your maximum mortgage has also depended on the energy label of the home you are buying. For an energy-efficient home you can borrow extra, because your energy bill is lower; for a home with a poor label you can borrow less, unless you invest the difference in energy improvements. The gap can run into tens of thousands of euros. So look beyond the asking price and check the label.
Borrowing the maximum is not the same as bidding the maximum
You can borrow at most 100% of the appraised value of the home. The buyer's costs come out of your own pocket, as does anything you bid above the appraised value. How much savings you need for that is worked out in how much of your own money do you need to buy a house. If you buy below the NHG limit of €470,000, the Dutch national mortgage guarantee is often a sensible (and rate-lowering) choice. And remember: what you are allowed to borrow is a maximum, not advice. A mortgage you can sleep soundly with, even with a higher energy bill and a broken boiler, is worth more than that last ten thousand euros of borrowing capacity.
What can you buy for that amount?
The median asking price in our own housing supply is €470,000 nationally, about €4,300 per square metre. But the differences between cities are large: in Utrecht the median is €510,000, in Zwolle €450,000 and in Groningen €325,000. With the same income, you buy an apartment in one city and a family home in another. For context, also see the average house price in the Netherlands.
Curious about your own numbers? Use the Buurtje.nl mortgage calculator for a first indication of your monthly costs, and then browse the homes for sale in your area.
Source: our own current housing supply on Buurtje.nl, median asking prices. Asking prices are not transaction prices. The loan amounts and standards mentioned are indicative for 2026; the exact calculation differs per lender and personal situation. Not financial advice.
