Deduct study costs in Dutch tax return

Our company has been advising individuals, entrepreneurs and expats for the past 30 years. In this article we will explain you how to benefit from the ability to deduct your study costs in your Dutch tax return in 3 very easy steps!

1 You became an official expat

At a sudden point you decided to take a big step and move abroad. You chose the Netherlands as your new home base and wanted to explore the possibility to study here. You took the decision and enrolled in a study course in the Netherlands. Apart from finding your university and suitable housing, you thought you arranged everything quite well. In this article I will tell you something you probable didn’t know yet. It might be possible to have a big tax benefit in your future or already right now!

2 You started paying your study costs

Once you started studying, you also started paying your yearly tuition fee. Either you saved a lot of money yourself to pay these fees or a family member paid it for you. Especially when you’re doing a masters degree, these costs can be very high! Well, here’s the good thing: it might be possible to deduct your study costs now and benefit from it once you start working in the Netherlands!

3 How does it work

Based on your income, you pay taxes. The higher the amount of your income, the higher the amount of taxes. So far, nothing new for you, right? If you can apply for deducting your study costs, it means you can lower your income. The taxes you have already paid are withheld by your employer, based on your income before you deduct the study costs. A simplified example to describe it:

Gross Income from work:                                           € 50.000
Tax withheld by employer (e.g. 40%):                        € 20.000
Net income from work:                                               € 30.000

What if we deduct the study costs:

Gross Income from work after deducting study costs: € 40.000
Tax withheld by employer (e.g. 40%):                          € 20.000 (€ 50.000*40%)
Tax based on your income after deducting:                 € 16.000 (€ 40.000*40%)

The example above describes how you would get back € 4.000 of taxes after you deduct your study costs. It can be very interesting for you to see if you can apply for this deduction.

Please contact our tax advisors to see if you can apply. It is also possible to file tax returns from previous years (even if you have finished your studies and already started working).