AOW, pension and tax in Guyana: no tax treaty, no social security treaty

If you live in Guyana, the Netherlands keeps taxing your AOW and your pension. Guyana is not in the Belastingdienst's overview of treaty countries (January 2026), not in NederlandWereldwijd's list, and the treaty database of wetten.overheid.nl only lists a forestry agreement, an air services agreement and a declaration on the Ariane rockets with Guyana. There is no social security treaty either.

Three things to know in advance:

• Without a tax treaty the Netherlands has the right to tax, NederlandWereldwijd writes.
• You keep the Dutch tax, without the Dutch contributions, and without tax credits.
• As a single person you receive the AOW for married people.

Income	Netherlands	Guyana, if you are resident there
AOW	taxed (Income Tax Act art. 7.2(2)(e)); a single person gets 50 instead of 70% of the net minimum wage	the law taxes income "derived from Guyana or elsewhere"; have the treatment of a pension confirmed
Occupational pension, ABP	taxed as wages for work done in the Netherlands (art. 7.2(2)(b))	same
Annuity	taxed if the premiums were deductible (art. 7.2(2)(d))	same
Wages in Guyana		25% up to GYD 3,360,000 of chargeable income, 35% above (2026)
Personal allowance		GYD 1,680,000 a year, or one third of your income if higher (2026)

GYD is the Guyanese dollar.

Why does the Netherlands keep taxing?

NederlandWereldwijd puts it plainly: if there is no tax treaty with your country of residence, the Netherlands has the right to tax.

Article 7.2 of the Dutch Income Tax Act sets out what you then declare. It lists wages for work you did in the Netherlands, including a pension from that work, benefits whose premiums were deductible, such as an annuity, and benefits from a Dutch public body, such as the SVB. See also where your pension is taxed.

For "other countries" the Belastingdienst lists as deductions only the business deduction and the tax-free allowance in box 3. So you pay the Dutch tax without tax credits. Only someone who lives in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or on Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba can be a qualifying non-resident taxpayer, with a right to the credits (article 7.8 of the Income Tax Act). Have the net amount calculated.

What does Guyana do?

You are resident in Guyana if you live there for more than 183 days in the year, or if you reside there permanently or intend to (section 2 of the Income Tax Act). Section 5 taxes a person's income "accruing in or derived from Guyana or elsewhere". A proviso in the same section makes an exception for income from outside Guyana that is earned income, or that arises to someone who is not ordinarily resident or not domiciled: then only what is received in Guyana is taxed.

For pensions the picture is not clear. The law names "pensions" in one sentence with benefits for government staff (section 13(z), next to annuities paid out of a superannuation fund); how far that exemption reaches is unclear. The GRA writes "pension may not be taxable". Whether that also applies to a Dutch AOW, an ABP pension or an occupational pension, neither says. Have it confirmed in writing before you leave.

Without a treaty nothing settles which country comes first. Ask the GRA or a Guyanese tax adviser in writing how your pension is treated, and whether it matters if you transfer it to Guyana.