AOW and pension in Switzerland: since 2021 the Netherlands withholds
Until 2021 your Dutch pension was taxed in Switzerland and the Netherlands withheld nothing. Since then that has been reversed: the Netherlands levies up to 15% on pension, annuity and AOW (the Dutch state pension) — from the first euro, with no threshold. Almost every older guide on the internet gets this wrong.
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If you live in Switzerland, the Netherlands withholds up to 15% on your pension, your annuity and your AOW. That has applied since 1 January 2021.
Three things to know up front:
- The levy starts at the first euro. There is no threshold.
- An ABP pension also falls under this rule, with the same ceiling.
- If you search for "pension Switzerland tax", you still read that your pension is taxed in Switzerland and that the Netherlands withholds nothing. That was right up to and including 2020.
What changed from 2021?
The tax treaty between the Netherlands and Switzerland was amended by a protocol on 1 January 2021, and that amendment turned the taxation around. Since that date the Netherlands, the country your pension comes from, may tax your pension, your annuity and your social-security benefits, including the AOW (the Dutch state pension). The rate is capped at 15% of the gross amount for periodic payments.
Two things make this sharper than with other countries:
- There is no threshold. With Germany the Netherlands may only tax above a threshold; here the levy applies from the first euro.
- It makes no difference whether it's a company pension or a government pension. With Switzerland an ABP pension falls under the same rule, with that same 15% ceiling.
That last point is unusual. In most treaties a government pension is taxed in the Netherlands without a ceiling.
Switzerland doesn't credit that Dutch tax. The treaty gives something else: at your request, Switzerland taxes a third less. It then counts only two thirds of the net amount of your pension, your annuity and your AOW. This also applies to an ABP pension. It doesn't happen automatically: you have to ask for it yourself at your canton's tax office. Ask them how to do that, too. So you pay tax in both countries on the same income, only in Switzerland on a smaller part. What you keep in net terms depends on your canton.
Did you have an exemption statement? It has lapsed
Whoever lived in Switzerland before 2021 with a Dutch pension often had an exemption statement. Those statements became invalid on 1 January 2021. Since then your paying institution withholds again, up to that maximum of 15%.
What happens with lump sums?
If you're toying with the idea of cashing in a small pension or an annuity as a lump sum, this matters: the 15% ceiling expressly does not apply to lump sums. On a lump sum the Netherlands may tax without limit, at the ordinary progressive rate. Whoever considers a lump sum must therefore run the numbers before deciding. The difference between periodic payments and a lump sum can be tens of thousands of euros here.
Does your accrued AOW travel along, and does the accrual stop?
Switzerland isn't an EU member, but through the free-movement agreement it falls under the European coordination rules for social security. Your accrued AOW is therefore simply paid out, without the reduction that applies in countries without a treaty.
The accrual does stop on your departure day: every year outside the Netherlands costs 2% of AOW. You may continue that accrual voluntarily, but the door closes one year after the end of the compulsory insurance (usually the day you leave). Put that date in your diary before you go. In 2026 it costs 17.9% of your income, with a minimum of € 569 and a maximum of € 5,693 per year.
If you're going to work in Switzerland, you build up AHV there, the Swiss state pension. The contribution is 10.6% of your wages, half each with your employer. The European rules add your Dutch and Swiss periods together. Whoever still works for years is usually better off with that than with the Dutch voluntary contribution. Whoever no longer works, the other way round.
Do mind the Swiss mirror of our 2% rule. There too every missing contribution year leads to a reduction, of at least one 44th per year.
| Income or contribution | Rule | Who levies or what it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Pension, annuity and AOW, periodic | treaty art. 18 | the Netherlands, at most 15% of the gross; Switzerland, on request, taxes two thirds of the net |
| Government pension (ABP) | art. 19 subject to art. 18 | the Netherlands, the same 15% ceiling; Switzerland, on request, taxes two thirds of the net |
| Lump sum | art. 18, exception | the Netherlands, without ceiling |
| Wages for work in Switzerland | art. 15 | Switzerland |
| Rented-out house in the Netherlands | art. 6 | the Netherlands |
| Dividends from the Netherlands | art. 10 | the Netherlands withholds 15% |
| Interest | art. 11 | Switzerland only |
| Voluntary AOW continuation 2026 | apply within 1 year | 17.9% of your income, at least € 569 and at most € 5,693 a year |
| AHV contribution when working | AHV/IV/EO | 10.6% of wages, half each with the employer |
| Missing AHV contribution year | pension scale 44 | reduction of at least 1/44 per year |
What about work and assets?
For whoever is going to work there, the treaty is classic. Wages from employment exercised in Switzerland are taxed by Switzerland (article 15). Business profits follow the state of residence, the country where you live, unless you keep a permanent establishment in the other country (article 7).
For assets that stay behind in the Netherlands:
- A rented-out house remains fully taxed in the Netherlands (article 6).
- On dividends the Netherlands as source state may withhold 15% (article 10).
- Interest is exclusively for your state of residence: on Dutch savings interest only Switzerland levies (article 11).
Do you reach the 90% rule?
Qualifying non-resident tax liability, as this rule is officially called, applies to residents of Switzerland too. If you pay tax in the Netherlands on at least 90% of your worldwide income, you keep the right to the same deductions and tax credits as a resident, including mortgage-interest relief. With a partner you may look at that 90% together.
That mortgage-interest relief only applies to a house that still counts as your own home. A house you keep or let after you leave usually no longer does. It then falls into box 3, the tax on savings and investments, and the interest is no longer deductible. If the house is empty and for sale, you may still deduct the interest up to and including the third year after the year you moved out.
For pensioners that is good news. Your Dutch pension, including an ABP pension, and your AOW count in full as income taxed in the Netherlands. Article 7.8 of the Income Tax Act counts income when the treaty assigns it to the Netherlands, and article 18 does so. The 15% ceiling applies to the tax, not to the income that counts. With only a pension and AOW you therefore usually do reach the 90%.
What can push you below it is income the Netherlands may not tax: salary, pension or AHV from Switzerland, and your savings and investments. If you don't reach the 90%, then among other things the general tax credit and mortgage-interest relief lapse, and you're left with only a limited list. Then the interest on a house that is empty and for sale is no longer deductible either. Make that calculation before your departure.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Switzerland or go straight to step 2.1 in the open plan.
What this means for your numbers →
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Tax treaty Netherlands–Switzerland, article 18 — wetten.overheid.nl
- Tax treaty Netherlands–Switzerland, full text (article 22(5)(c): on request Switzerland taxes a third less) — wetten.overheid.nl
- Canton of Solothurn, Steuerbuch § 29 No. 3 — a Dutch pension is taxed, on request, on two thirds of the net amount — steuerbuch.so.ch
- Canton of St. Gallen, Steuerbuch StB 35 No. 2 — a Dutch government pension too is taxed, on request, on two thirds of the net amount — sg.ch
- Belastingdienst — deducting mortgage interest as a qualifying non-resident taxpayer — belastingdienst.nl
- Belastingdienst — change to the tax treaty with Switzerland from 2021 — belastingdienst.nl
- SVB — EU and EEA countries (Switzerland: EU rules apply) — svb.nl
- SVB — conditions for voluntary insurance — svb.nl
- SVB — what voluntary insurance outside the Netherlands costs (2026) — svb.nl
- AHV/IV — leaflet 2.01, wage contributions to AHV, IV and EO (10.6%) — ahv-iv.ch
- AHV/IV — leaflet 3.01, old-age pension and the reduction per missing contribution year — ahv-iv.ch
- Belastingdienst — qualifying non-resident tax liability — belastingdienst.nl
- Income Tax Act 2001, article 7.8(7) — income counts insofar as the treaty assigns it to the Netherlands — wetten.overheid.nl
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