Tax and pension in Germany: the € 15,000 threshold that turns everything around

For whoever is going to work, the treaty with Germany is straightforward: wages are taxed where you work, so you pay German wage tax and that largely settles the matter. The surprise of this treaty lies with pensions — and it is big enough to adjust your departure planning around.

The € 15,000 threshold

The main rule is the same as everywhere: pensions, annuities and AOW (the Dutch state pension) are taxed in the country where you live — for you soon Germany. But article 17 of the treaty has a second paragraph that no other Vertrekklaar corridor knows: if the total gross amount of your Dutch pensions and annuities in a calendar year comes above € 15,000, the Netherlands (the source state) may tax it too. For that the Belastingdienst adds up your statutory pension (AOW and Anw), your occupational pension and your annuity payments. A social security benefit from the UWV — WW, WAO, WIA, Wajong — does not count in that sum, but has its own, harder rule: on that you pay tax in the Netherlands regardless, however small the amount.

For most retired emigrants the total lies well above that — an AOW couple alone is over it. The practical consequence: you stay tied to the Netherlands for the tax on that income, while Germany as country of residence has your worldwide income in view and double counting has to be settled via the treaty. That is no disaster, but it is something to have a tax adviser work through once before departure — especially if you can choose when an annuity starts or how your pension pays out. And watch the year of emigration: the Belastingdienst knowledge group has explicitly recorded that the threshold is tested on the pension of the whole calendar year, not only the months after your move — the treaty after all speaks of "the total gross amount thereof in any calendar year".

If you ever worked for the government, a separate rule applies as well: a government pension (such as ABP from a public-service employment) stays taxed in the Netherlands regardless.

Working: German tax, Dutch deductions — sometimes

For wages the state-of-employment principle applies: work in Germany is taxed in Germany. If you keep Dutch income alongside (for instance a rented-out house or a part-time job at a distance), know the 90% rule: whoever, as a resident of an EU country, sees at least 90% of their income taxed in the Netherlands counts as a qualifying non-resident taxpayer and keeps the right to the same deductions and tax credits as a resident — partners can even qualify together. For most emigrants with a German job this precisely does not apply, and so the Dutch deductions lapse; that belongs in your net calculation.

Practically: for the year of your move you file the M return (nowadays simply online), and before departure adjust your provisional assessment if money flows through it monthly.

Business and assets: what else the treaty settles

If you work as a self-employed person from Germany, the same principle applies as for wages: the profit of your business is taxed where you make it. Article 7 of the treaty places business profits with your state of residence, unless you keep a permanent establishment in the other country — if you keep an office or workshop in the Netherlands after your move, the Netherlands may tax the profit made there.

For assets left behind in the Netherlands the picture is mixed. A rented-out house stays fully taxed in the Netherlands: article 6 places income from immovable property with the country where the property lies. On dividends from a Dutch company the Netherlands as source state may withhold a limited amount — 15% in most cases, 5% with a holding of at least 10% (article 10). Interest is the surprise: unlike in most older treaties the source state may take nothing there — article 11 places interest exclusively with your state of residence, so on Dutch savings interest only Germany will soon tax.

The family side: Kindergeld instead of kinderbijslag

Dutch child benefit (kinderbijslag) stops if you move to Germany without a Dutch job — you still receive it up to and including the quarter of the move. In its place comes the German Kindergeld: € 259 per child per month (2026), independent of income, to be applied for at the Familienkasse. That is considerably more than Dutch child benefit — one of the quiet advantages of this corridor. If one parent keeps working in the Netherlands, the EU coordination rules apply: the country of employment pays first and the other country tops up to the highest amount; the SVB arranges that top-up after the end of each quarter.