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When you’re in the middle of the process of buying a home in the Netherlands, a moment arrives when the mortgage advisor (hypotheekadviseur) asks you a question few first-time buyers expect: do you want an annuïteiten mortgage or a lineaire one? If nobody explained it to you before, the question can leave you blank just when you need to decide.

It’s an important choice because it affects how much you pay each month for the next 30 years, how much you pay in total at the end, and how taxes impact you at each stage. Here, I’ll explain it with real numbers so you can arrive at that conversation prepared.

What they have in common: the starting point

Both the annuïteiten and lineaire mortgages operate under the same basic logic: you borrow an amount, you pay it back over 30 years, and each month you pay an instalment that includes two components:

• Amortisation (aflossing): the portion of the capital you pay back each month
• Interest (rente): the cost of the borrowed money, calculated on the outstanding debt

The difference between the two lies in how that capital is distributed over time and, consequently, how your monthly instalment evolves.

Important: in the Netherlands, to benefit from mortgage interest tax deduction (hypotheekrenteaftrek), the law requires your mortgage to be of the annuïteiten or lineaire type. Interest-only mortgages (aflossingsvrije hypotheek) do not entitle you to this deduction for homes purchased since 2013.

The annuïteiten mortgage: fixed instalment, variable composition

With the annuïteitenhypotheek, you pay exactly the same gross amount each month for the entire life of the loan. What changes is the proportion between interest and amortisation within that fixed instalment.

• At the beginning: the instalment is mainly composed of interest and little amortisation. You owe a lot of money, so the interest is high.
• Over time: as you pay back capital, the debt decreases, interest decreases, and amortisation increases. The gross instalment remains the same, but you amortise more and pay less interest each time.

There’s an important tax nuance: since interest is high at the beginning, the tax deduction (hypotheekrenteaftrek) is greater in the first years, which makes your net instalment relatively low initially. Over time, as interest decreases, the deduction also decreases, and your net instalment gradually increases even if the gross one doesn’t change.

The lineaire mortgage: fixed amortisation, decreasing instalment

With the lineaire hypotheek, each month you pay back exactly the same amount of capital. If you have a €350,000 mortgage over 30 years (360 months), each month you amortise €972 of capital, without exception.

To that fixed amortisation, you add the interest, which is calculated on the outstanding debt. Since the debt decreases month by month, the interest also decreases, and therefore your total instalment is higher at the beginning and gradually decreases until the last payment.

The numbers: €350,000 at 3.5% over 30 years

Let’s look at a concrete example so the difference is tangible:

	Annuïteiten	Lineaire
Instalment month 1	€1,568 (fixed)	€1,992 (the highest)
Instalment month 180 (year 15)	€1,568 (same)	€1,280
Instalment month 360 (year 30)	€1,568 (same)	€976 (the lowest)
Total interest paid	~€214,000	~€184,000

The lineaire mortgage costs you approximately €30,000 less in total interest over 30 years, because you pay more capital from the beginning and the debt decreases faster. That is its main advantage.

The price of that advantage: the initial instalment is quite a bit higher. In month 1, you would pay €424 more per month with the lineaire than with the annuïteiten.

The impact of the tax deduction (hypotheekrenteaftrek)

In the Netherlands, you can deduct mortgage interest from your income tax return (belastingaangifte), which reduces the net cost of your mortgage. This tax benefit affects each type differently:

• Annuïteiten: the deduction is greater at the beginning (when interest is high) and gradually decreases. This makes the initial net instalment quite comfortable, but it increases over the years.
• Lineaire: the deduction is also greater at the beginning, but since the debt decreases quickly, the deduction diminishes more rapidly. However, as the gross instalment also decreases, the net effect is that the net instalment still progressively decreases.

The deduction percentage in 2025 is 36.97% for most taxpayers (the lowest income tax bracket). You can see how the tax return works in the Netherlands in detail here: The income tax system in the Netherlands.

Which one suits you best according to your situation?

The annuïteiten might be better if…

• Your monthly budget is tight right now and you need the initial instalment to be as low as possible
• You have prospects of your salary increasing over time and will be able to absorb the gradual rise in the net instalment
• You prefer predictability: knowing exactly how much you pay gross each month for 30 years
• You’ve been in the Netherlands for a short time and your employment situation is still stabilising

The lineaire might be better if…

• You have stable income and can comfortably afford the high initial instalment
• You want to pay less interest overall and build equity faster
• You plan to stay in that home for a long time and value the peace of mind of seeing the debt decrease quickly
• You are at an age where you want to reach retirement with the least possible debt

An intermediate option: combining both

Many Dutch mortgage advisors propose a mixed solution: splitting the loan into two parts, one with annuïteiten and the other lineaire. This way you balance the initial instalment with long-term interest savings. It’s an option worth asking about if your situation is somewhere between the two profiles.

What doesn’t change: the importance of a good advisor

In the Netherlands, to take out a mortgage you need to go through a licensed mortgage advisor (hypotheekadviseur). It’s a mandatory step, not optional. This advisor should help you perform exactly this calculation tailored to your situation: your current income, career prospects, age, and long-term plans.

If you want to come to that conversation more prepared, you can review our general guide on Mortgages in the Netherlands: types and costs, understand how much you can borrow with the maximum mortgage calculator, and see if you qualify for the NHG mortgage guarantee, which can reduce your interest rate.

Are you in the process of buying a home and have doubts about which type of mortgage to choose? Leave it in the comments.

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Ready to compare mortgages?

Once you know what type of mortgage you want, the next step is to compare current interest rates from different Dutch banks. Hypotheek-Rentetarieven.nl is the reference comparator in the Netherlands for seeing in real-time which bank offers the best rate for your term and profile.

→ Compare mortgage rates in the Netherlands

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