The WOZ value (Waardering Onroerende Zaken) is the estimated market value of a property on January 1st of the previous year. The municipality sets this annually.
The WOZ value determines the amount of your property tax (OZB), water authority tax and the deemed rental value in your income tax. A higher WOZ means higher taxes.
When buying a property, the WOZ value is a useful comparison with the asking price. If the asking price is far above the WOZ, this could indicate an overheated market. If the WOZ is higher than the asking price, you may be buying below market value.
You can object to the WOZ value if you think it’s too high. This must be done within 6 weeks of receiving the WOZ assessment. Objecting is free.
The municipality determines the WOZ value through a model-based valuation: a taxation model that compares your property with recently sold, similar homes nearby (size, build year, type). This isn’t an individual inspection — if you’re unsure how the figure was reached, you can request the valuation report from the municipality, which lists the comparison properties used.
Don’t confuse the WOZ value with the valuation report (taxatierapport) your mortgage lender requires. The WOZ is a tax valuation that can lag the market by up to a year; the taxatierapport (€600–€900) is a current, independent valuation specifically for your mortgage application. In a fast-rising market the gap between the two can be significant.
The WOZ value of every home in the Netherlands is public. You can look up any address you’re considering through the national WOZ-waardeloket — no ownership and no account required. That makes the WOZ one of the few hard, verifiable numbers you can have in hand before you even attend a viewing, alongside the land registry data and the energy label.
Because the valuation date is always 1 January of the previous year, the WOZ lags by design. In practice, buying in autumn means looking at a valuation nearly two years old. So always read the WOZ next to recent sold prices for comparable homes in the same neighbourhood, rather than treating it as current market value.
The ratio between asking price and WOZ is a useful neighbourhood signal — but only comparatively. A single home listed 20% above its WOZ tells you very little; a whole neighbourhood where homes consistently sell far above WOZ tells you how much overbidding to expect there. That is exactly the comparison worth making per neighbourhood before you settle on a bid.
The WOZ feeds into more than just municipal property tax. The deemed rental value (eigenwoningforfait) on your income tax return is a percentage of the WOZ, and in an apartment building the service charge is sometimes apportioned by WOZ ratio. A high WOZ therefore raises your fixed annual costs in several places at once — count it in your monthly outgoings, not only in your mortgage.
Be careful with commercial 'no cure, no pay' objection agencies. Objecting to the municipality is free and you can do it yourself; these firms are paid out of the legal-costs allowance the municipality must pay when an objection succeeds. That is legitimate, but rarely necessary — request the valuation report first and check whether the comparison properties really are comparable.
As a buyer you don’t inherit the WOZ assessment. It goes to whoever owned the property on 1 January; you receive your own assessment only the following year. If you do want to object for the current year as the new owner, you can ask the municipality for an assessment in your own name — which restarts the six-week objection window.