Municipal tax

As an inhabitant of Maastricht or living anywhere else in the Netherlands, you will be confronted with the obligation to pay municipal taxes and water board taxes. As a student it may be possible to apply for an exemption of these taxes, all depending on your income and financial situation. BsGW (‘Belasting samenwerking Gemeenten en Waterschappen Limburg’), levies the municipal taxes and the water board taxes.

Municipal taxes (‘Gemeentelijke Belastingen’) and water board taxes (‘Waterschapsheffingen’)

Once a year (usually in the last week of February or the first week of March), BsGW sends the bill for the municipal taxes and water board taxes. The municipal taxes consist of owners- and users taxes. As a tenant you can only be confronted with users taxes. In case you rent an independent housing accommodation (studio, apartment or house) and you are registered as inhabitant at the municipality, BsGW will send the bill directly to you. In case you rent a dependent housing accommodation (room), the bill will be send to the landlord. The landlord usually is entitled to charge the tenants with all the users taxes charged to him.

The municipal users taxes are collected to pay for the weekly household waste collection and the emission of household waste water in the sewer:

• Waste levy (' afvalstoffenheffing', on the bill indicated as 'AFV')
• Sewer levy ('rioolheffing, zuiveringsheffing, verontreinigingsheffing', on the bill indicated as 'RIOG').