Building a Dutch estate inventory

Why an inventory?

A solid estate inventory:

• forms the basis of the inheritance tax filing;
• prevents disputes between heirs about what existed;
• is legally required under beneficial acceptance;
• helps with creditor follow-up and ongoing contracts.

What to include

Assets

• Real estate with address, kadaster number and WOZ value;
• Bank accounts per bank, per account, with balance on the date of death;
• Savings, deposits and investment accounts with shares, bonds, funds at value on the date of death;
• Life insurance policies with policy number, insurer and payout;
• Annuities and pensions that pay out due to the death;
• Vehicles (car, motor, caravan) with registration and estimated value;
• Household contents as a whole (often valued at a flat 5 % of the home WOZ, with a few thousand EUR minimum);
• Art, jewellery, collections with separate valuation if significant;
• Receivables owed to the deceased (outstanding loans);
• Cryptocurrency with balance on the date of death;
• Foreign assets.

Liabilities

• the mortgage at the date of death;
• personal loans and revolving credit;
• unpaid tax assessments (income, municipal);
• outstanding invoices and subscriptions;
• the funeral invoice;
• third-party claims.

How to gather the data

Banks

Ask each bank for a fiscaal attest van saldi (tax certificate of balances) on the date of death. That gives you official evidence for your filing.

Investments

Ask the bank or investment firm for a statement of the share value per holding on the date of death. Rabobank and ABN AMRO include this by default in the bereavement pack.

Real estate

WOZ value from the municipality. For foreign properties, a local valuation.

Pensions

Ask each pension fund and insurer for the capitalised value of any payout to a partner or children. You need this for pension imputation.

Format

A simple spreadsheet with these columns is enough:

| Category | Description | Source / institution | Value at date of death | Document number |

Keep a physical or digital folder with all certificates and valuations. Retain at least 7 years after the assessment.

Often-forgotten items

1. Holiday pay or income tax refund still to come;
2. Credits on loyalty cards, vouchers, webshop credit;
3. Receivables from employer (holiday allowance, unpaid wages);
4. Investments in foreign accounts (e.g. a Belgian tak21 or a UK ISA);
5. Crypto wallets whose key was held only by the deceased;
6. Household contents with emotional but low market value, often valued via a flat formula.

Valuation: market value

The Belastingdienst uses the value in economic traffic at the date of death. For most categories that is either a fixed value (WOZ, market quotations) or a reasonable estimate. Be realistic: too low triggers reassessment, too high pays unnecessary tax.

Tip: one owner per category

If you work with several heirs on the inventory, assign one person per category (banks, real estate, investments, insurance). It speeds the work and prevents duplication.