Sufferance tax (mooring fee)
Is your houseboat or commercial vessel docked in municipal waters? Then you will pay sufferance tax to the municipality. This is called a ‘mooring fee’.
The person to whom the docking permit is issued must pay the sufferance tax. If there was no permit issued, the person using the boat must pay the sufferance tax.
The municipality sends out an assessment each year for the entire year. Are you using the berth later in the year? The municipality will then send you an assessment for the month you started using the berth until the end of December of that calendar year.
Has your situation changed? Then you can apply for a refund. Do you disagree with the charge? Then you can contest the assessment.
Are you no longer using the berth during the course of the year? You can then ask the municipality to lower the charge. This is called applying for a refund. You will then get a refund for the months which you are not using the berth. Read how you can do this on the page Apply for a refund.
Do you think that the municipality made a mistake? For example, the number of square metres is not correct or you did not use the berth the entire year? Then you can contest the assessment.
You must pay the sufferance tax within 6 weeks of the date on the assessment notice. The assessment notice also states the deadline for paying the charge (due date).
You can pay in 3 ways:
- through a bank transfer (include the reference number so that the municipality can process your payment)
- through iDeal on in instalments with direct debit(External link)
Are you unable to pay now? Then you can:
- For a houseboat and commercial vessel you pay € 6,15 per square metre per year.
- For a floating terrace you pay € 6,20 per square metre per year.
Pay on time
Make sure that you pay before the final due date or that you have made other payment arrangements. Otherwise you will get a warning of non-paid taxes.
Rules and regulations
Sufferance tax must be paid under the Verordening liggeld voor woonschepen en bedrijfsschepen (Mooring fee ordinance for houseboats and commercial vessels). Look at the ordinance on overheid.nl(External link).
Do you have any questions? Contact the Municipal Tax Department.