In 2026 your annual allowance (jaarruimte) is 30% of your 2025 income above the AOW franchise of €19,172, minus 6.27 times your factor A. In a pension scheme that has already moved to the new rules, your pension premium is subtracted instead, and the maximum is €35,589. Up to that amount you can deduct payments into a lijfrente (a tax-approved private annuity) from your box 1 income in 2026.
That room matters most if you are self-employed (zzp'er) without a workplace pension, because the jaarruimte is then your main tax-friendly route to a pension. Employees often have far less room, and the move to the new Dutch pension system changes how their room is calculated. This article walks through the 2026 formula, two worked examples, the reserveringsruimte for unused years and how a lijfrente is taxed.
How do you calculate your jaarruimte in 2026?
You calculate your jaarruimte for 2026 from your situation in 2025, as the Belastingdienst explains, and you only have room if you had a pension shortfall (pensioentekort) that year. The starting point is your premium base (premiegrondslag), which is your 2025 income from work, such as business profit or wages, minus the AOW franchise. Of that premium base you may use 30%, and the pension you already built up through work in 2025 is then subtracted. The Belastingdienst overview of 2026 figures for article 3.127 of the Income Tax Act gives these amounts.
| Element of the 2026 jaarruimte | Amount |
|---|---|
| Percentage of the premium base | 30% |
| AOW franchise (deducted from 2025 income) | €19,172 |
| Maximum premium base | €118,628 |
| Multiplier for factor A (old-style schemes) | 6.27 |
| Maximum jaarruimte | €35,589 |
| Maximum reserveringsruimte | €42,753 |
Because the premium base is capped at €118,628, income above €137,800 (the cap plus the franchise) adds no further room. You also have to pay the premium yourself, and you can only deduct it in the year you paid it. For the exact figure the Belastingdienst offers the Hulpmiddel lijfrentepremie, which asks for your tax return of the previous year and the statement of pension accrual from your pension fund or insurer.
Two worked examples for 2026
The formula gives very different results for a self-employed person and an employee, mainly because the pension built up through an employer is subtracted from the room.
Self-employed with €60,000 profit and no pension accrual
Suppose you made €60,000 profit as a zzp'er in 2025, before the entrepreneur's deduction (ondernemersaftrek), and built up no pension through a fund. Your premium base is €60,000 minus €19,172, which is €40,828, and 30% of that gives a jaarruimte of €12,248 for 2026. If your taxable box 1 income in 2026 stays above €38,883 after the deduction, the whole amount falls in the second bracket of 37.56% listed by the Belastingdienst. That saves about €4,600 in income tax. How much pension you need overall is covered in pension as a self-employed person.
Employee with a factor A on the UPO
Now suppose you earned €55,000 in salary in 2025 and your pension fund still runs the old-style scheme, with a factor A of €1,000 on your uniform pension overview (UPO). Your premium base is €35,828, so 30% gives €10,748, from which you subtract 6.27 times €1,000, or €6,270. That leaves a jaarruimte of €4,478, and at 37.56% the deduction would save about €1,682. Factor A is the increase in your accrued pension from the extra year of service, and the Belastingdienst knowledge group notes you find it on the UPO under the "Factor A" icon.
What changes for the jaarruimte in the new pension system?
The Future of Pensions Act (Wet toekomst pensioenen, Wtp) already raised the jaarruimte to 30% retroactively from 1 January 2023, according to the Belastingdienst. The same change extended the carry-forward period from seven to ten years and allowed lijfrente premiums until five years after your AOW age. For employees, the subtraction now depends on the type of scheme their fund runs.
In an old-style scheme the subtraction stays 6.27 times factor A. Once your scheme has moved to the new system with a flat premium, the knowledge group explains, you subtract the premium for old-age and partner pension instead. You find that premium on the UPO under the "Jaarruimte" icon. Because the jaarruimte follows the previous year, a move on 1 January 2026 leaves your 2026 room based on your 2025 factor A, and the premium method applies from 2027. The Rijksoverheid expected just over 9.5 million pensions to move on 1 January 2026, and every scheme has to switch by 1 January 2028. ABP members keep factor A longer, because ABP is due to move on 1 January 2027.
How much reserveringsruimte do you have in 2026?
Your reserveringsruimte is the jaarruimte you did not use in the previous ten years, so in 2026 you can still use unused room from 2016 to 2025, according to the Belastingdienst. The amount you can deduct on that basis in 2026 is capped at €42,753, and unused room from 2016 expires after 2026. If you have both kinds of room, the Belastingdienst advises using the reserveringsruimte first, so that older years do not lapse while your current jaarruimte carries forward.
For a zzp'er who earned well for years without saving for a pension, that adds up quickly. In the earlier example you could deduct up to €12,248 plus €42,753 in 2026, provided enough unused room from earlier years is available. If you were born before 1 September 1953, you can no longer use the jaarruimte for 2026, although you may still have reserveringsruimte.
How is a lijfrente taxed?
A lijfrente is taxed later rather than now, because you deduct the premium in box 1 at your marginal rate and pay income tax on the payments when they start. The deduction for lijfrente premiums is not on the Belastingdienst list of deductions limited by the tariff adjustment, so above €78,426 it counts against the 49.50% rate. You can save in three forms: a lijfrente insurance policy (lijfrenteverzekering), a blocked savings account (lijfrenterekening, often called banksparen) or an investment account (lijfrentebeleggingsrecht).
While you build up the money, it stays out of box 3. According to the Belastingdienst's 2026 tax information, a lijfrente whose payments you can deduct in box 1 does not belong in box 3. The trade-off is that the money is locked up, and if you cash in a lijfrente early you pay income tax on the value plus, according to the Belastingdienst, usually 20% revisierente. Where a lijfrente sits next to your AOW and workplace pension is explained in the three pension pillars.
How Gylder fits in
Gylder (gylder.nl) is a net worth tracker, not a budgeting app, and it does not calculate your jaarruimte or advise on how much to deposit. It can show a lijfrente balance next to the rest of your wealth, because anything without a connection can be added by hand, alongside bank accounts you connect through PSD2. The features page uses a "Pension" tag and a saved view called "Everything excluding pension" as examples, which lets you see your net worth with and without money you cannot touch until retirement.
What this doesn't tell you
The examples simplify your income, so use the Belastingdienst calculator for your own figure, certainly if you combine profit with wages or changed pension fund mid-year. The tax savings are estimates too, because a lower income can change income-dependent tax credits. A lijfrente also restricts when and how you receive the money, which matters if you plan to stop working before your AOW age. This article is general information, not financial advice, so check large deposits with a tax adviser.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum jaarruimte in 2026? The maximum jaarruimte in 2026 is €35,589, which is 30% of the maximum premium base of €118,628. You only reach it with 2025 income of about €137,800 or more and no pension accrual through work.
Can I still deduct a lijfrente premium for 2026 if I pay it in 2027? No, you can only deduct a premium in the year you paid it, so a payment in 2027 counts towards 2027. Jaarruimte you leave unused in 2026 does move into your reserveringsruimte for the following ten years.
Can self-employed people join a pension fund instead of using a lijfrente? Since the new pension rules, self-employed people may voluntarily join the pension fund of their sector if that fund allows it, with deductible premiums. The Belastingdienst describes this as a trial that runs until 1 July 2028.
Does a lijfrente count for box 3? No, a lijfrente for which you can deduct the payments in box 1 is not part of your box 3 wealth. You pay income tax on the payments later instead.
What happens if I deposit more than my jaarruimte? You can only deduct up to your jaarruimte and reserveringsruimte, and the Belastingdienst states that the excess cannot be deducted in that year or later. Check your room with the Hulpmiddel lijfrentepremie first.