Shipping household goods to the Netherlands: customs rules

Moving furniture, books and kitchenware from the United States to the Netherlands is an import from outside the European Union, so Dutch Customs is involved. The good news is that the EU grants relief from import duties on household effects when you transfer your normal residence, provided you meet a short list of conditions. The catch is procedural: you cannot file the declaration yourself, the timing rules are strict, and some goods are excluded.

This guide is based on the Dutch Customs (Douane) page for people moving to the Netherlands from a non-EU country and on US Customs and Border Protection rules for the return trip, checked on the date shown on this page.

The conditions for duty-free household effects

Dutch Customs lists these conditions for the exemption from import duties:

• You are moving from a country outside the European Union and will live in the Netherlands or another EU country, so you are transferring your normal place of residence to the EU.
• You have lived outside the EU for at least twelve consecutive months.
• You have owned and used the goods for at least six months.
• You have used the goods and will use them again.
• You import the goods within twelve months of taking up residence in the Netherlands or another EU country.
• You will not loan, pledge, lease out or transfer the goods within twelve months of importing them.

Each condition has practical weight. The six-month ownership rule means that a sofa bought in the US a month before the move does not qualify. The twelve-month window means that a container shipped a year and a half after you arrive misses the relief. And selling imported furniture soon after it arrives breaks the twelve-month restriction on transfer.

Your removal company files the declaration

Dutch Customs is explicit: you cannot file this declaration independently. Your removal company submits it through the Customs declaration system and declares the goods with a special relief code so that the exemption is applied. When you choose an international mover, confirm that it, or its Dutch partner agent, handles Dutch import declarations with the household effects relief code.

What you give the removal company, according to Dutch Customs:

1. A signed inventory listing all of the personal goods you are taking to the Netherlands.
2. A certificate of registration in the municipal Personal Records Database (BRP), showing that and on which date you settled in the Netherlands.
3. If you do not have that certificate, proof of deregistration from the country of departure plus one supporting document showing you are settling, such as a rental contract or mortgage certificate for your new home.

The US has no population register to deregister from, so for most Americans the BRP certificate is the document that matters. Government.nl requires registration within 5 days of arrival if you will live in the Netherlands for longer than 4 months, so time your shipment to arrive after your registration appointment. Dutch Customs also says that if you do not yet have all of the documents, your removal company can still apply for the exemption under certain conditions, and you send the missing documents as soon as possible.

Goods that do not qualify

Dutch Customs states that the relief does not apply to:

• Products containing alcohol.
• Tobacco and tobacco products.
• Commercial vehicles.
• Non-portable materials for professional use.

A wine collection or a workshop's heavy machinery therefore pays duties and taxes even if everything else in the container is exempt. Dutch Customs also notes that certain goods in removal shipments are subject to restrictions for safety, health, economic or environmental reasons. Check those before packing items such as weapons, plants or medicines, and ask your mover for its list of goods it refuses to carry.

Cars and motorcycles

A vehicle needs a separate import declaration filed through your removal company. Send copies of the registration certificate and the purchase or ownership certificate. If the vehicle is granted the import duty exemption, Dutch Customs explains that you can also apply for an exemption from bpm, the Dutch tax on private cars and motorcycles, by attaching your copy of the import declaration with the exemption code to the bpm declaration. Getting Dutch plates is a further step with the vehicle authority RDW.

A timeline that works

1. Three months out: get quotes from international movers. Ask each one whether it files Dutch household-effects declarations.
2. Before packing: sort out what you have owned for less than six months, alcohol and tobacco, and anything restricted.
3. Packing day: prepare and sign a full inventory. Keep a copy.
4. After landing: attend your municipal registration and request proof of registration.
5. On arrival of the shipment: send the BRP certificate to the mover.
6. For twelve months after import: do not sell, lend or rent out the imported goods.

Shipping luggage instead of a container

Many people moving into furnished rentals bring only suitcases and a few boxes. If you have more than airline allowances cover, a door-to-door luggage shipping service is an option for the boxes you need in the first weeks. Luggage Forward ships suitcases and boxes internationally. Personal goods sent this way are still imports from outside the EU, so keep an inventory and ask the shipper how it handles Dutch customs clearance for removal goods.

Moving back: US customs on household effects

When you return to the US, CBP rules apply to what you bring or ship home. CBP states that items used in your household abroad are duty free if you used them for at least one year while abroad and they are not intended for anyone else or for sale.

CBP draws a line between household effects and personal effects. Clothing, jewelry, photography equipment, electronics and vehicles are personal effects and cannot be brought or mailed duty free as household effects. CBP adds that duty is usually waived on personal effects more than a year old, and that you must pay duty for all vehicles.

Goods that arrive separately from you are declared on CBP Form 3299, the Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles. The detailed exemptions for returning residents are in 19 CFR Part 148, Subpart D. CBP also warns that virtually all foreign-made medications are prohibited from entering the United States, so do not pack Dutch prescriptions in a return shipment.

Common questions

Do I pay import duty on furniture shipped from the US to the Netherlands? Not if you qualify for the household effects relief: you lived outside the EU for at least twelve consecutive months, owned and used the goods for at least six months, and import them within twelve months of settling. Your removal company must file the declaration.

Can I file the Dutch customs declaration myself? No. Dutch Customs says the declaration for household effects must be made by your removal company through the Customs declaration system, using a relief code.

Which goods are excluded from the Dutch household effects exemption? Products containing alcohol, tobacco and tobacco products, commercial vehicles and non-portable materials for professional use.

What form do I use when shipping household goods back to the US? CBP Form 3299, the Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles. Household items are duty free if you used them abroad for at least one year and they are not for anyone else or for sale.