Waterschap De Dommel: paying water authority tax

Which charges do you have to pay?

Water authority De Dommel charges the following types of charges:

• water treatment charge;
• pollution charge;
• water system charge;
• road charge.

Water treatment charge

You pay the water treatment charge if you are the owner or tenant of a residential property which is connected to the sewage system.

We impose the charge on each independent dwelling. This is a dwelling with its own kitchen, shower and toilet.

The water treatment charge is based on the number of people in your household. ‘Pollution units’ are used for this purpose. On average, three people live in a house in the Netherlands. Therefore, all households pay for three pollution units. Are you registered as a single occupant with your municipality? If so, you will pay for one pollution unit. We receive this data from your municipality.

Pollution charge

You pay the pollution charge if you are the owner or user of a dwelling which discharges wastewater into a brook or stream (surface water).

We calculate the pollution charge assessment in the same way as the water treatment charge.

Water system charge

You must pay the water system charge if you are the owner or tenant of a building (for example a residential property) or of land, such as agricultural land or a nature area.

There are different types of water system charge:

1. water system charge – residents (applicable only to private individuals);
2. water system charge – built-on land;
3. water system charge – land not built on;
4. water system charge – nature.

Depending on your situation, you must pay the following tax(es):

• Are you registered with your municipality on 1 January of the tax year as the main resident of a dwelling? If so, you must pay the water system charge – residents.
  The main resident of a rented or owner-occupied dwelling must pay that charge to the water authority for all the residents of that dwelling each year. ‘Main resident’ is to be understood as meaning the resident whose name appears on the purchase/rental agreement.
• Do you own a building, such as a house, barn, shed or commercial building? If so, you must pay the water system charge – built-on land.
  The water system charge – built-on land is calculated on the basis of the building’s WOZ value. That value is determined by the municipality on the basis of the Wet waardering onroerende zaken – WOZ (Valuation of Immovable Property Act).
• Do you own land which has not been built on? If so, you must pay the water system charge – land not built on. ‘Land not built on’ is to be understood as meaning for example fields, arable land and pasturage.
  The amount of tax that you must pay is determined by the value of the number of hectares of land that you own. You pay this charge if, on 1 January of a tax year, you are registered with the Land Registry Office as the owner, leaseholder, usufructuary or superficiary of land not built on, or the holder of a real ‘right of use and occupation’ over that land.
• Are you the owner of a nature area? If so, you must pay the water system charge – nature. The Waterschapswet (Water Authorities Act) defines the term ‘nature’ as follows: ‘Immovable property which has not been built on and whose set-up and management are entirely – or almost entirely – and permanently geared to the preservation or development of nature’. Forests which are larger than 1 hectare also fall under the definition of nature. As does open water (lakes) with a surface area larger than 1 hectare and an ‘open and expansive character’.

The surface area of the land determines the amount of the water system charge – nature which you must you pay. Owners of buildings located in a nature area simply receive the water system charge – built-on land assessment.

Road charge

Some of the municipalities in our area have transferred the task of looking after roads outside built-up areas to us. We use the road charge to pay for the construction, maintenance and management of those roads. Those municipalities are the following:

• [fill in]

Do you live in one of those municipalities? Or do you own a dwelling, building or plot of land in those municipalities? If so, you must pay the road charge.

The road charge consists of four categories:

1. Users
   You must pay the road charge – users if you are an occupant of a dwelling on 1 January. This charge is the same for every dwelling. The assessment amount is not affected by the number of occupants or value of a house.
2. Owners of built-on land
   You must pay the road charge – built-on land if you own a dwelling or (commercial) building in our area on 1 January. We calculate the charge by multiplying the WOZ value by the rate.
3. Owners of land not built on
   You must pay the road charge if you are the owner of land which has not been built on as at 1 January. The assessment amount is determined by the area of the land which has not been built on. We obtain the information regarding the area of the land from the Land Registry.
4. Owners of nature areas not built on
   You must pay the road charge if you are the owner of a nature area on 1 January. The assessment amount is determined by the area of the land which has not been built on. We obtain the information regarding the area of the land from the Land Registry.