Real debt or pretend debt? How the Belastingdienst judges family loans

Is a loan between family a real debt or a pretend one? The Belastingdienst does not take your word for it. It applies a practical test, and the outcome decides whether the borrower may deduct the debt and whether the arrangement is a loan or a disguised gift.

The three signals of a real debt

First, a market-conform rate. An independent lender would charge it, so a real debt carries it too. Second, an actual repayment obligation with a schedule, not a vague promise to pay it back someday. Third, realistic enforcement: the lender must be willing and able to act if payments stop, at least formally.

Miss one signal and the loan risks being labelled a schijnschuld, a pretend debt. The deduction disappears, and the arrangement may be reclassified as a gift with tax due.

What this means in practice

A properly documented family loan passes the test easily. Contract, rate, schedule, real monthly payments, and reminders when one is missed. That is all the Belastingdienst asks, and it is exactly what makes the arrangement healthy for the family too.

The relaxed family habit of "we will see about repayment later" is where pretend debts are born. Write the schedule down, even if it is generous.

FLUX5 builds those three signals into every loan by default: the rate check, the contract, and the debits with reminder flow. Your family loan looks, behaves and is treated like a real debt, because it is one.