Box 3 Assets: What Counts in 2026?

What Is Box 3 Wealth?

Box 3 is the part of Dutch income tax on your savings and investments.¹ Is your total above the tax-free allowance? Then you pay tax in Box 3. Your own home belongs in Box 1, not Box 3.

Your real return does not count: the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority) assumes a fixed deemed return per type of asset. You pay 36% tax on that return. For many people the deemed return is higher than what they actually earned. Since the rulings by the Hoge Raad (the Dutch Supreme Court) in 2024 you may report your actual return instead. You then pay the lower of the two amounts. We work through both routes below.

This page explains how Box 3 works. It is not personal advice about your situation. Did you arrive in or leave the Netherlands this year? Your Box 3 position for that year needs separate checking. Read more about your Box 3 position in an arrival or departure year. Do you have the 30% ruling? Have your Box 3 scope checked separately.

Which Assets Fall in Box 3?

Box 3 covers your savings, investments and other assets above the tax-free allowance. Your bank balances count, in the Netherlands and abroad. So do shares and ETFs, crypto, a second home or rental property and other investments. Debts reduce your taxable assets above the debt threshold shown in the table below. Your pension falls outside Box 3.

Some assets have their own rules. We cover crypto tax in a separate guide. A holiday home has its own page, see renting out your own house. And green investments enjoy a partial exemption, which we explain in the article on green investments. These rules apply if you are a Dutch tax resident. Your residency status decides which assets count here. Foreign property counts too, and you then claim double-tax relief under the treaty.

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Now you know what counts. Below you can see the percentages and thresholds the Belastingdienst uses.

The table also shows that two of the 2026 percentages are still provisional. For our example of €40,000 in savings and €30,000 in investments, three figures matter most: the deemed return on savings, on investments and the tax-free allowance. Your total wealth in this example is €70,000, above the €59,357 tax-free allowance for a single person. You pay Box 3 tax on the amount above that threshold. With a fiscal partner you divide your joint Box 3 wealth in the tax return. Before we work through the full calculation, a short note on those provisional rates.

How Are Box 3 Assets Taxed?

The Belastingdienst starts with your assets and debts on 1 January. It applies a deemed return to each category. Your real interest, dividends, rent or gains do not count. In our example you have no debts, only €40,000 in savings and €30,000 in investments. Part of these savings may sit at a foreign bank. That changes nothing in this calculation. Below you can see the 2026 calculation step by step. The Box 3 advantage is the deemed return above the tax-free allowance.

In this example you pay approximately €127 in Box 3 tax for 2026. Note: this is based on the provisional deemed return for savings. If that percentage changes, the outcome changes too. The standard calculation does not tax your real gain, it taxes a calculated return. The outcome can therefore be higher than what you actually earned. So what can you do about it? You may report your actual return instead.

Can You Pay Tax on Your Actual Return?

Yes. You may report your actual return instead of the deemed return. Your Box 3 tax can end up higher than your real return. If your actual return is lower than the deemed return, you may report the lower figure. The Belastingdienst then uses that lower amount. This is called the opgaaf werkelijk rendement, the actual-return report, abbreviated OWR.³ Your actual return is everything you genuinely earned on your wealth: interest on savings, dividends, rental income and value changes, including unrealised gains you have not yet sold.³ Was your savings rate low, or did your investments fall in value? Then your actual return could be lower than the deemed return.

Watch the exceptions. Not everything is deductible. Transaction costs, bank fees and maintenance costs on property do not count. Two items do count: interest on a Box 3 debt and an investment that raised your second home's WOZ value (the official property value your municipality sets each year). Prior-year losses do not carry over either. When calculating actual return, the tax-free allowance does not apply.³

For the full explanation of which tax years apply, see the OWR guide. For the full Box 3 calculation and OWR mechanics in depth, see the full Box 3 guide.² This route is open today. The planned 2028 system change was postponed on Budget Day 2026.

What Changed for 2028?

The move to taxing your actual return was planned for 1 January 2028. On Budget Day 2026 the cabinet postponed it. It then asked the Eerste Kamer, Parliament's upper house, to pause the bill.² That date is now open. The next word is expected in spring 2027, with the Voorjaarsnota, the government's spring budget update. For now this does not change your 2026 filing. Box 3 for 2027 stays as it is. It keeps the flat 36% rate on deemed return. You can still prove a lower actual return.

What to Do Now

Collect your balances and values as at 1 January. Add up your savings, investments and debts. Work out the deemed return with the table above. Then compare it with your actual return. The tax-free allowance does not apply to actual return. Work out the taxable amount for both routes. Report the lower taxable outcome in your tax return.