Green investments in the Netherlands

What is the green-investment exemption?

A green investment or saving gets a Box 3 exemption, plus a tax credit.¹ The exemption keeps part of it out of the Box 3 basis. The credit lowers your assessment by a fixed percentage of that exempt amount.

Only funds and accounts with a Dutch groenverklaring qualify. That is a green declaration the government issues to recognised sustainable funds. A green fund held abroad does not automatically qualify, even if it invests in the same kind of projects.

This page covers the green exemption and its credit only. Our Box 3 assets page covers how the Belastingdienst taxes the rest of your savings and investments. You can see where this credit sits among the other Dutch tax credits on our hub.

Take Julian. He has settled in the Netherlands and holds €30,000 in a recognised green fund. He wonders how much of it is tax-free and what the credit is worth. He also asks whether it is worth holding once the exemption drops sharply after 2026. We follow his figures through this page.

How much of a green investment is tax-free in 2026?

In 2026, up to €26,715 of a green investment is exempt from Box 3.¹ With a fiscal partner that rises to €53,430. On top of the exempt amount you get a tax credit of 0.1%.²

The exemption applies alongside the general Box 3 tax-free allowance.

The table below shows the amounts across the years. Notice how far they have already fallen since 2024, when €71,251 was exempt at a 0.7% credit. That drop is the start of a phase-out we cover further down this page.

How do the exemption and tax credit work together?

You subtract the exempt amount from Box 3, then take the credit off your tax. In 2026 the credit is 0.1% of that exempt amount. Anything above the exemption counts in Box 3 with your other assets.

Julian holds €30,000 in a recognised green fund on 1 January 2026, no fiscal partner. In 2026 the first €26,715 is exempt from Box 3. The remaining €3,285 stays in Box 3 with his other savings and investments. Our Box 3 assets page covers how the Belastingdienst taxes that part.

On the exempt €26,715 Julian also gets the tax credit. At 0.1% that comes to about €27 off his assessment. The table below follows each step.

Is the green-investment scheme ending?

Yes. The exemption falls to €200 in 2027, and the whole scheme ends on 1 January 2028.³ The tax credit follows the same path down.

In 2027 the exemption drops to just €200, or €400 with a fiscal partner. The credit becomes 1% of that small amount, a symbolic maximum of €2, or €4 with a partner. From 1 January 2028 the exemption and the credit are gone. The government postponed that abolition from the originally-legislated 2027, because the Belastingdienst found the earlier date was not workable.

This is the point that matters most if you are weighing a green fund now. The tax advantage that made these funds attractive is almost gone. The fund itself can still suit you, but for its own returns rather than the tax break.

The wider Box 3 system may change too: a draft law would tax your actual return from 1 January 2028. It is still waiting for a vote in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate.⁴ In September 2026 the cabinet proposed an amendment. It would tax gains on shares, bonds and other financial instruments only when you sell them. Parliament has not yet decided on it. We cover that on our Box 3 assets page, so you can see how the two changes line up.

What if you have a fiscal partner or a child with green investments?

With a fiscal partner you share one combined exemption, and you split the credit. A minor child's green investments follow a separate rule.

With a fiscal partner the exemption is €53,430 in 2026 for the two of you together. You divide the credit in the same ratio as your green-investment balance. You can put the whole exemption with one partner if that works out better. Then that partner claims the whole credit too.

A minor child's green investments do not go on a return of the child's own. They count toward the Box 3 assets of the parent who has custody (gezag). So that parent declares them on their own return.

Do you have the 30% ruling or do you file as a partial non-resident? Then the interaction with the green exemption depends on your exact status. We work that out with you rather than guess.

What does this mean for you?

Confirm your fund's groenverklaring is still valid.

Julian checks that his fund holds a groenverklaring. A foreign green fund usually does not. He keeps the fund for its own returns, now the tax break is fading. He claims about €27 in tax credit.

You can see how we handle a full return in our guide to the Dutch tax return. You enter your green investments in the Box 3 section of that return. The Belastingdienst then works out the credit for you.