How is a Roth IRA taxed in the Netherlands?
The Belastingdienst doesn't tax your withdrawals as income. The US already taxed that money going in. While the account grows, the balance may count as wealth in Box 3 instead. Whether it does rests on the US-NL treaty. The treaty gives a real basis to keep it out. How the Belastingdienst applies that is not yet fully clear. Both answers follow from one fact. Under Dutch law, a Roth IRA is not a pension in the Dutch sense. We explain the rules, both readings and which step to take before filing.
This guide is for Dutch tax residents who hold a Roth IRA from their years in the US. It doesn't cover US-side tax, estate planning or accounts you're still building up through a US employer. Your 401(k) and traditional IRA appear only as contrast, because they follow different rules. Arrive part-way through a year? Box 3 then counts only your full months as a resident.² Leave part-way through a year? The same month count applies, on your 1 January balance.²
Meet David. He's an American software developer in Utrecht and holds an $80,000 Roth IRA from his Boston years. We follow his account through every rule below.
In short
Not a Dutch-style pension. Dutch law treats a Roth IRA differently from a pension. Under the US treaty it can still count as an exempt pension trust.
Withdrawals stay untaxed. The Belastingdienst doesn't tax Roth IRA payouts as Box 1 income. Box 1 is the Dutch box for income from work and home, pensions included.
Box 3 in practice. Mainstream practice counts the balance as an investment asset while the account grows.
Treaty basis. Under the US-NL treaty the balance can stay out of Box 3. That reading covers the years the account grows. Belastingdienst practice around it is still unsettled.
36% Box 3 rate in 2024, 2025 and 2026. You pay it on the deemed return above the tax-free allowance.¹ Is your actual return lower? Then you can claim that lower return instead.
Get certainty first. With a sizeable balance, a personal ruling from the Belastingdienst beats assuming either reading.
Why is a Roth IRA not a pension for Dutch tax purposes?
You fund a Roth IRA with money the US already taxed. A Dutch pension works the other way around. Contributions go in untaxed, and the Belastingdienst taxes every payout as income later. Dutch law reserves pension treatment for accounts built that way.
Your other US retirement income does get a place of its own. The table below shows where each account belongs in a Dutch tax return, David's Roth IRA included.
| US account | While the account grows | When it pays out |
|---|---|---|
| US state pension (Social Security) | Not Box 3 wealth | Only the US taxes it, under the treaty |
| 401(k) | Outside Box 3, recognised as pension-like | Box 1 income tax on every payment |
| Traditional IRA | Outside Box 3 during the growth years | Same as a 401(k) |
| Roth IRA | Box 3 in common practice, outside Box 3 under the treaty | No Dutch income tax on withdrawals |
Do you pay Dutch tax on Roth IRA withdrawals?
No. The Belastingdienst doesn't tax Roth IRA withdrawals as income. You paid US tax when the money went in, and the Netherlands doesn't tax the payout again. Both readings of the treaty agree on this point.
So when David starts drawing from his account later, those payments stay out of Box 1 entirely. The real question sits one step earlier: what happens during all the years the account just grows?
Does your Roth IRA count as Box 3 wealth?
Two different readings exist here. No one has settled which one applies. The common reading treats the balance as an ordinary investment asset. In that mainstream reading, you declare the account's value on 1 January in Box 3. The Box 3 rate is 36% in 2026.¹ You pay it over the deemed return above the tax-free allowance, €59,357 per person.¹ That deemed return is an assumed figure, not your actual one. Can you show a lower actual return? Then that return counts instead of the deemed one.
There is a second reading. Some account holders asked the Belastingdienst directly. They received written confirmation that their Roth account is an exempt pension trust under the US-NL tax treaty. In that reading, the balance stays entirely outside Box 3 while it grows. In practice the Belastingdienst has not settled how to apply that basis. Published policy on the point is still missing. Side by side, the two readings look like this.
| Question | Box 3 reading (mainstream) | Exempt-pension-trust reading (treaty) |
|---|---|---|
| Balance while the account grows | Counts as Box 3 wealth on 1 January | Stays out of Box 3 while it grows, counts in Box 3 once withdrawals begin |
| Withdrawals later | No Dutch income tax | Same, both readings agree here |
| Who applies it | Common practice on ordinary returns | Individual rulings, confirmed case by case |
Under the Box 3 reading, his $80,000 counts as part of his wealth every 1 January. Under the exempt-pension-trust reading, the account stays out of Box 3 while it grows. Once he starts withdrawing, the remaining balance counts in Box 3 again. The withdrawals themselves stay untaxed. The exact euro difference depends on his other assets and the year's figures. The full worked calculation lives in our Box 3 assets guide.
Before you choose a side, one warning matters.
“Most pages tell you a Roth IRA is simply Box 3 or simply exempt. Practice around it is still unsettled. So we put your position on paper first and then file a return that matches it.”
What does this mean for your Dutch tax return?
Choose a position, put it on paper and file consistently. Start by listing what you hold: which US accounts, and the value of each on 1 January. Convert that value to euros at that same day's exchange rate. Then decide how you treat your Roth IRA. Follow the mainstream Box 3 reading or ask the Belastingdienst to confirm the exempt-pension-trust reading for your account first. For his $80,000, David requests that written confirmation before his next return. Whatever the answer, he then knows exactly where he stands. His returns stay consistent from year to year.
Two pointers if you want to go deeper. Our guide to Box 3 assets explains the general wealth-tax mechanics behind the mainstream reading. And are you building up new retirement savings in the Netherlands instead? Our annuity guide explains the Dutch route.
How this fits your wider pension plan is on our page about pension advice.
¹ belastingdienst.nl, Box 3 uitleg en tarieven (Box 3 explanation and rates) · Accessed