How Box 3 is worked out
The deemed return per asset type, the tax-free part and the debt threshold, with a full worked calculation.
Box 3 optimisation for substantial assets
Your Box 3 bill follows the mix you hold on 1 January. That mix is something you can shape. We read your own figures and say what is worth changing. If you arrived here during the year, that first year works differently.
Written by
Menno van der MadeHead of Tax - Tax Consultant
Reviewed by
Jessy te PaskeHead of Client Success
Updated 7 October 2026
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We check every page for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. Each one is written and reviewed by our qualified advisors, so the information stays clear, complete and correct.
Fact-checked against
Read our editorial standards- belastingdienst.nl (the Dutch Tax Administration)
Updated 7 October 2026
Box 3 optimisation
What Box 3 optimisation actually means
Box 3 optimisation means shaping what you hold and when you hold it. Under the current rules the Belastingdienst does not start from your real profit. It starts from a deemed return, set per type of asset. When your real return turns out lower, you may report that figure instead. What you own on 1 January decides the whole year. Did you arrive during the year? A special return called the M-form then covers that year. Read tax residency for how that works.
In 2026 the deemed return is 1.28% on bank and savings balances. Investments and other assets are set at 6.00%. Tax on the outcome is 36%. The first €59,357 of your wealth stays free of tax, or €118,714 with a fiscal partner. Your fiscal partner is your spouse or registered partner. Under conditions, it can also be someone you live with. The savings percentage is still provisional until early 2027.
Most of the room to save tax lies in the gap between 1.28% and 6.00%. The larger your wealth, the more that gap is worth in euros. Green investments add room of their own. You still declare them, but they are exempt up to a yearly maximum.
Substantial Box 3 wealth sits well above the tax-free amount. Savings, investments, a second home and money you lent out all count. Three levers decide what you pay. The first is your mix on 1 January. The second is debt, which lowers the taxed amount above a threshold. The third is the option to report your actual return when it is lower.
If part of your wealth lies outside the Netherlands, start at assets abroad. If your income comes from abroad, start at foreign income. Is the question really about settling here for the long run? Then thriving in the Netherlands is the page to start on. You find them all under my situation. Your wealth might be held in your own company instead. That is Box 2, not this page. Box 2 taxes income from a company in which you hold a large stake.
Your bill
Where your Box 3 bill comes from
Your Box 3 bill comes from a calculation with fixed percentages. These three pages explain the calculation, the alternative route and the change ahead.
Your actual return
Is your actual return lower than the deemed one? You may then report the actual figure instead.
The 2028 reform
The bill to tax your actual return from 1 January 2028 is still waiting for a Senate vote. Parliament has not yet decided on the cabinet's amendment.
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Your options
The moves you can make
You can genuinely change part of your Box 3 position. Green investments have an exemption of their own. Gifting on paper moves wealth forward without moving cash. The reference date of 1 January has rules about shifting assets around it. Each move has conditions. Read them before you decide.
Green investments
Certified green savings and investments have their own exemption, plus a separate tax credit. The green investments page lists the amounts and conditions.
Gifting on paper
You can gift on paper and leave the money where it is. It moves wealth to the next generation under strict yearly conditions.
Shifting around 1 January
Moving assets just before the reference date and back again afterwards falls under its own rule. The page on shifting sets out what holds and what does not.
Your plan
When it is worth a conversation
At some point the question stops being tax and starts being planning. The size of your position sets the amount at stake. The mix between savings and investments decides how much room there is. A large position touches your investments, your gifts and what you want to leave behind. That is a conversation, not a page. So the advice follows your situation.
Wealth tax advice
A check on how your Box 3 position is declared, here and abroad.
Savings advice
We look at what to do with cash that sits still and what that means for your Box 3 position.
Inheritance advice
We look at how gifts and inheritance affect your Box 3 position.
Replies within one working day
“I never start with a product. I start with your own figures and what they already cost you. Then we talk.”
Menno van der Made
Tax advisor
Fee-based, no productsEN, NL
Your advisor
Let us read your Box 3 figures together
You speak to one dedicated advisor who knows your whole position. That advisor reads your own figures before saying anything. We look at what you hold and what it costs you.
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Frequently asked
Questions about optimising Box 3
These are the questions we hear most from people with a substantial Box 3 position. Have a look before you call. Ask your advisor
What does Box 3 optimisation actually change?
It changes the mix and the timing, not the rules. The percentages and the rate are the same for everyone. What differs is your own mix on 1 January of savings, investments and debt. We look at that split first. That includes the actual-return option too.
When is my wealth large enough to look at this?
There is no threshold we can name for you. The larger the share you hold in investments rather than savings, the more the deemed-return gap costs you. A short call is usually enough. You will know afterwards whether a closer look is worth it.
Is moving money around before 1 January allowed?
You may move money, but not freely around the reference date. The Belastingdienst can correct a move you reverse again soon afterwards. We never treat 1 January as a trick. Read shifting around 1 January for the detail.
Do you sell investment products?
No. Our fee comes from you and from nobody else. So we have no product to sell you. We look at your tax position first and say what follows from it.
What if part of my wealth sits abroad?
Foreign holdings still belong in your Dutch return. Treaty rules apply on top of the Dutch ones. We check whether what you already paid abroad has actually been set off here. Start at assets abroad.
What happens to my Box 3 position if I leave the Netherlands?
Leaving changes both your residence and your Box 3 position. The reference date and the part of the year you lived here both matter. Tell us your leaving date and we map it out with you. We then tell you which part of the year falls under Dutch rules. Read more about assets abroad first.
Substantial assets
Know where you stand on Box 3 optimisation
Tell us what you hold and we go through it with you. You get a clear view of what your position costs. And of what is worth changing.
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What's included
One advisor
One dedicated advisor, start to finish
Fee-based
You pay us, nobody else does
Full situation
Tax, investments, gifts and the years ahead
Your language
Help in English or Dutch