No capital gains tax in the Netherlands

Update: the Dutch Supreme Court has ruled that this way of taxation is not fair: box 3 has changed. You can read more about the restoration of rights, bridging legislation , and new future box 3 taxation

Do you have assets, such as crypto, savings, shares, or a second house? This all falls into box 3 (savings and investments). When you use your assets wisely, you can achieve quite a return on, for example, your shares and renting out your second house. The best thing about this passive income is that you do not pay tax on this, because there is no capital gains tax in the Netherlands. Do you want to know how this works? Please read on.

Happy girl who saves taxes

Actual return in box 3 free of tax

You do pay tax on your box 3 capital but, good to know, you do not pay tax on the actual profit on your assets. This means you don’t pay tax on the rental income of your second house or the profit of your stocks.

How does the box 3 tax work (until 2021)?

The amount of your savings and investments are your assets minus debts and the tax-free capital (€50,000 in 2021). Therefore, you do not pay tax on the actual return, but the tax authorities calculate with a notional return.

This return is split into two classes: savings and investments. The Belastingdienst assumes that the higher your capital, the more you invest. In general, shares or the like deliver a lot more than money in your bank account. That is why: the higher your capital, the higher the notional return.

The table below shows how to calculate the notional return on your assets (2021).

0,03% (savings)5,69% (investmentsNotional return
Until € 50,00167%33%1.898%
€ 50,001 – € 950,00121%79%4.501%
From € 950,0010%100%5.69%

Example

In the table above, you can see that you have a notional return of 1.898% on € 50,000. Imagine that you invest € 50,000 (on top of the tax-free capital) with an average return of 9% per year. Instead of paying tax on the 9% (€4,500), you only have to pay tax on 1,898% (€949). On this notional return, you pay 31% tax in 2021.

But what if you had to pay tax on your actual return? Then, you would have to pay € 1,395 in tax in this case. But instead, you “only” pay € 294 on your box 3 assets.

We are happy to help!

Do you have a lot of savings, and would you like advice on how to get the most out of it? Or do you have other tax-related questions, such as the tax on your box 3 capital? We are happy to help you! Contact us using the details below.

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+31 (0)20-2170120