Dutch Box 3 tax changes for 2027 and 2028: what the proposals mean for internationals

If you live in the Netherlands and have savings or investments above a certain level, you have met Box 3 — the part of Dutch income tax that covers savings and investments. Unlike most countries' capital gains or interest taxes, Box 3 has for years taxed a deemed return: the government assumes your assets earned a fixed percentage and taxes that, whatever actually happened.

That system is now changing in two steps. On 29 September 2026 the cabinet proposed a sharp cut to the 2027 tax-free allowance and a reworked version of the system that taxes actual returns from 2028. Within 48 hours MPs from both opposition and coalition parties pushed back, and the finance minister said he would revise parts of it.

This article starts from DutchNews's explainer, The box 3 tax changes: what they are and what they mean for you (30 September 2026), and checks it against coverage in NL Times, DutchReview, IamExpat, Expatica, ACCESS, The Hague International Centre and Xpat.nl, and against primary sources from the Tax Administration (Belastingdienst), the government (Rijksoverheid) and the Senate (Eerste Kamer). The wider 2027 budget is covered in our Prinsjesdag 2026 explainer; here we stick to Box 3. Nothing here is investment advice.

Main sources for this article

• DutchNews, "The box 3 tax changes: what they are and what they mean for you" (30 September 2026)
• Eerste Kamer, bill 36.748 Wet werkelijk rendement box 3, procedure up to the committee decision of 13 October 2026
• Belastingdienst pages on the 2026 Box 3 calculation and the end of partial non-residency
• Follow-up reporting by NL Times (2 and 9 October) and DutchReview (30 September and 2 October)

1. What is happening: from the 29 September plan to the October rethink

The story begins with a Supreme Court ruling on 24 December 2021, known as the Kerstarrest (Christmas ruling). The Hoge Raad held that taxing everyone on a fictional return, as if all taxpayers held the same mix of assets, breached property and non-discrimination rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Since then, the government has been building a system based on actual returns. The bill, Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 (Actual Return Box 3 Act), was sent to parliament in May 2025 and passed the House on 12 February 2026. In the Senate, however, criticism focused on taxing unsold shares every year, and on 30 June 2026 the vote was postponed.

This autumn things moved quickly. The timeline below shows the main steps.

The last two steps are dashed because neither is settled. The Senate finance committee's agenda states plainly that the amending bill "must be adopted in the Eerste Kamer before 31 December 2026". The House has not yet debated it.

What the 29 September plan contained

The prime minister and finance minister set out the new approach in a letter to the House on 29 September. Comparing the news reports with the tax advisers' summaries, the key elements are these.

Two of these — the smaller 2027 allowance and the lower 2028 tax-free return — were there to fill the revenue gap left by taxing gains only on sale. Those were the two that ran into trouble.

The rethink, 48 hours later

According to NL Times, in the House debate on 2 October MPs across parties objected to putting the bill on small savers. The finance minister said he would go along with restoring the €1,800 tax-free return and would reconsider the 2027 allowance cut (NL Times, 2 October 2026; DutchNews, 2 October 2026).

On 9 October NL Times reported that the alternative funding plan would not be ready for the House tax debate starting 12 October, and was now expected later in the month. As of 22 October no replacement has been published. In short: there is no final figure for either the 2027 allowance or the 2028 tax-free return.

2. How Box 3 works today: the 2026 rules

Before looking at what might change, it helps to know the current system. Box 3 looks at your assets on 1 January, applies government-set deemed returns, and taxes the result. Your actual profit or loss normally does not matter.

The Belastingdienst gives these 2026 figures.

Sources: Belastingdienst, 2026 tax calculation guide and tax-free allowance page. The 1.28% savings rate is provisional; the final rate is published after the year ends.

A worked example (2026)

Take a single person with €100,000 in a savings account on 1 January. The deemed return on all assets is €100,000 × 1.28% = €1,280, an effective rate of 1.28%. Applied to the €40,643 above the allowance, that gives about €520, and 36% of that is roughly €187 in tax.

If the same €100,000 is held in shares or funds, the rate is 6.00%. €40,643 × 6.00% ≈ €2,439, and 36% of that is roughly €878. Same amount, more than four times the tax — that gap is exactly what the courts objected to.

The counter-evidence rule

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Senate passed the Wet tegenbewijsregeling box 3 (counter-evidence act) on 8 July 2025 (Taxlive). If your actual return was lower than the deemed return, you can be taxed on the actual figure.

From the 2025 tax year you can enter your actual return in the income tax return itself, and the Belastingdienst applies whichever is more favourable. Note that "actual return" here includes unrealised gains on shares you have not sold; a negative result counts as zero and cannot be carried forward (Belastingdienst, "Wat is mijn werkelijk rendement?"). The rule stays in place until the new system starts.

3. 2027: a halved allowance and a higher deemed return

In 2027 the deemed-return system itself stays. What the cabinet wants to change are its parameters — temporarily raising the burden for one year to help pay for the 2028 reform.

The "current law" figures come from tax adviser Deloitte and the personal finance blog Mr FOB; we could not confirm them in a government document. The table shows that the 2027 numbers are hanging between "unchanged" and "cut".

€30,846 is the 2020 allowance; DutchReview describes the plan as a return to that level. If it went through, many more people would be above the threshold on 1 January 2027 — people who have never paid Box 3 before.

If you only have savings (estimate)

Take a single person with €100,000 in savings, and assume the 2027 savings rate stays at 1.28%. With a €60,098 allowance, €39,902 is taxable and the tax is about €184. With €30,846, €69,154 is taxable and the tax rises to about €319.

The savings rate itself is not being raised. But halving the allowance would send first-time bills to many small savers. IamExpat quotes an MP's estimate that around 850,000 small savers would pay for the first time (IamExpat, 1 October 2026).

If you invest (estimate)

Hold the same €100,000 in shares or funds. Under current law indexed (€60,098 and 6.37%) the tax is about €915; under the proposal (€30,846 and 7.87%) about €1,959 — more than double. Investment property and second homes count as "other assets" and would face the same increase.

The private landlords' association Vastgoed Belang says the plan would raise landlords' tax burden by "over 31.2 percent" and speed up sales of rental homes (NL Times, 1 October 2026). That is the association's estimate, not a government figure.

Where the media figures disagree

Different outlets report slightly different 2027 numbers. Usually no one is simply wrong; they are measuring from different baselines. Here are the disagreements side by side.

For 2026, the Belastingdienst figure of €59,357 is the one that counts. The cost and funding-gap figures are all from news reports, not final government estimates.

4. 2028: from deemed returns to actual returns

The 2028 system changes the logic of Box 3. Instead of applying a deemed rate to your 1 January balance, it taxes what you actually earned during the year. The rate stays at 36%.

The bill passed by the House taxes actual income — interest, dividends, rent — and also taxes increases in value every year, even if you have not sold. This is the vermogensaanwasbelasting (accrual tax). Only real estate and start-up shares were under the vermogenswinstbelasting (capital gains tax), where gains are taxed on sale (Rijksoverheid).

The 29 September plan flips that balance. Shares, bonds, ETFs and other financial instruments would also be taxed on sale from 2028, while savings, crypto and some other assets would follow in 2030. Deloitte says around 90% of assets that change in value would fall under the capital gains regime from day one.

The top band is what moved most. In the bill passed by the House, financial instruments sat in the "taxed yearly" group.

Tax-free return: €1,800 or €1,000?

The new system has an allowance on returns, not on wealth. The House-passed bill exempts the first €1,800 of return per person (€3,600 for partners). The 29 September plan proposed €1,000.

DutchReview reports that the finance minister picked €1,000 so that a couple with about €100,000 in savings would stay exempt, and that he admitted underestimating how many people would be caught. Expect this table to change during the parliamentary debate.

Tax on savings at different balances (2028 estimate)

Savings interest would still be taxed every year. The figure below compares the two tax-free amounts for a single person earning 2% interest.

DutchNews gives a matching example: €70,000 at 2% earns €1,400; tax is charged on the €400 above €1,000, about €144. As the figure shows, at 2% interest a €1,000 exemption covers about €50,000 of savings, and €1,800 about €90,000. If interest rates fall, the balance at which tax starts goes up.

Losses and the paperwork burden

Under the new system, losses above €500 in a year can be set against future gains (Mr FOB). That is an improvement on the counter-evidence rule, where losses cannot be carried forward. Carrying losses back against tax already paid is reportedly not in the amending bill.

The other big change is doing your own sums. DutchNews and Deloitte both report that banks are not expected to supply data for pre-filled returns, at least in the first year. If gains are taxed on sale, you need the purchase price of each investment to work out the gain.

5. Asset by asset: savings, shares, property and crypto

Here is the same information sorted by type of asset. Note that the same asset can be treated very differently in 2027 and 2028.

From 2028, assets would split into "not taxed until you sell" and "taxed every year". Which group an asset falls into also determines what records you need.

Savings

Savings interest would be taxed every year under the new system. In 2027 savings stay under the deemed-return rules, and are the asset most exposed to an allowance cut. DutchNews estimates that with a €1,000 exemption, tax starts above about €80,000 at 1.25% interest and about €33,000 at 3%.

Shares, ETFs and funds

In 2027 these face the proposed higher deemed return. From 2028, under the plan, they are not taxed until sold. That pushes tax later than the original accrual design — which is precisely why the government has a funding gap to fill.

Property

Your main home stays in Box 1 and is outside Box 3; the equity above your mortgage is not taxed in Box 3 either (Rijksoverheid). Investment property and holiday homes are in Box 3 and would face the higher 2027 rate.

From 2028, gains on property would be taxed on sale and rental income every year. Mr FOB explains that property not rented out all year would be taxed on a notional 3.35% of its WOZ value (the municipal valuation). Details may change in parliament, so landlords should check with a tax adviser.

Crypto and foreign currency

According to DutchReview and Deloitte, crypto moves to taxation on sale in 2030 and until then stays in the "taxed yearly" group. DutchNews, citing Dutch media, says foreign currency also moves in 2030. If you hold savings in a non-euro currency, check how exchange-rate movements are treated once the bill text is published.

6. Assets abroad: your home-country accounts

A Dutch tax resident reports worldwide assets in Box 3. Savings and investments in your home country are no exception. ACCESS puts it simply: you can leave your savings and investments at home, but you must declare them on your Dutch return (ACCESS). The Hague International Centre likewise notes that Box 3 covers assets abroad for Dutch tax residents.

Foreign banks will not fill in your Dutch return, and DutchNews urges readers with foreign accounts to keep their own records. Here is how common foreign holdings are treated.

The third row catches many people out. A pension-style or tax-free savings account in your home country may enjoy relief there, but Dutch Box 3 generally does not recognise that status. Unless a specific Dutch exemption applies (for example, certain pension arrangements), the contents are ordinary Box 3 assets. Check with an adviser before assuming otherwise.

Double taxation and treaties

Expatica notes that the Netherlands has tax treaties with more than 90 countries to prevent the same income being taxed twice, and that transitional rules for partial non-residency run to the end of 2026 (Expatica). Two mechanisms matter most for Box 3:

• Foreign withholding tax on dividends and interest can, within treaty limits, be credited in your Dutch return (Belastingdienst, "Te verrekenen belasting"). Treaties usually also reduce the rate the source country can withhold, but you may need to file a form with your foreign bank.
• Foreign real estate is usually taxed by the country where it sits. The Netherlands then grants relief using the exemption method, so you declare the property but get a reduction. ACCESS confirms that a double-taxation deduction can normally be claimed for foreign holiday homes.

Currency and the 1 January rule

Foreign-currency balances are converted to euros at their 1 January value for the deemed-return system. Check the exchange rate to use and how currency differences are treated in that year's filing instructions. Under the 2028 plan, foreign-currency savings would sit in the "taxed yearly" group, and whether exchange-rate movements count as return will depend on the final bill text.

Leaving your home country with large holdings

Some countries tax unrealised gains when you leave (an exit tax), and some keep taxing citizens wherever they live. These rules sit outside Dutch Box 3 but affect what your "purchase price" is and whether gains are taxed twice. If either could apply to you, get advice in both countries.

7. The 30% ruling and the end of partial non-residency

Many international employees use the 30% ruling (expatregeling). Until recently, they could also opt for partial non-resident taxpayer status (partiële buitenlandse belastingplicht). In Box 3 that meant declaring only Dutch-linked assets such as Dutch real estate — foreign savings and investments were left out.

That option was abolished on 1 January 2025. According to the Belastingdienst, only people who had the 30% ruling before 2024 can still choose it under transitional rules, up to and including the 2026 tax year (Belastingdienst).

The transitional rule has conditions: the ruling must have applied in the last payroll period of 2023, without a later break. A job change is not treated as a break if a new employer applies the ruling within three months (Belastingdienst knowledge group).

Notice the overlap in dates. 1 January 2027 — the first reference date after the transitional rule ends — is also the date a smaller allowance might apply. Someone who has never reported their foreign accounts could have to declare all of them for 2027, against a lower threshold.

The cut in the 30% ruling itself to 27% from 2027 is covered in our Prinsjesdag 2026 explainer. Older guides may still describe partial non-residency as if it were available — an Xpat.nl housing tax guide, for example, is written on the basis that partial non-residents pay no Box 3 tax (Xpat.nl). Always check the date of what you read.

8. Where the legislation stands

In Box 3 coverage, laws already in force, bills before parliament and ideas floated in a letter are often mixed together. Here is the position on 22 October 2026.

The Senate's bill page records that SP, GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, Volt, PvdD, CDA and VVD voted in favour in the House on 12 February 2026. The Senate debated the bill on 30 June and agreed to wait for the amending bill before voting (Eerste Kamer, 36.748).

The fix takes the form of a novelle — a separate bill amending a bill that has not yet become law. The Senate cannot amend legislation itself, so the government has to send a new bill that starts again in the House. On 13 October the Senate finance committee provisionally agreed with this route and decided to wait for the House to deal with it.

What comes next (as reported)

Reports suggest the Council of State's advice around 28 October and the amending bill reaching the House around 2 November (Dagelijkse Standaard). Neither date has been officially confirmed.

If the Senate does not pass it by 31 December, Mr FOB writes, the 2028 start would slip by at least a year and the deemed-return system with the counter-evidence rule would continue. Either way, your 2026 and 2027 returns will be filed under the current system.

9. Example situations (fictional)

These examples use fictional people. Figures are rough estimates based on proposals as of 22 October 2026.

Ana's €45,000 total is below the 2026 allowance but above €30,846. Ben and Chloé, if they used partial non-residency, will be declaring their foreign account for the first time for 2027. Dev's case — foreign property, rent and valuation — is the one where professional advice pays for itself fastest.

10. Common misunderstandings

Changeovers breed myths. Here are the most common, with what is actually true.

The last point matters more under the new system: to offset a loss in a later year, the loss has to be established in the return for the year it happened.

Watch out for outdated guides

Some expat guides have not been updated. Expatica's investing guide (updated September 2025), for instance, still quotes a €50,650 allowance and a 31% rate from several years ago (Expatica). Always check rates and allowances on the Belastingdienst site for the year you are filing.

11. What to do now

Whether to change how your assets are held depends on your situation, and this article does not give investment advice. What it can do is list the preparation that helps whichever version becomes law.

1. Before 31 December 2026: list every account you have in the Netherlands and abroad — banks, brokers, pension-style accounts, insurance, crypto exchanges.
2. On 1 January 2027: record each balance. Save a screenshot or a PDF statement.
3. In spring 2027: file your 2026 return. If you are in the transitional 30% group, note that it is the last year partial non-residency is available.
4. During 2027: collect purchase prices for every share and fund, account by account.
5. November–December 2027: check whether the amending bill passed and what the 2028 exemption is.
6. On 1 January 2028: record all balances and values as the starting point for the new system.
7. After that: keep trades, dividends and fees year by year, and file even in loss years.

Of these, the Senate's bill page is the most reliable way to follow the legislation: every step is listed with a date.

12. Summary

• As of 22 October 2026 none of the Box 3 changes is law. The 2028 bill has passed the House; the Senate is waiting for an amending bill
• Proposals to cut the 2027 allowance to €30,846 and the 2028 tax-free return to €1,000 are being reworked after MPs objected
• From 2028 the plan is to tax shares and other financial instruments on sale, and savings interest every year
• For a 2028 start, the Senate must pass the amending bill by 31 December 2026
• Partial non-residency for 30% ruling holders ends after the 2026 tax year; from 2027 foreign assets are declared
• Tax-advantaged accounts in your home country are generally ordinary Box 3 assets here
• Whatever passes, records of 1 January balances, purchase prices and trades are the safest preparation

Sources

Starting article and expat media

• The box 3 tax changes: what they are and what they mean for you — DutchNews: allowances 2026–2028, savings examples, foreign accounts
• Cabinet backtracks on box 3 tax plans for small savings — DutchNews: the 2 October rethink, reported reform cost
• Finance Min. pushed to again adjust Box 3 tax plans only 48 hours after presenting them — NL Times: MPs' objections and the minister's response
• Dutch government delays new plan to cover billions in Box 3 tax shortfall — NL Times: delayed funding plan
• More Dutch savers, investors to pay tax on wealth from 2028 — NL Times: 2.5 million people in Box 3, exemption change
• Landlords warn higher Box 3 tax hikes will trigger another rental home sell-off — NL Times: landlords' reaction
• Dutch parliament greenlights new Box 3 tax, set to take effect in 2028 — NL Times: House vote
• Dutch savers could pay wealth tax from €30,846 in 2027 — DutchReview: 2027 deemed-return increase, 2030 transition
• Dutch cabinet open to sparing small savers from Box 3 hike — DutchReview: reasoning behind €1,000 and the rethink
• New Dutch box 3 tax plan affecting expats labelled "accounting fraud" — IamExpat: funding gap, 850,000 savers
• Box 3 taxes and the 30% ruling in 2025 and beyond — IamExpat: older allowance figure (example of a discrepancy)
• All there is to know about investing in the Netherlands — Expatica: example of outdated figures
• How to file your 2026 taxes in the Netherlands when you live abroad — Expatica: tax treaties
• Do I have to transfer my savings to the Netherlands? — ACCESS: declaring foreign assets, double-tax relief
• Income Tax Return in the Netherlands: FAQ — The Hague International Centre: 2025 allowance, assets abroad, partial non-residency
• Dutch Tax Consequences — Xpat.nl: example of a guide assuming partial non-residency

Government, parliament and tax authority

• 36.748 Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 — Eerste Kamer: procedure, House vote, Senate postponement
• Finance committee, 5 October 2026 — Eerste Kamer: 31 December deadline, Council of State request
• Plannen kabinet voor heffing op werkelijk rendement in box 3 — Rijksoverheid: design of the new system, own home
• Tijdlijn Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 — Rijksoverheid: timeline since 2016
• Hoe wordt de belasting berekend? 2026 — Belastingdienst: 2026 deemed returns and rate
• Heffingsvrij vermogen — Belastingdienst: 2026 allowance
• Wat is mijn werkelijk rendement? — Belastingdienst: counter-evidence rule
• Partiële buitenlandse belastingplicht — Belastingdienst: abolition and transitional rule
• KG:041:2024:11 Expatregeling, overgangsregelingen — Belastingdienst knowledge group: transitional conditions
• Te verrekenen belasting — Belastingdienst: crediting foreign withholding tax

Tax advisers and other analysis

• Kamerbrief toekomst box 3 — Deloitte: 29 September letter, 7.87%, 2030 transition
• Box 3 2028: wat verandert er aan de vermogensbelasting? — Mr FOB: amending bill figures, losses, property
• Eerste Kamer aanvaardt Wet tegenbewijsregeling box 3 — Taxlive: counter-evidence act passed
• Belastingvrij €1.800 of €1.000 in box 3 — Dagelijkse Standaard: expected dates for Council of State advice and the amending bill

All sources were checked on 22 October 2026. Box 3 figures are likely to change during the parliamentary debate in November and December, and the estimates in this article are not final tax amounts. Check the Belastingdienst and parliament for the latest position before filing or making decisions, and talk to a tax adviser about your own situation.

Original article

The box 3 tax changes: what they are and what they mean for you — DutchNews.nl