The box 3 tax changes: what they are and what they mean for you

In this news:

Key takeaways

The tax-free savings amount drops to €30,846 per person starting in 2027.
From 2028, savings and investments face a new system taxing actual earnings above €1,000 at 36%.
Shares, bonds, and funds will be taxed only upon sale starting in 2028, while crypto waits until 2030.

Box 3 tax-free limits and timeline

Nothing changes this year. For 2026, you pay no box 3 tax on the first €59,357 you have in savings and investments, or double that if you have a tax partner.

Next year the tax-free amount almost halves. From 2027 it drops to €30,846 per person, so many people who have never paid tax on their savings will get a bill.

Your home and pension are not affected. The house you live in and money in a workplace pension fund are not part of box 3.

New system for savers and investments

From 2028 the system changes completely. Instead of a tax-free amount of money, you will be allowed €1,000 of tax-free earnings a year from your savings and investments. Anything you earn above that is taxed at 36%.

Savers lose out the most. Interest is paid every year, so it is taxed every year. At 2% interest, you would start paying tax once you have more than about €50,000 in the bank.

The higher your interest rate, the sooner you pay. At 1.25%, you could have about €80,000 before paying tax. At 3%, it would be about €33,000.

For example, someone with €70,000 in savings earning 2% would get €1,400 in interest. They would pay tax on €400, which comes to about €144 a year.

Impact on investors and property

Investors pay more in 2027 but gain from 2028. Next year, investors face both the lower tax-free amount and a higher assumed return on their investments.

From 2028, shares, bonds and funds will only be taxed when you sell them and make a profit, not every year as they rise in value.

Crypto and foreign currency have to wait longer. According to Dutch media reports, crypto and savings in other currencies will only switch to being taxed on sale in 2030.

Second homes and rental property cost more in 2027. The tax on rental income and holiday homes goes up next year.

Business owners and foreign assets

Business owners with their own company (bv) get a mixed deal. They pay less tax on profits they pay out to themselves for four years from 2027. But the amount they can borrow from their own company will be cut from €500,000 to €100,000, except for loans to buy their own home.

Money held abroad counts too. If you live in the Netherlands, savings and investments in other countries are also taxed here. Foreign banks do not fill in your Dutch tax return, so you will need to keep your own records.

You need to keep track of what you paid for investments. From 2028, banks will not be able to fill in your tax return for you in at least the first year, so you will need to work out your own profits.

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