Calculator · 2026 and 2028

Box 3 or BV: where should your money grow?

Privately, the tax office taxes a deemed return every year, whatever you really earned. In a BV you pay 19% on what you really earn, and that is all until you take the money out. Fill in three numbers and see the difference after five, ten or twenty years.

Short answerIn box 3 in 2026, you pay 36% on a deemed return above the tax-free amount of €59,357 per person. The deemed return is about 6% for investments and about 1.28% for savings. If your real return is lower, you may prove it. A BV pays 19% corporate tax on the real return (25.8% above €200,000). You pay box 2 tax of 24.5% to 31% only when you take the profit out. The bill passed by the House of Representatives would tax the real return in box 3 at 36%. On 29 September 2026 the cabinet chose a new direction. From 2028 it wants to tax gains on investments only when you sell. This is still a proposal. Source: Dutch tax office, the Tax Plan 2026 and the letter to parliament of 29 September 2026, checked 30 September 2026.

Box 3 or BV

Rates 2026. The 2028 option uses the bill as passed by the House of Representatives. The cabinet wants to change it.
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2. What is it?
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5. Tax partner?
6. Do you already have a holding BV?
7. Which box 3 system?
Result
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Three things to know
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This is a first estimate with the 2026 rates. Box 3: 36% on a deemed return of about 6% (investments) or 1.28% (savings, provisional) above €59,357 per person. Corporate tax: 19% and 25.8%. Box 2: 24.5% and 31%. BV costs: estimated at €1,500 per year when the BV is new. The outcome also depends on the costs of transferring money, the timing of dividend tax and the rules of your own country. In a written consultation, we work this out for your own figures.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to invest through a BV or privately in box 3?
You usually keep more money with a BV if you invest more than roughly 300,000 to 400,000 euros. The same applies if your return is well above the deemed return. The BV pays 19% on the real return. You pay box 2 tax only when you withdraw money. In box 3, you pay 36% every year on a deemed 6% return. With a smaller amount, the yearly costs of a BV and the box 2 tax at the end are higher than the saving.
Will box 3 change in 2028?
The bill passed by the lower house in February 2026 taxes real returns (interest, dividend and gains) at 36% and drops the deemed return. On 14 September 2026 the cabinet asked the senate to put it on hold. On 29 September 2026 the cabinet chose a new direction. From 2028 it wants to tax gains on investments only when you sell. This is still a proposal.

How the two options work

Box 3 is the private option. Every year, the tax office assumes a return on your assets above the tax-free amount. This deemed return is about 6% for investments and about 1.28% for savings. You pay 36% tax on that return. Since 2025, you may prove a lower real return and pay tax on that amount. The bill passed by the House of Representatives taxes the real return directly (interest, dividend and gains) at 36%. On 29 September 2026 the cabinet chose a new direction. From 2028 it wants to tax gains on investments such as shares, bonds and options only when you sell them. This is still a proposal. For 2028, the calculator still uses the bill as passed by the House.

The BV is the company option. You put the money in your holding, or in a BV set up for it, and the BV invests it. The BV pays 19% corporate tax on the real profit each year (25.8% above €200,000). Paper gains are taxed only when they are realised. You pay box 2 tax only when you pay the money out to yourself. The rate is 24.5% up to €68,843 per person per year and 31% above that. The BV has costs for bookkeeping and annual accounts, unless you already have a holding.

Read next

The Dutch holding structure, from profit to your pocket, the exit calculator, and box 3 in 2027 and the plan for 2028.

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