Does the Netherlands have a wealth tax? Box 3 in 2026, 2027 and 2028

Box 3 in 2026 (law) and 2027 (proposal), with two examples

Two examples for one person with investments only, and a real return at or above the deemed return:

The calculation: value above the tax-free amount, times the deemed return, times 36%. A person with a real return below the deemed return reports the real return. In that calculation income and value changes count, realised and unrealised, losses within the year are set off, and the tax-free amount is left out.

Does the Netherlands tax unrealised gains?

Under the current system, yes, in two ways. The deemed return taxes you on an assumed return whether you sold or earned anything. And when you report your real return because it is lower, the Tax Administration counts the change in value of your assets during the year, realised and unrealised. A share that rose 10% on paper counts as a 10% gain in that year.

The bill on real returns in box 3 (36748) passed the House of Representatives on 12 February 2026 with the same idea: a tax on the yearly growth of your assets. On 14 September 2026 the cabinet asked the Senate to pause that bill and set out four scenarios. On 29 September 2026 it chose the scenario with a capital gains tax: from 2028 for all financial instruments, such as shares, bonds and options, taxed on sale; from 2030 for the remaining assets. On 13 October 2026 the Senate committee agreed provisionally with that route and waits for the supplementary bill in the House. Until a law is adopted, the deemed return applies.

You live abroad and own Dutch assets

A foreign resident pays Dutch tax on a short list of Dutch income. For box 3 that list is: real estate in the Netherlands (a holiday home, a rented flat), rights to Dutch real estate such as a leasehold or usufruct, and rights to a share in the profit of a business established in the Netherlands. The Tax Administration says it plainly: it taxes a resident abroad on part of their assets only. A Dutch bank account, Dutch shares in a brokerage account or a Dutch investment fund are outside box 3 for a foreign resident.

Shares in a Dutch BV of 5% or more are box 2, in the Netherlands and under the tax treaty with your country. Dividend from that BV is subject to Dutch dividend tax of 15%, which the treaty usually reduces or credits. See the decisions for a BV owner before 31 December 2026.

You plan to relocate to the Netherlands

From the day you become a Dutch resident, box 3 covers your worldwide private assets: bank accounts, brokerage accounts, funds, crypto and a second home anywhere. The reference date is 1 January, so your first full year in box 3 starts on the first 1 January after your arrival. Debts count too, at the deemed return on debts. A tax treaty can give the country where a property is located the first right to tax it, with relief in the Netherlands.

Employees with the expat ruling used to be able to choose partial foreign tax liability, which kept their box 3 assets out of Dutch tax. That choice ended for new rulings from 2025, with a transition for people who had the ruling before 2024, until the 2026 tax return. A newcomer in 2027 therefore plans with box 3 on all private assets. See relocating to the Netherlands for the order of the steps.

The contrast: assets in a personal holding BV

A personal holding BV is the usual answer for a newcomer with a large portfolio or a founder after an exit. The BV owns the investments. The BV pays corporate tax on the real profit: 19% up to €200,000 and 25.8% above that. A gain on shares is taxed when the BV sells; a paper gain stays untaxed on the balance sheet. A loss reduces the taxable profit. Dividend and gains on a shareholding of 5% or more in another company are exempt under the participation exemption.

You pay box 2 only when the BV pays you a dividend or when you sell the BV: 24.5% up to €68,843 per person and 31% above that in 2026, with 29.2% announced for 2027 to 2030. The BV has yearly costs for bookkeeping and annual accounts, so the comparison depends on the amount and the return. Our box 3 or BV calculator works it out for your figures over five, ten or twenty years.

One Dutch company, many roles

Your own Dutch holding BV is the investment company, the owner of your operating company and, for a newcomer, the employer that applies for the expat ruling. Real estate can go into a separate BV under the same holding. The company is yours, the address is yours and the directors are yours; we set the company up and keep its books.

Prices: your Dutch company (BV) from €2,950 excl. VAT, and a holding with an operating company from €4,950 excl. VAT. Partner work has its own price, which you see first. See a family office in the Netherlands and tax optimisation with a Dutch structure.

Who does what

• You decide what stays private and what goes into a BV, and when you become a Dutch resident. You keep the records of your assets on 1 January.
• We set up the holding BV, keep its books, file its corporate tax return and prepare the box 2 and box 3 figures for your income tax return. We tell you when a 2027 or 2028 proposal becomes law.
• Partners do the specialist work: the notary for the deed and the contribution of assets, a tax lawyer for the treaty position with your old country, a valuer for real estate. We choose the partner with you, after you ask for it.

Want our team to have a look?

Sources

• Tax Administration, box 3 calculation 2026 (tax-free amount, deemed returns, rate): belastingdienst.nl (2026).
• Tax Administration, tax-free amount per year: belastingdienst.nl (2026).
• Tax Administration, what is my real return: belastingdienst.nl (2026).
• Tax Administration, living abroad with Dutch income, box 3 for foreign residents: belastingdienst.nl (2026).
• Tax Administration, the 30% facility and partial foreign tax liability: belastingdienst.nl (2026).
• Key figures table 2027 (fiscale sleuteltabel), Ministry of Finance: rijksoverheid.nl (15 September 2026).
• Letter of 14 September 2026 on the box 3 system, four scenarios: eerstekamer.nl.
• Cabinet letter of 29 September 2026 on box 3, box 2 and purchasing power: eerstekamer.nl.
• Senate, bill 36748 on real returns in box 3, committee decision of 13 October 2026: eerstekamer.nl.
• Government of the Netherlands, timeline of the bill on real returns in box 3: rijksoverheid.nl (updated August 2026).
• Tax Administration, corporate tax rates: belastingdienst.nl; box 2 rates: belastingdienst.nl (2026).

Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. The 2026 figures are law. The 2027 figures are a bill (15 September 2026) and a cabinet letter (29 September 2026). The 2028 capital gains tax is a proposal. All sources are the official sites named above.

Common questions