Do my savings in my home country count for box 3?

Yes, if you live in the Netherlands. Box 3 covers your assets in the Netherlands and elsewhere, so a foreign savings account counts as a bank balance at the 1.28% deemed return. A tax treaty may prevent double taxation, depending on the country.

Does it matter what my balance was during the year?

Not for the deemed return. Box 3 looks at the value of your assets and debts on 1 January of the tax year, so 1 January 2026 for 2026. Money you received or spent later in the year does not change that year's calculation.

Is the new actual-return system definitely starting in 2028?

No. The Tweede Kamer passed the bill on 12 February 2026, but the Eerste Kamer still has to vote, and the cabinet sent possible improvements in June 2026. The target date is 1 January 2028. Until the law is adopted, it remains a plan.

Box 3 in 2026: the €59,357 allowance and deemed returns

In 2026, box 3 still taxes a deemed return on your savings and investments, not what you actually earned. Each person has a tax-free allowance of €59,357 (€118,714 for fiscal partners together). Above that, the Belastingdienst assumes 1.28% on bank balances, 6.00% on investments and other assets, and 2.70% on debts, and taxes the result at 36%. The savings and debt percentages are still provisional. If your actual return was lower than the deemed one, you can report it and pay tax on the lower figure. A system that taxes actual returns is planned from 1 January 2028, but it is not law yet.

How box 3 works in 2026

Box 3 is the part of Dutch income tax for sparen en beleggen (savings and investments). For 2026 it runs under the Overbruggingswetgeving (bridging legislation), the stopgap rules brought in after the courts rejected the old system.

What counts is the value of your assets and debts on 1 January 2026, the reference date. Your bank balance on 1 January is what matters, not what it was in June.

The deemed return depends on which of three categories each asset falls into:

Bank balances: current and savings accounts in the Netherlands and abroad, and cash above the exempt amount.
Investments and other assets: shares, bonds, funds, crypto, loans you have made, a second home in or outside the Netherlands, and a home you rent out.
Debts: debts that belong in box 3, such as a loan for a car or a mortgage on a second home. The first €3,800 per person (€7,600 for partners) doesn't count.

	2025	2026
Tax-free allowance per person	€57,684	€59,357
Deemed return, bank balances	1.37%	1.28% (provisional)
Deemed return, investments and other assets	5.88%	6.00%
Deemed return, debts	2.70%	2.70% (provisional)
Debt threshold per person	€3,800	€3,800
Tax rate	36%	36%

The Belastingdienst says the 6.00% for investments is final. The rates for bank balances and debts will be set in early 2027 and used for your final 2026 assessment. Until then, the figures on a 2026 provisional assessment are an estimate.

A worked example

Say you are single and on 1 January 2026 you have €80,000 in savings and €20,000 in an investment account, with no debts.

Deemed return: €80,000 × 1.28% = €1,024, plus €20,000 × 6.00% = €1,200. Total €2,224.
Your rendementsgrondslag (assets minus debts) is €100,000.
Subtract the tax-free allowance: €100,000 − €59,357 = €40,643.
Your share of the base that is taxed: €40,643 ÷ €100,000 = 40.643%.
Box 3 income: €2,224 × 40.643% = €903.90.
Tax: 36% of €903.90 = €325.40.

If the bank rate is set at a different figure in 2027, the final amount will shift slightly.

Why the rules keep changing

In December 2021 the Hoge Raad (the Dutch Supreme Court) ruled that the Belastingdienst must take account of the actual return on savings and shares. Since then it has to tax your actual return when that is lower than the deemed one. In June 2024 the court went further and ruled that the new deemed percentages in the bridging legislation could also discriminate.

On 25 June 2026 the Hoge Raad ruled that people who did not object to their box 3 assessments for 2017 to 2020 have no right to a refund for those years.

Reporting your actual return

Since 1 July 2025 the Wet tegenbewijsregeling box 3 (box 3 rebuttal act) lets you show that your actual return was lower than the deemed one, and pay tax on the actual figure instead.

For 2025, you can enter your actual return in your tax return. It is optional. The Belastingdienst calculates both and uses whichever is better for you.

For 2024 and earlier years, you use a separate form, the Opgaaf werkelijk rendement (statement of actual return), usually after the Belastingdienst writes to you.

For 2026, your provisional assessment uses the deemed percentages, because your actual return isn't known until the year ends. If it turns out lower, the Belastingdienst adjusts your box 3 income when you file your 2026 return.

The actual return is broader than people expect:

It includes income you received, such as interest and dividends.
It includes changes in value, including gains you haven't realised by selling. A share portfolio that rose 10% counts as a 10% return even if you sold nothing.
Costs are generally not deductible, with two exceptions: interest paid on box 3 debts, and improvements to a second home that raised its WOZ value (the municipality's official valuation).
There is no tax-free allowance on the actual return. It is calculated over your whole box 3 wealth.

So reporting it only helps in years when your investments did badly or most of your money sat in low-interest savings. Whether it helps you depends on your own figures.

What comes next: taxing actual returns from 2028

The cabinet aims to tax actual returns from 1 January 2028 under the Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 (box 3 actual return act). The Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives) passed the bill on 12 February 2026. The Eerste Kamer (Senate) still has to vote on it. On 19 June 2026 the state secretary sent parliament a letter with possible improvements to the bill. The cabinet is looking at adjustments to the tax on yearly value growth and at a tax on gains when you sell.

As the bill stands, most investments would be taxed on their yearly increase in value. Real estate such as a rental home, and certain start-up shares, would be taxed on the gain when you sell. Until the Senate votes, treat 2028 as a plan, not a date.

Assets abroad, and whether you live here

If you live in the Netherlands, box 3 covers your assets in the Netherlands and elsewhere. A savings account in your home country, shares with a foreign broker and a flat you own abroad all count. Tax treaties can prevent you paying twice on the same income. How that works depends on the country, so this is a good question for an adviser.

If you live abroad, the Netherlands doesn't tax your worldwide wealth. Box 3 then only covers Dutch real estate (for example a holiday home or a home you rent out), rights relating to Dutch real estate, and certain profit rights in a Dutch business. Your Dutch bank account doesn't count, and nor does, for example, an annuity policy taken out in the Netherlands. Debts linked to those Dutch assets, such as the mortgage on a Dutch rental home, can be subtracted.

The 30% ruling and partial non-resident status

Until the end of 2024, people with the 30% ruling could opt for partiële buitenlandse belastingplicht (partial non-resident status). That meant being treated as a non-resident for box 2 and box 3 while living here. In practice, box 3 then covered mainly Dutch real estate, not your savings and investments.

This option was abolished from 1 January 2025. There is a transitional rule: if you used the 30% ruling before 2024, you can keep using partial non-resident status up to and including 2026. It only applies while your ruling runs. If the ruling ends partway through the year, you are treated as a resident for box 2 and box 3 from that date. You can make the choice until your assessment for the year is final.

After 2026 the option is gone for everyone. For 2027, anyone living here reports their worldwide savings and investments as they stood on 1 January 2027. If you have been using partial non-resident status and your savings and investments exceed the allowance, your box 3 bill will go up in 2027.

Where to go from here

The deemed-return calculation is mechanical, but whether to report your actual return, and how foreign assets and treaties fit in, depends on your figures. If you have significant assets abroad or are coming off partial non-resident status, you can request tax advice from an adviser who works in English. For the ruling itself, see applying for the 30% ruling. If you are leaving, read leaving the Netherlands: the tax side.

Sources

Figures checked against the sources above on 23 September 2026.

Photo: Warren LeMay, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.