Box 3 Wealth Tax
Quick 2026 estimate of Box 3 tax on savings and investments, using either the statutory forfaitair-rendement method or the actual-returns opt-in.
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Move your money: savings or investments?
Box 3 taxes a fixed notional return: 1.28% on savings and 6.00% on investments (2026). The same euro costs more tax as an investment. Slide and see what it does.
The tax is on the notional return, not on what you actually earn. If your real return was lower you can show it (see the actual-return option above). Not investment advice: investing carries risk, and the choice should follow your goals, not Box 3 alone.
Open a step for the sum with your figures, what the step does, and what the Dutch terms mean.
Box 3 tax on savings and investments€ 101
What this step does: Box 3 taxes your savings and investments on 1 January. It does not tax what you really earned but a fixed (notional) return set by law, higher for investments than for savings. Only wealth above the tax-free allowance counts.
- Box 3 taxes wealth, not incomeSavings, investments, a second home, and similar assets fall under Box 3. The tax office assumes ("forfaitair") a certain notional return on them each year, rather than taxing whatever you actually earned or lost.
- Tax-free allowance firstEvery taxpayer gets a heffingsvrij vermogen (tax-free allowance): assets below this amount are not taxed at all. Filing jointly with a fiscal partner doubles the allowance.
- Different notional rates for savings vs. investmentsSavings are assumed to earn a lower notional return than investments, since real savings-account interest is typically lower than typical investment returns. The two are calculated separately even though they share the same allowance.
- 36% tax on the notional benefitThe statutory Box 3 rate is applied to the notional ("voordeel") benefit calculated above, not directly to your assets, so the actual tax is much lower than 36% of your total wealth.
- Actual-returns opt-inSince a 2021 Supreme Court ruling (the "Kerstarrest"), you can choose to be taxed on what you actually earned instead (interest, dividends, and realized/unrealized gains, minus interest paid on deductible debts) if that comes out lower than the forfaitair estimate. A negative return counts as zero for that year; it can't be offset against other years.
- How it worksBox 3 does not tax what your savings and investments actually earned, but an assumed return on what you held on 1 January. The first €59,357 per person (2026) is tax-free. Savings get a low assumed return, investments and other assets a much higher one, and debts above a threshold reduce the base. The assumed return on the rest is taxed at 36%. If your real return was lower, you can show that with the actual-return method (tegenbewijs) and pay less.
- A worked exampleSomeone with €100,000 in a savings account and nothing else pays about €187 Box 3 tax for 2026: €59,357 is tax-free, the remaining €40,643 gets an assumed return of about €520, and 36% of that is €187. Move the same €100,000 into an index fund and the assumed return, and so the tax, is several times higher. Fiscal partners can share their two allowances.
Frequently asked questions
When is the actual-returns opt-in worth using?
Mainly when your savings interest and investment gains were genuinely low or negative that year. The forfaitair method assumes a return regardless of what markets actually did, so a bad year for your investments is exactly when the opt-in helps most.
Does my own home count in Box 3?
No, your primary residence falls under Box 1 (with its own eigenwoningforfait and mortgage-interest rules) not Box 3. A second home or rental property does count in Box 3.
Sources: belastingdienst.nl (box 3, forfaitair rendement)
Uses the same engine as the main calculator, without DTAA/treaty relief for foreign assets. For a full calculation with treaty relief, use the main site.