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Dutch tax on your assets in Germany

Living in the Netherlands and still own property, savings or investments in Germany? You have to declare them in Box 3. The Netherlands–Germany tax treaty stops you paying twice on property, but savings and investments stay taxable here. Here's how it works, and a calculator to see what it means for you.

Property in Germany

A house, flat or land in Germany counts in your Box 3 wealth at its value on 1 January. Under the treaty Germany may tax that property, and the Netherlands exempts the share of Box 3 tax that falls on it.

So you usually pay no Dutch tax on it, but you still have to declare it. It also counts when the tax-free allowance is spread over your assets, so your other wealth can be taxed slightly more.

Bank accounts and investments in Germany

Savings, deposits, shares and funds in Germany stay taxable in Dutch Box 3, just like assets here. The Netherlands is your country of residence and keeps the right to tax them.

If Germany withheld tax on interest or dividends, it's credited against the Dutch tax on that slice, up to that Dutch tax and the rate the treaty allows.

Converting and declaring

Convert amounts to euros at the exchange rate on 1 January of the tax year. Keep a year-end statement from the bank or broker and a valuation of any property.

Many countries automatically share account information with the Belastingdienst. If you left foreign assets out in earlier years, correcting it voluntarily usually means a lower fine than if the Belastingdienst finds it first.

Money from family in Germany

Gifts from parents or relatives living in Germany are not subject to Dutch gift tax, unless the giver is a Dutch national who left the Netherlands less than 10 years ago. From the next 1 January the money does count in your Box 3.

What Germany itself taxes

  • Grundsteuer stays payable on property in Germany, and rent from it is taxed in Germany: you file a German return as a non-resident (beschränkt steuerpflichtig).
  • Selling German property you have owned for less than ten years can be taxable in Germany (the ten-year speculation period); after ten years a private sale is usually tax-free there.

Your accounts and products in Germany

  • Tagesgeld, Festgeld and a Bausparvertrag count as savings in Box 3; a Depot with shares or ETFs counts as investments. Tell your German bank you have moved, so it stops withholding Abgeltungsteuer as if you lived there.
  • German dividend tax withheld above the treaty rate is reclaimed from the German tax office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern); the treaty rate itself is credited against your Dutch Box 3 tax on those shares.

Common situations

  • Inheriting from parents who lived in Germany: there is no Dutch inheritance tax when the person who died lived abroad (unless they were a Dutch national who left the Netherlands less than 10 years before). What you inherit counts in your Box 3 from the next 1 January.
  • Working in Germany while living in the Netherlands (a cross-border worker) is a different situation: your wages are taxed in Germany, with a Dutch correction. This page is about assets.

Worked example (2026)

You live in the Netherlands, single, with € 30.000 in a Dutch savings account. In Germany you own a home in Düsseldorf worth € 220.000 and € 40.000 in a Depot with ETFs.

Box 3 tax on everything€ 4.576
Treaty relief for the home− € 3.779
Box 3 tax you pay€ 797

The home still raises the tax a little: it counts when the tax-free allowance is spread over everything you own. The tax Germany levies on the home itself comes on top. Sources: belastingdienst.nl, bzst.de.

Keep calculating

General information based on Dutch treaty practice for Box 3. Your own situation may differ; have foreign assets checked by an adviser if in doubt.