Property in the United States
A house, flat or land in the United States counts in your Box 3 wealth at its value on 1 January. Under the treaty the United States 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 the United States
Savings, deposits, shares and funds in the United States 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 the United States 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 the United States
Gifts from parents or relatives living in the United States 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 the United States itself taxes
- Property tax stays payable to the county, and rent from US property is taxed in the US: as a non-resident alien you can elect to be taxed on the net rent rather than have 30% withheld from the gross.
- When a foreign person sells US property, the buyer generally withholds 15% of the price under FIRPTA as an advance on US tax; the actual tax is settled on a US return.
Your accounts and products in the United States
- Are you a US citizen? Dutch and European investment funds are usually PFICs for US tax, with punitive reporting and tax rules, so many Americans here keep investments in US accounts or hold individual shares.
- How a 401(k) or IRA is treated in the Netherlands (as a pension right or as Box 3 wealth) depends on the account and the treaty; get specialist advice before assuming it is outside Box 3.
Common situations
- Inheriting from parents who lived in the United States: 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.
- US citizens file a US return every year while living here. Whether the Dutch Box 3 tax can be credited against US tax is a specialist question, because the US taxes actual income and Box 3 taxes a notional return.
Worked example (2026)
You live in the Netherlands, single, with € 30.000 in a Dutch savings account. In the United States you own a home in Austin worth € 250.000 and € 60.000 in a US brokerage account, on which € 135 tax was withheld there.
The home still raises the tax a little: it counts when the tax-free allowance is spread over everything you own. The tax the United States levies on the home itself comes on top. Sources: belastingdienst.nl, irs.gov.
Specific to the United States
- US citizens and green-card holders remain taxable in the US on their worldwide income, wherever they live. The Dutch relief on this page does not change your US filing duties.
- US brokerage accounts count in Box 3. US tax withheld on dividends can be credited up to the treaty rate, which is 15% for most portfolio dividends.
- US property is exempt from Box 3 tax under the treaty; rent from it is taxed in the US.
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.