The Dutch House of Representatives on Thursday voted to pass the Actual Return in Box 3 Act (Wet werkelijk rendement box 3), a reform that will tax residents at a flat rate of 36% on the actual returns they earn from savings and investments, effective January 1, 2028.
The bill replaces a system that taxed investment income based on assumed returns, a framework the Dutch Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in a series of decisions beginning in December 2021.
Under the new regime, the tax applies not only to income that has actually been received, such as interest, dividends, and rent, but also to the annual increase in value of assets like stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies, even when those assets have not been sold.
If a Dutch resident holds a portfolio of shares that rises by €10,000 over the course of a year, the tax authority will treat that paper gain as taxable income, regardless of whether the investor has sold anything.
Real estate and shares in qualifying startups will follow different rules. For those assets, the government adopted a capital gains approach, meaning that tax on the appreciation of value is charged only when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of. Regular income from these assets, such as rental payments or dividends, will still be taxed annually in the year it is received.