How does Box 3 wealth tax on savings work in the Netherlands in 2024?

Box 3 is the Dutch wealth tax on savings and investments. Rather than taxing actual returns, the Belastingdienst calculates a notional (fictitious) return on your net assets and taxes that return at 36% (2024 rate).

For 2024, the fictitious return rates differ by asset category. Savings deposits are assigned a low rate based on the actual average savings rate (approximately 1.03% for 2024). Investments and other assets are assigned a higher rate (approximately 6.04%). Debts are assigned a deduction rate (approximately 2.47%). The blended return is calculated based on how your assets are split between categories, then taxed at 36%.

The tax-free threshold (heffingvrij vermogen) is €57,000 per person in 2024 (€114,000 for fiscal partners). Only net assets above this threshold are subject to Box 3 tax. Assets are valued on 1 January of the tax year.

Box 3 has been subject to significant legal challenges. The Dutch Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that the old flat-return system violated European law when actual returns were lower than the fictitious return. The current system attempts to address this by differentiating between savings and investment rates, but further legal challenges are ongoing and the government is working on a system based on actual returns.