Box 3: Dutch wealth tax (2026)
Box 3 taxes your savings and investments — not your income from them — at 36% on a deemed return in 2026 (about 6% for investments), on the value above a tax-free allowance of €57,684 per person. Your owner-occupied home is not in Box 3 at all; it sits in Box 1 and its value is never taxed. That's a structural reason buying can beat renting: the renter's invested deposit is taxed, the owner's home equity is not.
How it's calculated
The tax authority applies a deemed return to your assets and taxes it at 36%. Under the tegenbewijsregeling you can pay on your actual return if it was lower. Fiscal partners double the allowance to about €115,000.
Why it matters for buy-vs-rent
A renter who invests the deposit and monthly savings builds a Box 3 portfolio that's taxed every year. An owner's wealth is mostly home equity, which escapes Box 3 entirely. Most calculators ignore this — ours counts it on the renter's side.