Bitcoin in a Box 3 world: what you actually owe

The Dutch tax system doesn’t distinguish between Bitcoin and a VWCE ETF. Both are investments, both go in Box 3, and both are taxed on their value on 1 January — not when you sell. If you held crypto on 1 January 2026, it counts towards your Box 3 wealth for 2026. The amount might be smaller than you expect, but the obligation is real.

How crypto is classified in Box 3

Crypto assets are classified as overige bezittingen (other assets) in the Dutch tax return.¹ This puts them in the investments tier — the higher of the two deemed return rates.

In 2026, that means:

• Deemed return on crypto: 6.00%²
• Tax rate: 36%
• Tax on the part above your tax-free allowance: 6.00% × 36% = 2.16%

So if crypto is all you own, every €10,000 above your tax-free allowance costs €216 in Box 3 tax for 2026. That’s the same if Bitcoin went up 50% that year. If it fell, you may pay less (see below).

The date that matters: January 1

This is the most important thing to understand about Box 3 and crypto. The Belastingdienst looks at the value of your crypto on 1 January of the tax year. Not 31 December. Not when you sold. Not your average balance.

This creates some counterintuitive situations:

• You bought €20,000 of Ethereum on 2 January and sold it for €15,000 in November — you owe nothing in Box 3 for that year (you held nothing on 1 January)
• You held €50,000 of Bitcoin on 1 January and sold everything on 2 January for a loss. The Box 3 calculation still starts from the €50,000 opening balance, but you can report your real return instead (see below).

The reference date is fixed. Your balance on 1 January is what counts.

You must self-report — for now

Bitvavo, Coinbase, Kraken, and other crypto exchanges do not automatically report your holdings to the Belastingdienst. You are responsible for including crypto in your belastingaangifte under “overige bezittingen.”

This is changing. Under the EU’s DAC8 rules, crypto platforms have had to record their customers’ details and transactions since 1 January 2026. They must send the 2026 data to the Belastingdienst by 31 January 2027.³

Practical advice: Don’t rely on non-reporting as a reason not to declare. The liability exists whether or not the tax authority has the data. And from 2027, they will.

How to find the value to report

You need the euro value of each crypto asset you held on 1 January of the tax year. The Belastingdienst says to use the rate on that date on the exchange you use.¹ Most major exchanges allow you to export transaction history or a balance snapshot.

If you hold crypto across multiple wallets or DeFi protocols, you’ll need to add up the values yourself.

The tax-free allowance still applies

Your crypto is added to all other Box 3 assets — savings, investments, any other holdings. The combined total is then compared against the allowance:

• Single: €59,357 in 2026
• Fiscal partners: €118,714 in 2026

If your total net wealth (including crypto) is below your allowance, you owe €0 in Box 3. Many smaller crypto holders fall below this threshold.

If your crypto fell in value

Box 3 taxes an assumed return of 6.00% in 2026, whatever your crypto did. But since the 2025 tax return, you can also report your real return.⁴ It includes any rise or fall in value over the year, even if you didn’t sell.

If your real return on all your Box 3 wealth is lower than the assumed return, you pay tax on the lower amount. If it’s negative, it counts as €0, so you pay no Box 3 tax that year. A loss can’t be carried over to another year.

The government also plans to change Box 3 from 2028, and crypto from 2030. These plans aren’t law yet. Read where the plans stand.

If crypto is your only asset

If you hold crypto and nothing else, 100% of your taxable base falls in the investments tier (6.00% deemed return in 2026). There’s no savings component to bring the blended rate down. Your effective rate on the taxable portion is the full 2.16%.

This is different from someone who holds a mix of savings and investments, where the proportional method blends the two rates based on the allocation split.