- Crypto held by a private individual is a box 3 asset, valued on 1 January.
- In 2026 box 3 applies an assumed return of 6.00% to crypto and taxes it at 36%, after a tax-free allowance of €59,357 per person.
- If your actual return is lower, you pay tax on that lower amount. From the 2025 return onward you state it in the return itself.
- The Belastingdienst publishes no guidance on staking, DeFi, airdrops or NFTs. Its knowledge group does say that coins from a fork are a box 3 asset, even if you never claim them.
- In the year you move in or out, box 3 is reduced to the months you were resident. There is no exit tax on crypto in box 3.
- A new box 3 system based on actual returns is planned from 2028, but the Senate has not voted yet (October 2026).
This page covers income tax for private individuals who hold crypto in the Netherlands. When and how to file is on filing and deadlines. It is general information, not tax advice.
How box 3 works
The Belastingdienst treats crypto held by a private individual as a box 3 asset (savings and investments). Crypto is valued at its market value on 1 January, using the exchange rate of the platform you used. Box 3 does not tax the gain you actually made. It taxes an assumed return on your wealth, calculated in these steps:
- Total assumed return. Multiply each asset type by its assumed return rate. For crypto and other assets that is 6.00%.
- Yield base. Your assets minus your debts. Debts are only deductible above the debt threshold of €3,800 per person.
- Savings and investments base. The yield base minus the tax-free allowance.
- Your share. The savings and investments base divided by the yield base.
- Box 3 income. Total assumed return multiplied by your share.
- Tax. 36% of the box 3 income.
| Item (2026) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Assumed return on crypto (other assets) | 6.00% |
| Assumed return on bank accounts | 1.28% (provisional) |
| Assumed return on debts | 2.70% (provisional) |
| Box 3 tax rate | 36% |
| Tax-free allowance (heffingsvrij vermogen) | €59,357 per person, €118,714 with a fiscal partner |
| Debt threshold (schuldendrempel) | €3,800 per person, €7,600 with a fiscal partner |
The Belastingdienst says the 6.00% is final for 2026, while the rates for bank accounts and debts are provisional and are set in early 2027.
A worked example
Our own example, following the Belastingdienst’s steps: a single person with €100,000 in crypto on 1 January 2026, no other assets and no debts.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Total assumed return | €100,000 × 6.00% | €6,000 |
| Yield base | €100,000 − €0 debts | €100,000 |
| Savings and investments base | €100,000 − €59,357 | €40,643 |
| Your share | €40,643 ÷ €100,000 | 40.64% |
| Box 3 income | €6,000 × 40.64% | about €2,439 |
| Tax | €2,439 × 36% | about €878 |
This is an illustration, not a tax calculation for your situation. Other assets, debts and a fiscal partner change the result.
Actual return instead of assumed return
Following Supreme Court rulings on box 3, you never pay tax on more than your actual return. The Belastingdienst calculates both the assumed and the actual return and applies the lower one. Stating your actual return is not mandatory. From the 2025 return onward you can state it inside the income tax return itself; if your wealth is above the tax-free allowance, the return asks whether you want to. For 2024 and earlier you use the separate form for actual return.
These are the main rules for the actual return:
- It includes income, such as interest or dividends, and value changes. A rise or fall in the value of your crypto counts, even if you have not sold anything. Value changes can be negative.
- Gains and losses within the same year offset each other.
- If the total is negative, it is set to zero. You cannot carry a loss over to another year.
- Costs you made are generally not deductible. Interest on box 3 debts is deductible.
- To show a lower actual return you give the values on 1 January and 31 December and the total purchases and sales during the year.
For the 2026 provisional assessment the Belastingdienst can only use the assumed return, because the actual return is not known before the year ends. If your actual return later turns out lower, it adjusts your box 3 income in your 2026 return.
Mining, trading and other situations
Because mining needs a lot of computing power, the Belastingdienst says you generally do not have to report what you earn from mining itself. If you mine crypto and your revenue is higher than your costs, the profit can be taxable as income from other work or as business profit. If you trade, the Belastingdienst compares it to speculating on foreign currency. If you receive salary in crypto, your employer converts it to euros on the day you receive it. Staking, DeFi, airdrops and NFTs are covered in the next section.
If you are a minor, your crypto counts toward the wealth of your parents or guardians, and they report it in box 3.
This page does not cover gift and inheritance tax. Inheritance tax (erfbelasting) on crypto, and how crypto is valued on the day of death, are covered in this guide to crypto inheritance in the Netherlands.
Staking, DeFi, airdrops and NFTs
The Belastingdienst does not publish guidance on staking, lending, liquidity pools or other DeFi (decentralized finance) activity, on airdrops (free tokens sent to your wallet) or on NFTs (non-fungible tokens, unique tokens that stand for a digital or physical item) held by private individuals. Its crypto pages for individuals cover holding, mining, trading and salary in crypto, and in October 2026 we found no position on staking, DeFi or airdrops among the published positions of its knowledge groups. What it does publish:
- Coins from a fork. When a blockchain splits (a fork), the new coins are a box 3 asset, because they are linked to your private key. That also applies if you never claim them (knowledge group position KG:202:2023:12 of 12 May 2023).
- Everything you hold on 1 January counts. Box 3 values all your crypto at 0:00 on 1 January. The Belastingdienst makes no exception for coins you received through staking or an airdrop.
- Actual return. If you state your actual return, it includes income such as interest and dividends plus value changes (see actual return). The Belastingdienst does not say how staking rewards or airdrops fit into that calculation.
- When it becomes work. For mining the Belastingdienst says profit can be taxed in box 1 as income from other work or as business profit. It publishes no such test for staking or DeFi, so it has not set out when these activities stop being ordinary investing.
- NFTs. There is no guidance for private individuals who hold NFTs. If you sell NFTs as a business, VAT applies; see business tax.
Staking and lending are also not regulated under MiCA; what that means at an exchange is on exchanges. If you earn large amounts from staking or DeFi, ask a tax adviser or the Belastingdienst how to report them before you file.
Moving to or from the Netherlands
For the year in which you move to or leave the Netherlands, you file a special return for the part of the year you lived there: the M return (migration return), online in Mijn Belastingdienst or on the paper M form. This is what happens to crypto in box 3:
- The year you move. If you become resident during the year, or stop being resident other than by death, box 3 still uses your wealth at the start of the year (1 January). The box 3 income is then reduced to the time you were resident, counting only full months (Income Tax Act 2001, Article 5.2(6)).
- After you leave. A non-resident pays box 3 tax only on certain Dutch assets: real estate in the Netherlands, rights related to it, and profit shares in a business managed from the Netherlands (Article 7.7). Crypto is not on that list.
- No exit tax on box 3 crypto. When you emigrate, the Belastingdienst can issue a protective assessment (conserverende aanslag) on Dutch pension, annuities, own-home savings and investment products and a substantial interest (aanmerkelijk belang) in a company. Box 3 assets such as crypto are not among them. Crypto held through your own company is different: the shares in that company can be a substantial interest.
- Coming to work with the 30% ruling. Partial non-resident status (partiële buitenlandse belastingplicht) was abolished on 1 January 2025. If your employer applied the expat scheme (30% ruling) to you in the last pay period of 2023, a transitional rule lets you still choose it up to and including 2026. You are then treated as a non-resident for box 2 and box 3 and report only Dutch real estate, related rights and Dutch profit shares, so not your crypto. From 2027 this choice no longer exists.
The country you move to or from has its own rules, including any exit tax of its own. Crypto providers report your data to the country where you are tax resident (see DAC8), so tell them when you move.
Upcoming changes
The cabinet wants a new box 3 system based on actual returns from 1 January 2028. The House of Representatives passed the bill on 12 February 2026. The Senate debated it on 30 June 2026 and a majority postponed the vote until the cabinet’s announced amendment has been dealt with. In a letter of 30 September 2026 the cabinet said it will submit this amendment, which the Senate must adopt before 31 December 2026, and on 2 October 2026 it asked the Council of State for urgent advice. At the time of writing (October 2026) the Senate has not yet voted, so the current system still applies.
Sources
- Belastingdienst: Cryptobezittingen (zoals bitcoins) (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst: Moet ik aangifte doen en belasting betalen over mijn crypto’s? (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst: Hoe is het box 3-inkomen op mijn voorlopige aanslag 2026 berekend? (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst: Wat is mijn werkelijk rendement? (last checked October 2026)
- Rijksoverheid: Plannen kabinet voor heffing op werkelijk rendement in box 3 (last checked October 2026)
- Rijksoverheid: Tijdlijn werkelijk rendement box 3 (last checked October 2026)
- Eerste Kamer: Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 (36.748) (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst Kennisgroepen: KG:202:2023:12 Cryptomunten ontstaan uit een fork en box 3 (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst: Aangifte doen over het jaar van emigratie of immigratie (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst: Verdelen grondslag sparen en beleggen bij emigratie of immigratie (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst: Conserverende aanslag bij emigratie (last checked October 2026)
- Belastingdienst: Partiële buitenlandse belastingplicht (last checked October 2026)
- wetten.overheid.nl: Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001, articles 5.2 and 7.7 (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.