The Essential Guide to Crypto Tax in the Netherlands for 2026

There is no capital gains tax on crypto in the Netherlands. For most individuals, crypto is taxed in Box 3 as part of your savings and investments. You don't pay tax on each sale. Instead, the government assumes a fixed return on the value of your assets and taxes that assumed return.

The value that counts is what you hold on January 1 of the tax year. For the 2026 tax year, you report the value of your crypto on January 1, 2026.

The assumed return depends on the mix of your assets. Bank balances get a low assumed return, and other assets, including crypto, get a higher one. The Box 3 rate has risen from 31% in 2022 to 36% in 2026.

If your actual return was lower than the assumed return, you can pay tax on your actual return instead under the counter-evidence rule (tegenbewijsregeling).

Pro tip
For current information and rates, see the Netherlands tax authority.

A "fictitious return" is calculated on your savings and investments.

Example
For the 2026 tax year, the assumed return is 1.28% for bank balances, 6.00% for other assets such as crypto, and 2.70% for debts, taxed at 36%. The rates for bank balances and debts are provisional and will be finalized in early 2027.

In the case of crypto professionals such as active traders, crypto gains are treated as regular income and taxed accordingly. For most Dutch taxpayers, crypto is taxed as an asset.

For most individuals, crypto is taxed as an asset in Box 3. The tax is based on the value of your holdings on January 1, less any debt. In 2026, the first €59,357 of net assets is tax-free per person, or €118,714 for tax partners. Debts only count above €3,800 per person.

The same Box 3 tax applies to all savings and investments, but the assumed return differs by asset type. Bank balances get a lower assumed return than other assets such as crypto, so your overall rate depends on how your wealth is split.

Netherlands crypto tax calculation for tax year 2026

The Box 3 tax is based on the actual mix of your wealth between bank balances, other assets, and debts. The final rates for bank balances and debts are set after the tax year ends. Until then, the Belastingdienst uses provisional rates for provisional assessments.

Deemed yields for the 2026 tax year

• Bank balances, savings, and cash: 1.28% (provisional)

• Investments and other assets, such as crypto: 6.00% (final)

• Debts: 2.70% (provisional)

Assume that on January 1, 2026, you have:

• €10,000 in a bank account

• €140,000 in crypto

• €20,000 in student debt

• A €59,357 tax-free allowance (for an individual in 2026)

Step 1: Calculate the return on your assets and debts

• Bank return: €10,000 × 1.28% = €128

• Crypto return: €140,000 × 6.00% = €8,400

• Deductible debt: €20,000 − €3,800 threshold = €16,200

• Debt return: €16,200 × 2.70% = €437.40

• Total return: €128 + €8,400 − €437.40 = €8,090.60

Step 2: Calculate your net assets

• Savings and investments: €10,000 + €140,000 = €150,000

• Net assets: €150,000 − €16,200 = €133,800

Step 3: Calculate your return percentage

• Return percentage: €8,090.60 ÷ €133,800 = about 6.05%

Step 4: Calculate your taxable base

• Taxable base: €133,800 − €59,357 = €74,443

Step 5: Calculate your taxable return

• Taxable return: €74,443 × 6.05% = about €4,501

Step 6: Calculate your tax owed

• Tax owed: €4,501 × 36% = about €1,620

If your actual return on savings and investments in 2026 was lower than the assumed return, you can pay Box 3 tax on your actual return instead. Your actual return has to be calculated under the rules of the Box 3 Counter-Evidence Act, and it includes unrealized gains on your investments, such as a rise in the value of your crypto, even if you didn't sell. This option mainly helps in years when crypto prices fell.

Netherlands crypto taxes for professional traders

When a Dutch tax-paying individual operates a business in the context of crypto, including investing and trading beyond a mere hobby, and may expect to derive profit from such a business, gains are treated as regular income and taxed at ordinary rates.

If your activity goes beyond normal asset management, the Belastingdienst taxes it in Box 1 rather than Box 3. Examples include intensive trading, running your own validator nodes, or mining as a business. Profits count either as business profit or as income from other activities (resultaat uit overige werkzaamheden), and they are taxed on each taxable disposal.

This includes various transactions like selling for fiat, selling for stablecoins, exchanging one cryptocurrency for another, exchanging stablecoins, buying NFTs with cryptocurrencies, or purchasing goods or services with cryptocurrencies.

In such instances, taxpayers must calculate and report their gain or loss, which is determined by subtracting the cost basis from the proceeds from the sale. The cost basis is the cost of the disposed-of cryptocurrency, whether in fiat or cryptocurrency, or the market value at the time of acquisition if it was exchanged for another cryptocurrency.

Every trade, sale, or disposal of cryptocurrencies, including exchanges or transactions with stablecoins, is considered a taxable event for professional traders in the Netherlands and taxed as regular income in Box 1.

Income tax brackets in the Netherlands

Income or Box 1 tax rates for 2026 in the Netherlands, for people below state pension age, are:

• 35.75% up to €38,883

• 37.56% from €38,883 to €78,426

• 49.50% above €78,426

These rates are not applied to crypto unless you are trading or professionally engaged in other crypto activities.

If you live in or receive income from the Netherlands, you are expected to pay income tax in the Netherlands on income, financial interests in a company, and your savings and investments.

Dutch tax returns are due by May 1. The Dutch tax office processes returns filed before April 1 within three months. You can receive an extension on the due date, and interest charges may apply if you miss payments.

For Dutch taxes, worldwide income is separated into three kinds of taxable income, each with its own schedule or “box.” 

For an individual Dutch taxpayer, taxable income is based on the aggregate income from these three boxes.

• Box 1 is taxable income from work and home ownership, including professional crypto-related activity, such as active trading for profit.

• Box 2 is taxable income from a substantial interest, such as business ownership. 

• Box 3 is taxable income from savings and investments such as cash or crypto.

The Netherlands sees crypto as assets, meaning you enter your crypto's value in Box 3. There is no capital gains tax.

If you live outside the Netherlands, you may use the tax return program for non-resident taxpayers. You may request a C form if you prefer not to file digitally. You should use an M form if you only lived in the Netherlands for part of the year.

If you earn crypto as wages, its fiat value is reported along with other wages and income in Box 1 of Mijn Belastingdienst.

Long-term crypto trades

Crypto in the Netherlands is subject to a wealth tax, so whether you trade short- or long-term, on January 1, your crypto holdings will be subject to the tax as outlined above. There is no incentive in the Netherlands to hold for the long term.

Crypto mining

How the Netherlands taxes crypto mining depends on the scale of the activity. Mining as a hobby generally falls in Box 3, so mined coins count toward your assets on January 1. Structured, professional mining with your own hardware is usually taxed in Box 1, where you can deduct costs such as electricity and equipment.

Crypto staking and lending

Crypto staking and lending in the Netherlands are subject to Box 3 taxation unless the taxpayer is a professional trader. Crypto lending follows the treatment of an ordinary loan, which means that either the loan is an asset subject to Box 3 taxation (and the interest is not taxed separately) or, in the case of crypto professionals, Box 1 taxation, in which case the interest is taxed.

Crypto as payment for goods and services

For individual Dutch taxpayers subject to Box 3 Netherlands crypto taxes, payment for goods and services in crypto is not a taxable event. For Box 1 taxation, and in the case of corporate taxpayers, payments for goods and services are taxable.

Utility tokens

Box 3 taxation applies to airdrops, mined, and staked crypto unless the Dutch taxpayer is a professional trader, which will apply to Box 1. In-game crypto rewards are not taxed unless the rewards are received professionally, in which case they are subject to Box 1 taxes.

Because Box 3 values your assets on January 1, some holders consider moving from crypto into cash before year-end, since bank balances get a much lower assumed return (1.28% versus 6.00% for 2026). An anti-arbitrage rule limits this: if you move assets out of crypto and back within three months around January 1, the higher rate for other assets still applies.

That noted, the crypto markets are famously volatile, so Dutch crypto holders may prefer to pay the tax on their crypto rather than risk missing a bullish move in the market.

For a typical investor not trading professionally, there is no tax deferral option (Box 3 taxation). If crypto prices fell during the year, check whether the counter-evidence rule gives you a lower tax bill. For Dutch taxpaying crypto traders, there is some ambivalence as to the applicable tax treatment. Generally, no year-over-year deferral is available if cryptocurrencies serve as cash or similar assets.

If you are actively and professionally trading and realizing crypto losses, you may be able to use these to offset other income for the purposes of Box 1 taxes.

Netherlands crypto tax can, at first glance, appear to be complex. That’s why we created TokenTax, a comprehensive crypto tax calculation software platform and a full-service crypto tax accounting firm.

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All income (gains) is included in the taxable profit calculation for taxpaying businesses in the Netherlands. This includes all types of income, whether investments, trading, staking, mining, and/or rewards.

For 2026, Dutch companies pay corporate income tax of 19% on the first €200,000 of taxable profit and 25.8% on profit above that.

Dutch corporate taxpayers' tokens received from staking or mining cryptocurrency are subject to corporate income tax based on their market value upon receipt.