Crypto tax in 2026: what has changed in the Netherlands?

For crypto investors in the Netherlands, tax year 2026 brings a series of changes: a lower deemed return than first proposed, a higher tax-free allowance, a new threshold in box 2 and the start of European reporting by crypto service providers. This article sets out what changed and looks ahead to the planned shift towards taxing actual returns. Most of the changes feed straight into the return covering 2026, which you will file in early 2027.

The deemed return: from a proposed 7.78% back to 6.00%

Crypto sits in box 3 under other assets and is taxed there on a deemed return rather than on actual gains; how that levy is calculated, with a worked example, is set out in Crypto in box 3. For the investments-and-other-assets category, that deemed percentage is 6.00% in 2026, after 6.04% in 2024 and 5.88% in 2025.

The figure nearly came out much higher. On Budget Day in September 2025, the government proposed raising it to 7.78% in the 2026 Tax Plan. The House of Representatives reversed that increase by amendment in November 2025, which is why the final rate stands at 6.00%.

A higher allowance, an unchanged rate

The tax-free allowance in box 3 rises to 59,357 euro per person in 2026; fiscal partners keep 118,714 euro out of scope between them. The rate itself stays at 36%. That works out at 2.16% on assets above the allowance. The worked example is set out in Crypto in box 3.

Investing through a company: box 2 and corporate income tax

For investors who hold crypto in a Dutch private limited company (bv), the main change sits in box 2. The lower bracket now runs up to 68,843 euro: dividends up to that amount are taxed at 24.5%, anything above it at 31%. Corporate income tax is unchanged, at 19% on profits up to and including 200,000 euro and 25.8% beyond that. Which route works out better in your situation is weighed up in Investing in crypto through your bv or privately.

DAC8: your crypto platform now reports to the tax authorities

The most structural change comes from Brussels. Under Directive (EU) 2023/2226, better known as DAC8, crypto service providers must report information on their clients and transactions to the tax authorities from 1 January 2026, and those authorities exchange the data across the EU. The obligation rests with the provider, not with you as an investor. The Dutch tax authority does, however, gain systematic visibility of crypto holdings for the first time. The Dutch tax return has also carried a separate tick box for crypto holdings since the return covering 2025.

Where things stand: counter-evidence and actual returns

Investors whose real return fell short of the deemed percentage can submit counter-evidence. That scheme entered into force on 19 July 2025 (Staatsblad 2025, 196) and has been part of the standard tax return since the return covering 2025; a separate request is no longer required.

The more fundamental reform is the bill on taxing actual returns in box 3 (Wet werkelijk rendement box 3). The House of Representatives adopted it on 12 February 2026, but the bill has since stalled in the Senate. After the plenary debate of 30 June 2026 the Senate postponed its vote until an announced novelle, a separate bill that amends the original, has been dealt with. That novelle goes to the House of Representatives on Budget Day 2026. The intended start date is still 1 January 2028, but the parliamentary process and the announced amendments make that date uncertain. Until then, the current deemed-return system remains in place.

What this means for you

For most private crypto investors, the 2026 return will feel familiar: report the value on 1 January, deduct the allowance, pay 36% on the deemed return. What changes is mainly what happens around the return: the tax authority receives data from service providers under DAC8, and parliament is working on a system based on real results. A broader overview of all tax topics is available in our guide Crypto and tax in the Netherlands.