This information is relevant for taxpayers who were taxed in the Netherlands on their savings and investments, box 3 income, in previous years.
In the individual income tax returns for the years up to and including 2024, the tax on box 3 income was levied based on an assumed return on investment. After various proceedings, the Supreme Court has ruled that the taxable amount must be calculated based on the actual return on investment because the method of assumed interest can result in unfair taxation, especially if the actual return is lower than the assumed one.
To enable taxpayers to report the actual return on investment, the Dutch tax authorities has sent 33,000 letters to the first group of taxpayers to submit the actual return on investment. Unfortunately, this letter contains incorrect information, and the taxpayers will receive a new letter from the tax authorities around 1 August 2025. Once the taxpayers received the revised letter, they must fill in the “Actual Return Form” and submit this online via the following link: https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/en/income-in-box-3/income-in-box-3
Once the procedure with the first group of taxpayers has been initiated correctly, the tax authorities will also send the letter to other (group of) taxpayers, including instructions on completing and submitting the “Actual Return Form”. That will probably take a little longer now. The bill for the Box 3 Actual Return Act has been submitted on 19 May 2025. If this is approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the new law will replace the current law as on 1 January 2028.
