- Dutch lawmakers passed a 36% tax on actual returns, requiring investors to pay annually on unrealised gains (market value increases) even if they haven’t sold their crypto.
- The reform, set for January 1, 2028, replaces the current “assumed return” system with a model that taxes yearly changes in value alongside traditional income.
- Critics warn the law could create liquidity pressure, forcing holders of volatile assets to sell positions just to cover tax bills on “paper” profits.
Dutch lawmakers have passed a 36% tax on unrealised gains on crypto trading and investments.
The new capital gain tax refers to a proposed overhaul of the country’s Box 3 wealth-tax system that would tax yearly investment returns, including annual changes in market value, at a flat 36% rate.
The reform is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2028, but it still requires approval by the Dutch Senate to become law.
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36% Capital Gains Crypto Tax
It’s a bit complex, but it basically goes like this: In the Netherlands, there is a tax category called Box 3 for savings and investments. Crypto is treated as part of Box 3, alongside things like cash savings and stocks.
Right now, the government doesn’t wait to see what investors actually earned. It looks at how much their crypto (and other Box 3 assets) is worth on January 1 (2028), then uses a “made-up” (assumed) return to calculate taxable income. You pay 36% tax on that assumed return, even if you didn’t sell anything and even if your investments didn’t really go up that much.
Now, instead of using an assumed return, it would tax their “actual return” each year at a flat 36% rate. For crypto, “actual return” would include not only things like income from assets, but also the change in value over the year. That means if their crypto portfolio is worth more at the end of the year than it was at the start, that increase could be taxed even if they never sold.
However, critics have warned that taxing paper gains could create liquidity pressure, particularly for volatile assets such as crypto, if taxpayers owe tax after a year-end rally but do not have cash to pay without selling holdings.
Though some supporters and some analysts (very few) have described the bill as a response to court rulings against the prior fictitious-return approach and the need to stabilise Box 3 revenue.
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