The Netherlands Ministry of Finance has announced a delay in the planned reform of Box 3 taxation pertaining to taxable income from savings and investments on 13 December 2024.

Originally scheduled for implementation on 1 January 2027, the tax reform changes are now postponed until 2028.

In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal redress offered in Box 3 was insufficient. As a result, additional redress work is required, which makes the introduction of a new Box 3 system impossible as of 2027. This postponement also has budgetary consequences. To absorb these, the flat rate for other assets in the current Box 3 system will be increased as of 2026, and the tax-free allowance will be reduced.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal redress offered in June of this year has both financial and implementation consequences. In recent times, it has therefore first been investigated whether a system based on actual return can still be introduced as of 2027. For example, it was investigated whether it is possible to introduce the new Box 3 system in stages. The investigation has shown that such an intermediate variant is complex for both taxpayers and the Tax Authorities.

The Council of State has also expressed a number of objections in the recently published advice on the new system. This advice is currently being studied and possible options are being weighed. A system based on actual return is still the starting point for this cabinet. The aim is to introduce a new system as of 2028.

The government prefers to provide clarity to taxpayers so that they are not confronted alternately with different forms of Box 3 tax. Therefore, it has been decided to maintain the current system with a counter-evidence scheme for at least one more year i.e., until 2027.

The postponement of the new system without adjustments to the current system does mean an additional loss of approximately EUR 2.5 billion in 2027. The starting point for the government is to absorb this as much as possible within Box 3.