No tax per sale
The Netherlands does not tax each sale or swap of crypto. Crypto counts as an asset in box 3, together with your savings, investments and other assets, minus debts. The tax is based on a deemed return on what you owned at the start of the year, not on the gains you actually made.
In exceptional cases, such as trading as a business, income can fall under box 1 instead. These guides cover box 3.
The 2026 figures
- Crypto counts as investments and other assets: deemed return 6.00%, already fixed for 2026.
- Bank savings: 1.28%, provisional until early 2027.
- Debts: 2.70%, provisional, above a threshold of €3,800 per person.
- Tax-free amount (heffingsvrij vermogen): €59,357 per person, €118,714 for fiscal partners.
- Rate: 36% on your box 3 income.
Example
You hold €100,000 of crypto on 1 January 2026 and nothing else. The deemed return is 6%: €6,000. After the tax-free amount, 40.64% of your assets is taxed, so your box 3 income is about €2,438 and the tax about €878, whether the price later rose or fell.
Staking and mining
The Belastingdienst's crypto page deals with what you hold on 1 January; it does not discuss staking or mining rewards. Rewards you still hold on 1 January count in box 3 like your other coins.