The Dutch government has abandoned a plan that would have taxed Bitcoin investors on gains they never cashed out, proposing instead to tax crypto and other investment returns only upon realization from 2028.

In a letter dated September 29, 2026, Prime Minister Rob Jetten and Finance Minister Eelco Heinen formally dropped the earlier approach, which would have applied a 36% tax to annual returns on liquid assets, including paper profits that existed only on the balance sheet. The letter framed the shift around building a tax system that supports investment without penalizing unrealized appreciation.

What was the original Box 3 plan?

The dispute centers on Box 3, the section of the Dutch tax code covering wealth, including liquid assets such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The government had spent years reforming it through the Actual Return in Box 3 Act.

That legislation cleared its first major hurdle in February 2026, when it gained prior approval. Its core mechanism was a 36% tax on actual returns from liquid assets — a design that would have swept in unrealized gains, taxing investors on appreciation they had not converted to cash.

Investors and business groups pushed back hard. Their objections focused on liquidity and the risk of forced sales: a taxpayer holding volatile assets such as Bitcoin could face a substantial tax bill on paper gains without holding the euros to pay it, pressuring them to sell into weak markets to settle the liability.

The government's decision to walk back a plan that had already secured approval in February 2026 signals that this backlash carried real weight in The Hague.

How are crypto assets taxed right now?

Crypto assets remain under Box 3 and are taxed on a deemed-return basis rather than actual gains. For 2026, the deemed return on liquid assets is set at 6.00%, taxed at a rate of 36%.

Because the realization-based system only takes effect in 2028, the deemed-return framework remains the reference point for Dutch crypto holders through at least 2027. Ongoing parliamentary discussions are expected to clarify the taxation timeline for crypto assets, which may follow a different path than conventional financial instruments.

What does the reversal cost?

The reversal carries a fiscal price. The projected revenue impact of the reforms is estimated at €15 billion through 2035, and the government has signaled it may partially offset that gap by lowering the tax-free threshold.

That fallback creates a second-order consequence for retail investors. If lawmakers cut the tax-free allowance to recover part of the €15 billion shortfall, smaller investors who currently sit below the line could become liable for Box 3 tax for the first time — trading an unrealized-gains regime for a broader tax base.

What happens next?

The proposal still has to survive the Dutch legislative process, and implementation remains under parliamentary review. The practical deadline for investors is structural rather than immediate: nothing changes until 2028, when realization-based taxation is slated to replace the deemed-return system, and the final shape of the tax-free threshold — the variable that determines how many new taxpayers enter Box 3 — will emerge as the bill moves through parliament.