Rent vs Buy

Box 3, the 2028 reform: our position

This page carries this site's opinion on the Dutch Box 3 wealth tax and the reform planned for 2028, along with links to the campaigns organising against it. The calculator itself takes no position; it just runs the numbers.

For the factual background (what Box 3 is, why it is being reformed, how the deemed-return, actual-return and realised-gains regimes differ, and why it tilts the rent-vs-buy decision), see the Box 3 2028 reform guide. You can test every claim yourself in the Netherlands calculator using the Box 3 regime selector. Adjust the inputs to your own situation rather than trusting a pre-set scenario.

Our position

The following is the opinion of this site's author. The calculator and the guides are factual; this section is not.

We oppose the 2028 actual-return reform as drafted. Taxing unrealised gains annually penalises ordinary savers and long-horizon investors, disproportionately renters building wealth outside of housing, while leaving owner-occupied property in its lighter Box 1 treatment. We believe this deepens the existing tilt toward buying and adds further pressure to property prices, and that a conventional realization-based capital-gains tax would be fairer and less distortionary.

If you share this view, two campaigns are organising against it:

For the exact mechanics the calculator implements, see the methodology page. Tax rules are coded as of 2025 and the 2028 design is still subject to legislative change, so treat the projections as scenario analysis, not advice or a forecast.