Dutch income tax for newcomers: boxes, 2026 rates and your first tax return

Dutch income tax sorts income into three "boxes", each with its own rules:

• Box 1: income from work and home ownership. Salary, profit from a business, benefits and pensions, and your own home. In 2026, for people below state-pension age, the rates are 35.75% up to €38,883, 37.56% from €38,883 to €78,426 and 49.50% above that. The first-bracket rate includes national insurance contributions.
• Box 2: income from a substantial interest, such as dividends from a company in which you hold a large share. It has its own rates.
• Box 3: savings and investments. Tax is based on an assumed (deemed) return on your assets, not on what you actually earned; see below.

Tax credits (heffingskortingen) reduce the tax you pay. The two most important for employees are the general tax credit (up to €3,115 in 2026) and the labour tax credit (up to €5,685 in 2026); both become smaller at higher incomes. Your employer usually applies them through wage tax.

You must file if the Tax Administration sends you a letter inviting you to (aangiftebrief). If you get no letter, check it yourself: log in to Mijn Belastingdienst, fill in the return completely, but do not send it yet. For the 2025 return, the Tax Administration said:

• if you have to pay €58 or more, file as soon as possible and before 14 July, to avoid a fine;
• if you get €19 or more back, send it so you receive your refund;
• if you receive income-related support such as benefits (toeslagen) and you have assets above the stated limit, file anyway.

You can file online between 1 March and 1 May. The return must arrive before the date in your letter, which is usually 1 May. If you need more time, request a postponement (uitstel) before that date; you then get four extra months, usually until 1 September. Interest is usually charged if you have tax to pay after a postponement.

If you file late, you first get a reminder and then a demand; after that you can be fined.

The year you arrive is special: part of the year you were not a resident. You can file this online: in Mijn Belastingdienst choose the income tax return for taxpayers who lived outside the Netherlands for part of the year. If you cannot or do not want to file online, request the paper M form (M-biljet, migration). Entrepreneurs filing on paper also complete the M annual report.

You usually hear from the Tax Administration within three months of filing, either a letter or a provisional assessment. Legally it has three years to set the final assessment; for example, the final assessment for 2025 must be imposed by 31 December 2028, plus any postponement.

For 2026 the Tax Administration uses your assets and debts on 1 January 2026:

• Tax-free allowance (heffingsvrij vermogen): €59,357 per person, €118,714 for tax partners.
• Deemed returns used for the provisional 2026 calculation: 1.28% on bank balances, 6.00% on investments and other assets, and 2.70% on debts, after a debt threshold of €3,800 per person.
• Tax rate: 36% of the resulting benefit.

After court rulings you can also report your actual return if it was lower than the deemed return; in that calculation no tax-free allowance applies. The Tax Administration has a form and examples for this.

If you expect to pay or receive tax, for example because of a mortgage, self-employment or box 3 assets, the Tax Administration can issue a provisional assessment (voorlopige aanslag) for the current year so you pay or receive amounts in monthly instalments. You can request or change one in Mijn Belastingdienst.

• Expat scheme (30% facility): if you were recruited from abroad, your employer may pay part of your salary tax-free. See the guide on the 30% ruling.
• Allowances (toeslagen) such as healthcare and rent benefit are calculated from your income for the year; your tax data is used for the final calculation.
• Social security: if you live in the Netherlands you are usually automatically covered by national insurance schemes. In some situations you can ask the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) for an exemption.