If you have assets in Box 3, you pay income tax annually on the value of your assets less any debts. To escape this capital gains tax, consider investing in a holiday home abroad. This is because you will not pay tax in the Netherlands on your foreign home.

The flat rate of return as of 1 January 2017

In Box 3, your income from savings and investments is taxed. This is actually a wealth tax in disguise. Your net assets are deemed to produce income and are therefore taxed. The actual return on your assets is not taken into account. Your return is based on the average distribution of box 3 assets between savings and investments (asset mix), combined with a past market return on these components. The assets are also divided over three tranches. The idea behind this is that you benefit more over your assets if the assets are larger. Therefore, a higher percentage is used at each subsequent wealth bracket to calculate the (notional) benefit. Then, this (flat-rate) income is taxed at 30%.Verplaatsing heffing naar een ander land

If you want to escape this annual capital gains tax, then looking abroad is definitely worthwhile. For example, you might consider investing in a holiday home abroad. This is because in cross-border situations, taxation on property is always assigned to the country where it is located. However, you should include the property in your Dutch income tax return. In the same tax return, you will then request avoidance of double taxation.