6 tips for your 2025 personal tax return

Under the current system, your savings and investments (box 3) are taxed at an assumed rate. This isn’t your actual return, but a flat rate applied by the Dutch and Tax Customs Administration. In 2025, the assumed rate of return on investments and other assets is 5.88% and 1.44% on savings.  
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has ruled that this system is unfair: as your actual return may be lower than the assumed return, you may end up paying too much tax. 

Before new legislation takes effect, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration allows you to declare the actual return on your savings and investments in box 3 if that rate is lower than the assumed rate. This is known as the ‘tegenbewijsregeling’. 

If you’ve overpaid tax in past years, you can use this scheme to claim a refund. Here’s how it works: 

• The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration will write to you if you qualify for the scheme. 
• You must respond to that letter within 12 weeks. If your bookkeeper prepares your income tax return, you have 26 weeks to respond. 
• In either case, you must use the ‘Submit Actual Return’ (Opgaaf Werkelijk Rendement) form. The form was uploaded to Mijn Belastingdienst at the beginning of July and can be used to show that your actual return is lower than the assumed return. Wait until you receive a letter from the Tax and Customs Administration before sending the form.

Tip: the Tax and Customs Administration has put together a checklist to help you to complete the form. 

The assumed rate of return on investments and other assets is set to increase from 5.88% to 7.78% in 2026. It’s therefore a good idea to check whether you can reduce your tax liability in box 3. There are different ways you can do this. Here a few ideas:

• If you have children aged over 18, consider giving them a gift. In 2025, you may gift up to €6,713 tax-free per child. 
• Make regular donations to charity. Regular donations to charity are tax-deductible, subject to certain terms and conditions.
• Pay off small debts. These are debts up to a maximum of €3,800 (if you have no tax partner) or €7,600 (if you do have a tax partner). Amounts above €3,800 and €7,600 respectively are tax-deductible.
• Make an extra repayment on your mortgage. 
• Make tax-deductible deposits into an annuity account.

If your income fluctuates due to losing your job, a sabbatical or a bonus, you can use the income tax average scheme to take an average of your earnings over the previous three years. You’ll then pay tax on the average. 

The scheme was scrapped in 2023, but you can still apply it to your income in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 tax years. Once you receive your final income tax assessment for 2024, you can check whether you qualify for the scheme and how much you can save. 

If the Tax and Customs Administration didn’t invite you to file a tax return in 2020, you may have overpaid tax in that year. You can file a return until 31 December 2025 and claim a tax refund. 

There are many situations in which you can claim a refund, such as: 

• if you worked only part of the year 
• if you have children aged under 12 
• if you have had significant healthcare expenses. 

On 1 July 2026, a new law may take effect allowing you to withdraw 10% of your pension capital or annuity capital in one go. This is known as a ‘lump sum’ withdrawal. How you spend this money is up to you, but there are a few conditions you need to be aware of. Our advisers would be happy to tell you more. 

Important: you can’t take out a lump sum if you are set to receive pension benefits before 1 July 2026 (the effective date of the law). As a result, you may be better off delaying your pension payout. Be sure to check whether this applies to you. 

If you pay into an annuity account, you can deduct this deposit from your taxable income in box 1. This means you can save tax while putting aside income for later. You may only deduct payments made in 2025 from your 2025 return. 

• Until you withdraw your annuity, you pay no tax on the returns earned from your annuity. This means you can save up to 49.5% tax on your deposits in 2025. 
• In 2025, the margin for deducting your annuity premiums is as follows: 
• Annual margin: you can deduct up to 30% of your premium basis. The premium basis is your income minus the portion on which you will receive your state pension later. The amount you can deduct is capped at €35,798. 
• Reserve margin: if you didn’t use all your annual margin from the previous ten years, you can still use this margin and put up to €42,108 toward your pension.
• Extra years of accrual: you can continue paying tax-deductible premiums for up to five years after reaching state pension age. If you continue to work after state pension age, you’ll therefore also continue to build up a pension.

If you’re accessing care under the Dutch Long-Term Care Act (Wlz) 

If you lower your tax liability in box 3, this may reduce your personal contribution. 

• Gifts on paper in 2025
• Declaring Bitcoin and other crypto assets on your tax return