Personal income tax for crypto assets

The Dutch Tax Authorities qualify bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as ‘other assets’. Therefore, they fall into box 3 (savings and investments) of the Dutch personal income tax system.

People that are considered to be tax residents in the Netherlands need to report their crypto asset possessions according the following standards:

• The reference date for capital yield tax is the value of the asset on January 1st of the respective year. So for 2017, the value for bitcoin on the first of January was just below one thousand dollars. One should note that for 2017, this model is very attractive, as the value of bitcoin and other coins was really low. However, it will also apply if coins are worth a lot on January first and significantly lose value throughout the year.
• A portion of personal assets is exempted from tax. For individuals, this equals the first €25,000, for fiscal partners €50,000.
• The basis for levying tax is the assets minus the exempted amount. They are taxed at 30% based on a certain fictitious return:
• Up to €75,000: fictitious return of 2,87% * 30% = 0,86%
• Between €75,001 and €975,000: fictitious return of 4,6% * 30% = 1,38%
• Amounts exceeding €975,000: fictitious return of 5,39% *30% = 1,62%
• Example, if someone has €120,000 worth of assets, the basis for levying tax is €120,000 – €25,000 = €95,000 euros. The amount of tax will be (€75,000 * 0,86) + (€20,000 * 1,38) = €921