Somewhere, a Dutch civil servant decided income tax needed boxes, like the whole system was a house move. Dutch income tax splits everything you earn into three of them, each with its own rules, rates, and personality. Most employees only ever deal with Box 1, which is also the only box our calculator covers, but knowing what the other two are for helps the whole system click instead of feeling like bureaucratic Tetris. Full overview on the Belastingdienst boxen en tarieven page, if you want it straight from the source.
| Box | Covers | Taxed on |
|---|---|---|
| Box 1 | Salary, business profit, owner-occupied home | Actual income, in three progressive bands |
| Box 2 | 5%+ shareholding (most commonly your own BV) | Dividends and capital gains from that shareholding |
| Box 3 | Savings, investments, a second home | A notional (assumed) return, not your actual return |
The three boxes, in one breath
Box 1 is your paycheck and your house. Box 2 is your company, if you happen to own a meaningful chunk of one. Box 3 is your savings and investments, taxed on what the government assumes you earned rather than what you actually did. Most people only ever live in Box 1, and that's exactly the box this site calculates.
Box 1 covers salary, business profit, benefits, and the notional rental value (eigenwoningforfait) of a home you own and live in, minus deductible mortgage interest. For 2026, Box 1 income is taxed in three bands:
The first band already bundles in social security contributions (27.65%), which is why it looks suspiciously low compared to the second band. It isn't a typo and it isn't a trick, the components are just combined differently across bands, the same way a "service included" restaurant bill looks cheaper on paper than one with tip added separately.
Box 2 applies if you own 5% or more of the shares in a company, most commonly your own BV. It covers dividends and capital gains from that shareholding, taxed at rates that are separate from, and generally lower at the margin than, the top of Box 1, though the exact bands shift from year to year. If this applies to you, it's genuinely worth a conversation with an accountant rather than a rule of thumb you half-remember from a borrel three years ago.
Box 3 covers savings, investments, and a second home, taxed on a notional (assumed) return rather than your actual return in most cases, a system that has been repeatedly challenged in Dutch courts and has changed shape several times in recent years, somewhat like a renovation that never quite finishes. If you hold meaningful savings or investments outside a pension wrapper, check the current-year rules specifically, since this is the box most likely to look different from what you remember from last year's return.
tax-calculator.nl focuses on Box 1: salary, holiday allowance, the 30% ruling, overtime, pension contributions, and the tax credits that apply to employment income. If most of your income is a salary, Box 1 is where essentially all of your tax calculation happens. Box 2 and 3 only enter the picture if you also have a substantial shareholding or meaningful savings and investments outside that salary. Run your own numbers on the income calculator rather than estimating Box 1 by hand, or use the tax return calculator if you're reconciling a full year of Box 1 income against what your employer already withheld.
Worked example: Box 1 on €50,000
The first €38,883 is taxed at 8.10%: €3,150. The remaining €11,117 falls in the second band at 37.56%: €4,176. Total Box 1 tax before credits: €7,326, an effective rate of about 14.7% on the full €50,000, well below the 37.56% bracket rate most people quote, because only the income above €38,883 is taxed at that rate, and the algemene heffingskorting and arbeidskorting still come off this figure afterwards. See our tax credits guide for how much those actually take off.
This article reflects Dutch tax rules as of 2026. It is not tax advice, consult a qualified belastingadviseur for your specific situation.