Foreign savings count the same as Dutch savings
If you live in the Netherlands, box 3 (the Dutch tax on savings and investments) counts your savings wherever they are held: at a Dutch bank, at Revolut or N26, at Trade Republic, or at a bank in your home country. The Belastingdienst asks you to state "de totale waarde ... van uw bank- en spaartegoeden en aandelen buiten Nederland op 1 januari" (the total value of your bank and savings balances and shares outside the Netherlands on 1 January), and to convert amounts in other currencies to euros (Belastingdienst, checked 5 Oct 2026).
Box 3 does not tax the interest you actually received. For 2026 it assumes a return of 1.28% on bank balances and 6.00% on investments and other assets, and taxes that assumed return at 36%, on what you own above the tax-free allowance of €59,357 per person (€118,714 for fiscal partners). The savings percentage is provisional until early 2027 (Belastingdienst, box 3 in 2026, checked 5 Oct 2026). Our box 3 guide works through an example.
Two things follow for a foreign account. A higher rate abroad does not raise your box 3 tax, because the tax is on the assumed return. And the balance on 1 January counts, not the interest during the year.
Is it a bank balance or an investment?
The category decides the assumed return (1.28% or 6.00% in 2026), so it matters what the product is:
- Savings accounts at Revolut, N26, bunq or a foreign bank are bank balances.
- Wise Interest is not: Wise says that when you turn it on "you're investing in units in a fund", and that your earnings are likely to be taxed in box 3 (Wise, checked 5 Oct 2026). Fund units are not a bank balance; check with the Belastingdienst or an adviser which category to use.
- Trade Republic holds cash at partner banks and, for higher balances, partly in liquidity funds (Trade Republic, checked 5 Oct 2026).
Nothing is taken off the interest abroad
These providers say they withhold no tax on interest for customers in the Netherlands, so the declaration is up to you:
- Trade Republic: "For customers outside of Germany, withholding taxes on interest are not applied", and "It's up to you to declare interest income in your tax return according to your local tax laws" (Trade Republic, checked 5 Oct 2026).
- Revolut: "Revolut doesn't withhold any tax on the return you earn on your Instant Access Savings" (Revolut help, checked 5 Oct 2026).
- N26: for Instant Savings accounts in the Netherlands and the other countries on that page, "taxes are not withheld" (N26 support, checked 5 Oct 2026).
Foreign accounts may not be pre-filled
The Belastingdienst fills in much of your return in advance, including "loon- en bankgegevens" (salary and bank details) it receives (Belastingdienst, checked 5 Oct 2026). Its help page for a missing account uses exactly this case as the example, "een spaarrekening in het buitenland" (a savings account abroad), and tells you what to do: under the last pre-filled account on the screen "Bank- en spaarrekeningen", answer "Ja" to "Had u nog een bankrekening?" and fill in the bank's name, the country, the account number and the balance (Belastingdienst, checked 5 Oct 2026).
So check every account against the pre-filled list, especially accounts at Trade Republic, N26, Wise or a bank back home, and the 1 January balance in the provider's annual statement.
The tax office hears about foreign accounts anyway
Under the Common Reporting Standard, countries exchange account information. The Belastingdienst: "we will receive information from foreign financial institutions if you are resident or established in the Netherlands" (Belastingdienst, CRS, checked 5 Oct 2026). Revolut's terms for its joint savings account state that Revolut must report details such as interest payments to the Dutch authorities (Revolut, checked 5 Oct 2026).
Leaving foreign savings out of your return is costly. If box 3 income is left out on purpose the penalty is 150% of the tax concealed, 75% for gross negligence, and up to 300% in aggravated cases (Belastingdienst, penalties, checked 5 Oct 2026). If you forgot an account in an earlier year, you can correct it yourself (inkeren) until you know, or could reasonably know, that the Belastingdienst suspects it; in some cases you then get no penalty or a lower one (Belastingdienst, inkeerregeling, checked 5 Oct 2026).
Where to keep your savings
Tax does not decide where the highest rate is: box 3 is the same on a Dutch or a foreign account. What differs is the deposit guarantee (see which country covers which bank) and the paperwork. Compare rates on this month's savings rates and every savings account we track.
This guide describes the rules; it is not tax advice for your situation. If your 30% ruling was already applied in December 2023 and you chose partial non-resident status, or you moved here or left during the year, different rules apply: see our 30% ruling guide.