As mentioned in the article in the Financieel Dagblad of Friday, January 11, 2024 Spaarders betalen hogere box 3-heffing na definitieve belastingaanslag (fd.nl), all savers have noticed that interest rates have risen sharply over the past year. At the beginning of last year, we hardly received any interest on our savings account, now it is easy to get 1.5% or even more in interest payments.
Savers have of course been able to benefit from the recent rise in interest rates. But beware, the Tax and Customs Administration also wants a piece of the cake.
In the provisional assessment for 2023, the Tax and Customs Administration still assumed an interest rate of 0.36% for savings balances, on which 32% tax ultimately had to be paid. Just for the idea, € 100,000 taxable savings balance then costs about € 115.
In the end, the taxable return that the Tax and Customs Administration assumes in the 2023 tax return will almost certainly be 0.92%, so more than two and a half times as much. The total tax amount is then approximately €294 for a taxable savings balance of €100,000. So that will be € 179 more. In addition, the Tax and Customs Administration does not distinguish between a balance in a savings account and a balance in a current account. So the Tax and Customs Administration is also holding up its hand on the balances on the current accounts, while the account holder has hardly received any return on them. It is to be expected that many more lawsuits will follow in this regard. But in that respect, the Tax and Customs Administration is used to something, shall we say.
It can also be expected that the Box 3 tax to be paid on the balances on the current and savings accounts in the final assessment will again be higher than the amount in the provisional assessment for 2024. This is because the average interest rate in 2024 is likely to be higher than it was in 2023.
Looking at the actions of the Tax and Customs Administration, it still looks unjust behaviour, for which the Supreme Court rebuffed the Tax and Customs Administration in 2021. At that time, the Tax and Customs Administration made it even more colorful by taxing the balances on the current and savings accounts at a relatively high return equal to the assumed investment returns. And that too at a time when the interest rate on savings was virtually nil.
With the unjustified overcharging of the balances on the current accounts, a feeling of non-confidence still prevails.
According to the government, from the year 2027 onwards, the intention is to take into account the actual return made on savings and current accounts. This will also apply to the realized investment returns, by the way. So please be patient.