DEGIRO Review for Expats in the Netherlands 2026

Quick answer: You can invest through DEGIRO once you live in the Netherlands, have a BSN and hold a SEPA bank account in your own name (Wise cannot be linked). Under the Dutch fee schedule of 1 January 2026, a share trade on Euronext Amsterdam costs €3, on NASDAQ or NYSE €2, and an ETF trade in the Kernselectie on Tradegate €1; currency, connectivity or external product and spread costs may apply. In your arrival year, Box 3 uses your assets on 1 January, counted only for the whole months you were resident. If you leave the Netherlands later, tell DEGIRO within 30 days and ask how your account continues in your new country. Investing involves risk of loss.

When you have just moved to the Netherlands, the questions about investing come all at once: when you can open a broker account, what to do with the portfolio you left at home, how Dutch tax works in a year you only lived here for part of, and what happens to the account if you move on. This review answers them for DEGIRO, an execution-only broker that carries out your orders without giving investment advice. Neither do we. DEGIRO says it has more than 3 million investors across Europe (DEGIRO Product Brief, September 2026), and its platform and app work in English.

Fees come from DEGIRO’s Dutch fee schedule (Tarievenoverzicht, rates from 1 January 2026); account and tax details from DEGIRO’s Dutch help pages and the Belastingdienst. All were checked on 25 September 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the current versions before you act.

DEGIRO at a glance

For the Kernselectie and every other line in this table, currency or external product and spread costs may apply.

Opening an account when you have just arrived

Get the order right

DEGIRO requires you to be 18 or older, to hold a valid identity document and a SEPA bank account in your own name, and to be both a tax resident and a physical resident of a country it accepts. It also asks for your tax identification number, which for a Dutch tax resident is the BSN; DEGIRO has to report your tax residence to the Belastingdienst under the CRS and FATCA rules. For most newcomers that sets the order:

1. Register at your municipality. You receive your BSN after registration. Our BSN registration guide explains the appointment and the typical waiting time.
2. Open a bank account in your own name. Some Dutch banks let you start before your BSN arrives; see how to open a Dutch bank account without a BSN.
3. Register with DEGIRO once you have both.

What the registration asks for

Registration only works in the DEGIRO app. Besides your personal and bank details, DEGIRO asks for your tax identification number, occupation, geo-location, a selfie and a photo of a valid passport or EU identity card. A driving licence does not work, so non-EU citizens register with their passport. DEGIRO also advises against using a VPN, and suggests setting your phone to the same language as the app if the geo-location step fails.

As a bank, DEGIRO also has to follow Dutch anti-money-laundering rules (the Wwft). It says this may mean questions about where your money comes from, which is worth expecting if you are bringing savings over from abroad.

Your bank account: own name, SEPA, and not Wise

You can only deposit from a bank account you have linked to DEGIRO, and every linked account must be in your own name. DEGIRO does not accept business accounts or e-money providers, and it says it cannot link an account held at an institution that keeps client money in an omnibus account, naming Wise as an example.

You can change your primary linked account only three times in 12 months, which matters if you expect to switch banks early on.

Getting money in

Deposits must be in euros, the base currency for Dutch residents. Dutch DEGIRO accounts support iDEAL: no DEGIRO fee, money usually available within half an hour, up to €50,000 per deposit. A SEPA transfer has no DEGIRO limit but can take a few working days unless your bank offers SEPA Instant. Accounts registered in other countries may not have iDEAL.

Savings in another currency need converting to euros first. A transfer service such as Wise is one way; compare its rate and fees with your bank’s for the amount you plan to move. Since a Wise account cannot be linked to DEGIRO, send the euros to your own bank account and deposit from there.

DEGIRO does not offer automatic investing, so you place every order yourself. You can automate the deposit with a recurring transfer from your bank.

Choosing an account profile

New clients choose between Basic, Active, Trader and Day Trader, which differ in the products and features available; some require an appropriateness test and sufficient knowledge and experience. Custody is no longer offered to new clients; only existing Custody accounts remain. And securities lending is opt-in: DEGIRO says lending out your securities always requires your explicit consent, a requirement set by the regulator, so it is not switched on by default for any profile. If you consider opting in, read the terms. Investing involves risk of loss. Borrowers may not act in your interest.

What DEGIRO costs in 2026

Most trades cost a commission that depends on the exchange plus a €1 handling fee for third-party costs such as clearing and settlement. Older reviews that add a percentage describe a structure that no longer applies.

Source: DEGIRO Tarievenoverzicht, rates from 1 January 2026; checked 25 September 2026. Currency, connectivity or external product and spread costs may apply. Transaction taxes are passed on for some products and exchanges.

The renewed ETF Kernselectie. The ETF Kernselectie (ETF Core Selection) now covers the full range of ETFs, ETCs and ETNs available on Tradegate, more than 1,000 products, which you can trade for a €1 handling fee per transaction without commission. Currency or external product and spread costs may apply. There is no exchange connectivity fee for the Kernselectie, and the Fair Use Policy that used to limit it has been dropped. Buy the same ETF on another exchange and you pay the regular ETF rate of €3 per trade.

Exchange connectivity fee. €2.50 per exchange per calendar year, capped at 0.25% of your account value. For Dutch accounts it does not apply to Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Brussels, OTC Tradias or the Kernselectie.

Currency. If you buy a product in another currency, such as a US share in dollars, DEGIRO converts through AutoFX by default at 0.25%, built into the buy and sell price. A manual conversion costs €10 plus 0.25%. Currency fluctuations can impact your returns.

What DEGIRO does not charge. There are no fees for depositing, withdrawing, inactivity or custody. Transaction fees and currency, connectivity or external product and spread costs may apply. Specific custody or external product fees may apply for certain instruments where offered. See DEGIRO’s Fee Schedule.

Other costs. Transfers in and dividend processing cost nothing. Transferring out costs €20 per position plus external costs, and orders through the order desk carry a €10 surcharge. ETFs and funds have their own ongoing costs, set by the fund provider.

Frequent trading. Low order costs make it tempting to trade often. Buying and selling back and forth, together with the spread on every trade, can eat into your returns, even when each order looks cheap.

Three worked examples

These examples use only the fees above. They leave out spreads, the ongoing costs of the product itself and taxes, so real costs are higher. Currency, connectivity or external product and spread costs may apply. The products are placeholders to show how the fees work. This is not investment advice, and investing involves risk of loss.

€500 a month into a euro ETF

Say you put €500 into the same euro-denominated ETF every month, so 12 purchases and €6,000 a year.

On €6,000 of purchases that is 0.2%, 0.6% and about 0.64% respectively. Two things to check before you rely on this: whether the product you are looking at is available on Tradegate, and what spread you see there compared with the other exchange at the moment you trade. Remember that you place each of the 12 orders yourself.

Bringing €20,000 over from abroad

Say you arrive with savings in another currency and want to invest €20,000.

• Conversion happens before DEGIRO. Deposits must be in euros, so the currency cost sits with your bank or transfer service, not with DEGIRO. Compare the all-in rate for the full amount.
• Route. Converted money goes to your own Dutch or other SEPA bank account first, then to DEGIRO by iDEAL (up to €50,000 per deposit) or bank transfer.
• Order costs. Buying one Kernselectie ETF costs €1; splitting the money over four Kernselectie ETFs costs €4. Four Euronext Amsterdam shares would cost €12. Currency or external product and spread costs may apply.
• Questions to expect. DEGIRO may ask where the money comes from, as part of its anti-money-laundering checks.
• Box 3. €20,000 on its own is below the €59,357 tax-free allowance, but Box 3 looks at all your assets together, including savings and accounts abroad. See the Box 3 section below.

An occasional US share

Say you buy €1,000 of a share listed on NASDAQ, for the first time this calendar year.

Selling later costs another €2 plus about 0.25% on the conversion back to euros. A second NASDAQ purchase in the same calendar year costs about €4.50, because the connectivity fee is not charged twice. Dividends from US shares are subject to US withholding tax; see the W-8BEN section below. Currency fluctuations can impact your returns.

The investments you already have at home

Moving them to DEGIRO

DEGIRO charges nothing for an incoming portfolio transfer: you open the account, send its transfer form, and DEGIRO contacts your current provider. That provider may charge, and DEGIRO does not reimburse it.

Only positions that DEGIRO offers can come across; OTC positions, for example, cannot. DEGIRO aims to finish within three weeks but says it can take longer than a month.

US-listed ETFs are a separate case. DEGIRO explains that since 2 January 2018 several foreign, mostly American, ETFs cannot be bought on its platform because documentation required under European rules is missing, a restriction that applies to all banks and brokers in Europe. Holding and selling them is still possible; ask DEGIRO whether it can accept a specific position by transfer.

Leaving them where they are

Keeping your home account is an option, but check with your current broker whether it lets you keep the account once you have moved abroad, and on what terms. Keeping it there does not keep it out of Dutch tax: as a Dutch resident, your accounts abroad count in Box 3 too.

What to find out before you decide

This is a framework, not a recommendation. This is not investment advice.

• Costs on both sides: what your current provider charges for an outgoing transfer, account fees or foreign clients, and what DEGIRO charges to trade those positions afterwards.
• Tax in both countries: selling to move cash may be a taxable event where you lived when you sold, and the rules differ per country. A tax adviser who knows both systems can tell you what the timing means.
• Tradability: whether the positions are available on DEGIRO at all, and on which exchange, since that determines the commission and connectivity fee.
• Currency: whether the holdings are in euros. If not, AutoFX applies on each trade, and currency fluctuations can impact your returns.

Box 3 in your first year

Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change. Please consult a tax adviser.

How Box 3 works, with 2026 figures

The Netherlands does not tax the actual gains on your portfolio in the usual way. Investments fall under Box 3, which taxes a deemed return on your net assets above a tax-free allowance. The Belastingdienst lists these figures for 2026:

• tax-free allowance (heffingsvrij vermogen): €59,357 per person;
• deemed return on investments and other assets: 6.00%;
• deemed return on bank balances: 1.28% (provisional);
• Box 3 tax rate: 36%.

Assets are valued on 1 January, the reference date. For a full year, a single person whose only asset is a portfolio of €100,000 on 1 January 2026 would have a deemed return of 6.00% on €40,643 (€100,000 minus €59,357), which is €2,439, taxed at 36%: about €878. Savings, debts and a fiscal partner all change the outcome. Our Box 3 guide covers the wider rules.

Your arrival year: counted per month

In the year you move here you file a migration return, the M form, online through Mijn Belastingdienst or on paper. The Belastingdienst’s explanatory notes to the M form describe the method: you take the value of your assets on 1 January of that year, work out the Box 3 benefit for the Dutch period as if it were a full year, and then multiply by the number of whole months of Dutch residence divided by 12. The month in which you move does not count. The Belastingdienst confirms that only the months of resident tax liability count for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

A simplified example with the 2026 figures: you arrive on 15 March 2026 and on 1 January 2026 you held €100,000 in investments, still in your home country at that point. The whole months of Dutch residence are April to December, so 9. The full-year benefit of €2,439 becomes €2,439 × 9/12 = about €1,829, and 36% of that is about €658.

Note that the 1 January value counts even though you did not live here yet, and that it includes accounts abroad.

If your actual return was lower

Following rulings by the Dutch Supreme Court, you can show that your actual return was lower than the deemed return, and then the actual return is taxed. From tax year 2025 you report this in the income tax return itself. The actual return includes price changes you have not sold, and costs are generally not deductible; the Belastingdienst uses whichever outcome is more favourable for you. DEGIRO does not calculate this return for you, but explains where to find the numbers in your account.

Will DEGIRO appear in your pre-filled return?

Do not count on it. DEGIRO says its annual statement (jaaroverzicht) is not an official document sent to the Belastingdienst, and that the Belastingdienst does not copy data about the linked flatex cash account into the pre-filled return. Check what has been filled in and add or correct your DEGIRO holdings yourself, using the annual statement DEGIRO usually uploads (Inbox, then Documents) in late February or early March. Our Dutch tax return checklist covers the rest.

The 30% ruling and partial non-resident status

Partial non-resident tax status, which 30% ruling holders could choose and which affected how Box 3 applied to them, was abolished on 1 January 2025. Expats who applied the 30% ruling before 2024 (at the latest in the last pay period of 2023) can keep it under transitional rules until the end of 2026. See our 30% ruling guide and ask a tax adviser whether it applies to you.

Tax in two countries

US persons cannot use DEGIRO

DEGIRO does not accept clients who count as a US person under IRS rules, wherever they live. On DEGIRO’s definition that includes people born in the United States, people with a US citizen parent (additional conditions apply), naturalised US citizens, current and former green card holders, and people who meet the IRS substantial presence test. They need a broker that accepts US persons; Interactive Brokers is one example, and it asks US persons to complete a W-9 form when applying. We are not recommending a specific broker.

Your home country may still want a return

Depending on your home country, you may still have to file a return there, for example for the year you left or for income from investments you kept. DEGIRO notes that you are generally tax resident in one country, although you can be taxable in several; the details depend on your home country and its tax treaty with the Netherlands. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change. Please consult a tax adviser.

Dividend tax and the W-8BEN form

Dutch companies withhold 15% dividend tax. As a Dutch resident you can offset Dutch dividend tax against your income tax in your return. Foreign dividend tax follows different rules.

On US dividends paid to non-US persons, the standard US withholding rate is 30%. The tax treaty between the Netherlands and the United States limits this to 15% for ordinary shareholdings. At DEGIRO you claim the treaty rate by completing the W-8BEN form online, under Tax Information in your profile, and DEGIRO asks you to renew it in the third year after you completed it.

One condition matters for expats. DEGIRO says the reduced rate only works if the country where you live, the country where you are tax resident and the country of your bank account are all the same. If you live here but your linked bank account is still in your home country, check this before you buy US shares.

ETFs work differently again, because the fund itself holds the underlying shares, and the fund’s domicile affects how dividend taxes are handled inside it. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change. Please consult a tax adviser.

If you leave the Netherlands again

Tell DEGIRO. Update your address under Personal Information in your profile. If the move changes your tax position, update your tax information as well; DEGIRO asks you to report a change in tax residence within 30 days.

Moving to another country on DEGIRO’s list. DEGIRO requires you to be a tax and physical resident of a country it accepts. If your new country is on that list, ask DEGIRO before the move how your account continues there and which fee schedule applies afterwards; fees and features can differ per country. iDEAL, for example, is tied to Dutch accounts.

On the Dutch help page, the accepted countries are 23 of the 27 EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Hungary, Croatia, Malta and Cyprus are not on it, and neither are, for example, the United Kingdom, Norway, the United States or Canada. Check the current list, because it can change.

Moving outside the list. DEGIRO’s conditions require you to be a tax and physical resident of an accepted country. If you are moving somewhere that is not on the list, ask DEGIRO what that means for your account before you leave. The two ways to take your investments with you are to sell and withdraw the money to your linked bank account, or to transfer the positions to another broker at €20 per position plus external costs.

Bank account and W-8BEN. If you close your Dutch bank account, link a new SEPA account in your own name first; DEGIRO verifies it through a small transfer within three working days. Keep the W-8BEN condition above in mind: residence, tax residence and bank account in the same country.

Box 3 in the year you leave. The same monthly calculation applies in reverse. In the Belastingdienst’s own example, someone who emigrates on 15 July counts 6 whole months of Dutch residence, and the month of departure does not count. Our leaving the Netherlands checklist covers deregistration and the rest.

Who DEGIRO fits, and who should look elsewhere

This is not a personal recommendation and not investment advice.

DEGIRO’s set-up lines up with people who make their own decisions, place a limited number of orders, and mostly trade euro ETFs through the Kernselectie or shares on Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels, where Dutch accounts pay no connectivity fee.

Look at other options if you:

• are a US person, because DEGIRO will not open an account;
• want interest on uninvested cash, because DEGIRO pays none (money market and overnight-rate ETFs exist, but they are investments with normal transaction costs and product risks);
• want a fixed amount invested automatically every month, because DEGIRO does not offer automatic investing;
• want advice or someone to manage the portfolio, because DEGIRO is execution-only;
• mainly trade outside the home markets, because commission, connectivity fees and currency conversion add up;
• expect to move to a country outside DEGIRO’s accepted list, because the account conditions require residence in an accepted country.

DEGIRO compared with other options

Expats often compare DEGIRO with Interactive Brokers, Trade Republic, Trading 212, eToro and Meesman. We do not list their fees, because we have not checked them against their official fee schedules for this update. Zero-commission apps charge no commission on many orders, but what you save in commission you may pay in spreads, currency conversion or through access to fewer exchanges. Fund managers such as Meesman work on a different model: you buy the manager’s own funds instead of placing orders on an exchange. Compare total costs for the trades you expect to make, using each provider’s current fee schedule. We compare DEGIRO in more detail in DEGIRO vs Trade Republic and Meesman vs DEGIRO.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Transparent per-order fees: €3 per share trade on Euronext Amsterdam and €2 on NASDAQ and NYSE. Currency, connectivity or external product and spread costs may apply.
• A broad range of instruments available across many exchanges.
• No connectivity fee on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels for Dutch accounts.
• Incoming portfolio transfers at no DEGIRO charge (your current provider may charge).
• Platform and app available in English.

Cons

• No interest on uninvested cash.
• No automatic investing.
• Email support can be slow, which DEGIRO acknowledges while saying it has improved; phone support runs on weekdays from 08:00 to 22:00, and there is no in-app chat.
• No extensive built-in portfolio analysis, although DEGIRO says it is working on more portfolio features.
• Wise and other e-money accounts cannot be linked.
• Extra costs outside the home exchanges.
• Not available to US persons.

Investing involves risk of loss. DEGIRO is an execution-only broker and does not provide investment advice.

Verdict

For expats who live here, have a BSN and a bank account in their own name, and make their own decisions, DEGIRO is a low-cost way to invest in shares and ETFs, with no connectivity fee for Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels on Dutch accounts and €1 per ETF trade in the Kernselectie on Tradegate. Currency, connectivity or external product and spread costs may apply. The account can come with you to another country DEGIRO accepts.

The limits: no interest on cash, no automatic investing, email support that can be slow, no accounts for US persons, and questions to settle if your next country is not on DEGIRO’s list. Whatever you choose, keep Box 3 in mind from your arrival year, including the 1 January value of what you held abroad.

Investing involves risk of loss. This is not investment advice.

Visit DEGIRO →

Related reading: Investing in the Netherlands as an Expat | How to invest as an expat in the Netherlands | Your first year in the Netherlands | Dutch Tax Return Checklist

External source: Belastingdienst: Box 3, independent information on how Box 3 is calculated.