Neobank savings accounts in Belgium: the real return

A savings account at Revolut, bunq or N26 pays less than it looks, because it is not regulated under Belgian law: interest takes a 30% withholding tax from the first euro. A Belgian regulated savings account exempts the first 1,020 euros of interest per person. At the same advertised rate, the net gap reaches 30%. Here is the full calculation, with 2026 figures.

Is a neobank savings account a regulated Belgian savings account?

No, and none of the three large neobanks available in Belgium pretends otherwise. bunq writes it on its own Belgian page: the account is governed by Dutch law and classified as an unregulated savings account under Belgian law, with no Key Saver Information document.

The distinction is not administrative, it is fiscal. A Belgian regulated savings account gets a favourable regime: the first 1,020 euros of interest per person per year escape tax entirely, and only the excess takes a reduced 15% withholding. That exempt amount stays frozen at 1,020 euros through income year 2030. An unregulated account falls under the ordinary regime for investment income: 30%, from the first cent, no floor and no ceiling.

In practice almost nobody catches the nuance, because apps show the gross annual rate in large type and the tax note at the bottom of the page. bunq and N26 are more transparent than average, publishing the net rate next to the gross one.

What do Revolut, bunq and N26 actually pay in 2026?

Gross rates run from 0.30% to 3.01% depending on the provider, the plan you pay for and the amount deposited, which gives net returns between 0.21% and 2.11% once the 30% is applied. None of these figures is locked in: all are variable and pegged to the European Central Bank deposit facility rate.

Revolut launched its Belgian savings account in August 2025 with a genuine technical argument: interest is calculated daily and paid out day by day, which no Belgian regulated account does. The rate depends on your subscription, from free Standard up to Ultra. bunq compounds weekly and pays interest up to 100,000 euros combined across your savings and term deposit accounts. N26 revised its grid on 11 June 2025 and keeps its best rate for the Metal plan.

Is the advertised neobank rate gross or net?

Always gross, unless stated otherwise. bunq and N26 publish both figures side by side, which is fair, but the marketing hook stays the gross number. Watch this detail: when you compare a neobank to your savings account at Belfius, KBC or Argenta, you are comparing a rate that will lose 30% against one that, nine times out of ten, will not be taxed at all. Those are not the same unit of measurement.

Does the bunq MassInterest bonus apply to all my savings?

No, and this is the most expensive subtlety of the product. The bonus rate of 3.01% gross only covers the share of your savings above a personal threshold equal to your highest balance over the previous six months. The threshold is recalculated on 1 January and 1 July. A brand new account starts from a zero threshold, so everything is bonused in the first period, then the threshold catches up with your balance and the bonus narrows to fresh money only.

Why does a Belgian regulated account pay more at the same rate?

Because the 1,020 euro exemption hands you exactly 30% more, net, than an unregulated account at the same advertised rate. The figure is mechanical, not cyclical.

Take 20,000 euros held for a year at 1.51%. At bunq that produces 302 euros of gross interest, of which 90.60 euros go to withholding tax: you keep 211.40 euros. On a Belgian regulated savings account advertising the same 1.51%, the 302 euros sit under the exempt ceiling, so you keep 302 euros. Same amount, same rate, 90.60 euros of difference in one year.

What that means for you: to beat a Belgian regulated account at 1.51%, a neobank has to advertise at least 2.16% gross. Below that it loses, however good the app is. And the exemption does not fill up fast: at 1.51%, you need roughly 67,500 euros on deposit to produce 1,020 euros of interest. The median saver in Belgium never gets there.

Who withholds the tax: the neobank or you?

It depends on the provider, and this difference is the real source of trouble. Revolut withholds the 30% before crediting interest to your account, under Belgian law, and its documentation states that no exception applies to this savings account. Since the withholding is final, you have nothing further to declare on that interest.

bunq says the opposite, just as plainly: it deducts nothing automatically and you are responsible for declaring your interest income in your annual return. A saver who assumes everything is settled at source is quietly building a tax debt. On 5,000 euros held for a year at 1.51%, the oversight is 22.65 euros, which is minor; on 60,000 euros over three years, it stops being minor.

Then there is the foreign account formality. An account opened outside Belgium is reported once to the Central Point of Contact at the National Bank, and ticked in your personal income tax return. bunq operates on a Dutch IBAN and N26 on a German one, so the obligation applies to both. Revolut has issued Belgian IBANs since 2025, which simplifies recent accounts but not older ones still on a Lithuanian IBAN.

Should you open a neobank savings account anyway?

Yes, in two specific cases, and no in every other. The first case is very short-term savings, money you know you will need in three or six months: the Belgian loyalty premium would be useless since you would withdraw before twelve months, so you may as well take a rate paid daily or weekly. The second case is the bunq MassInterest bonus on fresh money, at 3.01% gross or 2.107% net, which beats most Belgian regulated accounts as long as your personal threshold stays low.

For everything else, the emergency fund, the cash that simply sits, the deposit for a future property purchase, the Belgian regulated account keeps the arithmetic advantage. It is not more modern, it is just taxed less.

FAQ

These questions come up constantly among savers in Belgium tempted by the rates shown in their apps. To go further, compare cards and accounts with our comparison tool, read our Belgian neobank comparison, our bunq review and our Revolut review, or see how Sophie Laurent works on her author page.