Tax return in the Netherlands, what and how?

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on 18/02/2021 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensivesness.

In the Netherlands, completing your tax return (belastingaangifte) can be done as from the 1st of March. You can do this with the help of a tax advisor, or you can do it yourself online. How? We’ll explain the basics here!

The annual statement

Before the end of February, you will receive your 2021 annual statement (jaaropgave). This is an overview of your income obtained by your employer of the previous year. It highlights gross salary, tax and insurance contributions, and tax credits if applicable.

When you have worked for multiple employers or you switched jobs during the year, you’ll receive an annual statement from each of these employers.

Pre-filled tax declaration

The Dutch tax authorities (Belastingdienst) try to make your tax declaration as easy as possible for you. The majority of the data is pre-filled and if you haven’t bought a house or any other events as such that can be of influence on the tax calculation, basically all you have to do is to check the information in the system by comparing with your annual statement.

D.I.Y.  tax return in The Netherlands

Visit the website of Mijn Belastingdienst and login with your DigiD. You need to have a DigiD to be able to login to any Dutch governmental website. When you logged in, click on ‘Inkomstenbelasting’, and open the form of 2021.

Look at your annual statement and highlight the following:

• Gross salary (fiscaal loon)
• Tax & insurance contributions (loonheffing)
• Tax credits (arbeidskorting) if applicable

Go through all the steps and questions, and check whether the pre-filled data is correct and matches the numbers on your annual statement. The tax office will also prefill or ask for your bank account balance in 2021. 

When you have reached the end, please thoroughly check the summary. You will then see a quote of your tax return or liability over 2021. When all data is correct, sign this form digitally with your DigiD. You will receive a response from the Belastingdienst via a letter in a blue envelope.  

Expats & their 30% tax benefit

Submitting the tax return (potentially leading to a refund of taxes), might be particularly interesting for expats, even if you already benefit from the 30% ruling. Situations (amongst others) in which you may expect a refund:

• You have not worked in the Netherlands for the entire year;
• You live in the Netherlands with your fiscal partner, who has no or significantly less income than yourself (non-working partners for example)
• You have a child who is living with you and who is younger than 12 on January 1st provided that certain conditions are met
• You have a principal residence for which you pay mortgage interest
• You have educational expenses
• You have medical expenses (be aware of the threshold)
• You traveled from home to work by public transportation over a single distance of more than 10 km and the costs were not reimbursed
• You are a non-resident taxpayer of the Netherlands and you had foreign workdays

Pay attention: your worldwide income characteristics may influence your taxability level in the Netherlands. 

Deadline for your tax declaration

The deadline for your tax declaration is the 31st of May 2022, and you most likely will have a response before July 1st, 2022. However, you can request postponement until September 2022. Unfortunately, the pre-filled system is only available in Dutch. When you are not comfortable completing the declaration yourself, we are happy to connect you to a trusted tax advisor!