Taxes in the Netherlands

If you come to the Netherlands to live and work for a short or extended period of time you must obtain a Social Security number. From the moment that you are registered at the GBA (municipal personal records database) you can request a Social Security number from the Tax Office. You must personally apply for the Social Security number.

You may work in the Netherlands from the moment you have received your  Social Security number. Tax is of course liable on the income that you earn. If you are employed the wage tax is withheld by your employer. In addition to the wage taxes you have to file your income tax return with the Dutch tax authorities.

The first year that you are in the Netherlands is the immigration year. This means that an immigration tax declaration, called the M-form, must be handed in. If you did not receive the tax declaration form from the tax authorities you have to request the M-form yourself.

If you have the 30% ruling you can opt for ‘partial non-residency status’. You are then considered to be a non-resident tax payer in Box 2 and Box 3, even though you are living in the Netherlands. For Box 1 income you are considered a resident tax payer, therefore you do not pay income tax on assets in Box 2 and 3 (except for real estate located in the Netherlands and substantial shareholding in a Dutch company.
After you have filed your Dutch income tax return you will receive a (preliminary) tax assessment.
The (preliminary) assessment is a letter stating the amount of tax you must pay or will receive from the Dutch tax authorities. If you do not agree with the (preliminary) assessment you can file an objection to the assessment.

Deferral of the tax return
If you know that you will not succeed in filing your tax return before April 1st we can ask the Dutch tax authorities for a deferral for filing the Dutch tax return. If you receive the extension for filing your income tax return, you also have an extension for the request of different allowances, such as the healthcare, rental or childcare allowances.

Next month we will delve deeper into the filing of the tax return, buying a house in the Netherlands and self-employment.