Living in the Netherlands as an expat can be quite difficult if you don’t know which rules apply. For example, submitting your Dutch personal income tax return can be much more complicated depending on your situation. You can submit your 2024 Dutch personal income tax return from the 1st of March 2025.
First you have to decide which form to use. There are different kind of tax returns depending on your situation. The main ones are as follows:
Resident tax return (P-form): You will have to state your worldwide income and assets/debts in the tax return. If you have foreign income and assets/debts, the tax treaty between the Netherlands and the foreign country will determine if you need to apply for an avoidance of double taxation in your tax return.
Non resident tax return (C-form): If the Netherlands is not your fiscal residence, but you earn income or have assets/debts in the Netherlands, and these are taxable in the Netherlands, you fill this tax return.
Emigration tax return (M-form): If you come to or leave the Netherlands, you will have to fill in this tax return for that calendar year.
30% ruling
If you have a 30% ruling with a starting date before 1-1-2024, you are partial non resident tax payer for the Boxes 2 and 3. This means that you still fill out a P-form, but for the Boxes 2 and 3, you only state the income and assets/debts as if you were a non resident tax payer. This is highly beneficial because you don’t pay taxes over your savings/investments will living in the Netherlands. Additional properties in the Netherlands next to the primary residence in the Netherlands would still be taxed.
If your 30% ruling starts in 2024, it is likely that you immigrated to the Netherlands in 2024 and have to submit a M form. From tax year 2025, you will have to state your worldwide income and assets/debts in the tax return.
Individuals, who work at an international organization and have a BO or AO status, are still partial non resident tax payers for the Boxes 2 and 3.
After submitting the tax return
After you have submitted your tax return, you can usually expect a preliminary tax assessment within 3 months. This tax assessment is most of the time in line with the submitted tax return. Should the tax assessment not be in line with the tax return, you wait for the final tax assessment to make an objection.
Preliminary tax assessment
If you expect to pay taxes, you can request a preliminary tax assessment on time. On time, that is, within 6 months after the end of the tax year, the tax assessment is imposed. The purpose of requesting for la provisional tax assessment when you have an amount due is to avoid or save tax interest. If you do not apply for a provisional assessment on time, you will have to pay tax interest amounting to 7.5% on annual basis.
As you can see it can be quite difficult to prepare a Dutch tax return. If you are looking for assistance, we are happy to help you!
Author: Kavita Sewkaransing, Wecountancy Expat Services