The Dutch income tax law allows you to file your Dutch personal income tax return up to 5 years back. You however do need to file these years separately as you were filing them on time. It is not possible to file all the years at once in one tax return.

Which tax forms can be used to file your Dutch personal income tax return?

P-Form (individual resident tax form, worldwide income needs to be reported)

C-Form (individual non-resident tax form, Dutch source income needs to be reported only)

M-Form (individual migration tax form, both the information of a P-form as well as C-form needs to be reported)

O-Form (self-employed/business owner tax form)

F-Form (when someone passed away)

Important note:

While the Dutch tax residency position of an individual is reviewed based on facts and circumstances, the tax forms are issued by the Dutch tax authorities automatically based on municipality registration and records. This however does not mean that the Dutch tax authorities issued the correct tax form. Therefore, in some cases, a change of tax form is needed based on the actual position of a tax payer. A change of tax form can be applied with the Dutch tax authorities by writing a letter. Otherwise, the filed tax form will not be accepted by the Dutch tax authorities.

An individual’s place of residence for tax purposes depends on all facts and circumstances applicable to the personal situation. These facts and circumstances determine where the center of an individual’s personal and economic life (i.e. center of vital interest) is located. Different than other countries the registration, the nationality or day count rule is not applicable in the Netherlands. 

The most important criteria for the review are for example:

Where a permanent home is maintained;

Where the individual is working;

Where the individual’s family resides;

The intended length of stay in the Netherlands.

A combination of the above and other facts and circumstances will finally result in whether someone is a tax resident or tax non-resident of the Netherlands.

Important note:
The tax residency position is not the same as the migration residency position. If you are not sure about your tax residency position, than please contact us so we can advice you accordingly.

Possible deductions are:

- Mortgage interest and mortgage related expenses for a main residence

- Educational expenses (Dutch Language Course does not meet this criteria and can be filed only for tax years prior to 2022)

- Medical expenses (not reimbursed by the health insurance and exceeding the deductible part)

- Donations to registered Dutch Charity organizations

- Alimony payments to ex-partners

- Contributions to private Dutch pension scheme's (not the ones arranged by the employer)

To claim a tax deduction, the expenses should be paid by the taxpayer or his/her fiscal partner.
The expenses should be paid during the applicable tax year. The invoice date is not relevant.

Preliminary assessment (in Dutch: voorlopige aanslag)

The preliminary assessment is issued mostly automatically by the Dutch tax authorities based on the exact same details of your income tax return. This means that no review has taken place by the Dutch tax authorities. This is to speed up the payment process, whether you will receive taxes or need to pay taxes. This is also the moment that you will receive any possible refund. Very exceptionally the Dutch tax authorities can decide not to issue a preliminary assessment, but a final instead.

Final assessment (in Dutch: definitieve aanslag)

The final assessment is issued after your tax return has been reviewed by the Dutch tax authorities. If all details are correct and the Dutch tax authorities did not make any corrections, the final assessment will be in line with the preliminary assessment. The final assessment mostly results in EUR 0,- because the possible refund or possible tax payment happened at the time you received your preliminary assessment.