When you file your Dutch tax return there is a deadline to be met. The same for the VAT return, wage tax return and corporate income tax return. Which deadline has the tax office to meet in this respect?
The income tax return penalty for not filing in time is EUR 226 the first time, EUR 984 the second time and rocketeers on. The penalty for not filing the corporate income tax return in time is the first time EUR 2.460 and the next time EUR 4.920. It is therefore worthwhile to keep an eye on the deadlines and to meet them.
So you did your best with the one or two month deadline, but then you do not receive any response from the tax office. Not in the first couple of weeks, not in the first couple of months, it can even be years. Is this fair? Maybe not, but this is how it goes.
The tax office has the obligation to respond to the tax return within a three year period. Until that time you do not have any leverage to make them respond earlier. The tax office aims to respond in one year time, but if that is not possible, then there are no consequences as they are still within the three year time line. This three year time line will change next year to a two year time line.
What can you do? The most important thing to do is to check if the tax return has been received. That counts for the personal and corporate income tax return. The wage tax and value added tax return is done digitally and you can see, when you log on, if it has been received. But the other previously mentioned returns are send in digitally as well, but it is possible that either are not well received by the tax office. So a problem with the internet sending or the wrong type of tax return has been filed. In both cases you are not informed, but the system simply states ‘no return received’. The result can be a penalty for filing late.
The M form is send in by regular mail, regular mail is like digital mail, it is not always received. So be certain is has been received and then you have to sit and wait. Nothing that can be done to postpone the process.
There is one moment the tax office has committed itself to respond much more quickly and that is the April 1 deadline. If you file your annual income tax return before April 1 of the following year, the tax office committed itself to process this return before July 1. Our experience is that the tax office meets up with their promise. If you would like to file your tax return before April first, then please contact us not later than the first week of March, and we help you realize this wish.
