The Dutch tax office announced that the deadline for the 2014 income tax filing has been postponed from April 1 to May 1. Is this a good thing?
The initial response if of course yes. But when you read more about the consequence, it could very well be a No.
May 1 new Dutch income tax deadline
The consequence of meeting the newly set deadline of May 1, implies that the tax office is also not obliged to pay back a tax refund before July 1. That implies the old rule ‘ Filed before April 1, refund paid before July 1’ only stands indeed for tax returns filed before April 1. That does not apply to the May 1 deadline.
In case you need to pay income tax you might tend to appreciate the tax office not issuing an income tax assessment before July 1, if you filed before May 1, but this appreciation could have consequences. The consequence being that the tax office then is entitled to process the income tax return in a max period of three years. This is in 2015 reduced to two years, and the tax office indicates that they hope to process the tax return in one year. Getting an assessment, to be paid in six weeks time upon receipt of the assessment, one or two years later, implies you pay interest over the period it took longer to get the assessment. The interest percentage you pay is not a percentage you can receive yourself on a savings account.
Moreover, it is very well possible that you have filed your follow-up year tax return in time and then you could have the situation of receiving two assessments of two consecutive years at the same time. This could imply a blow to your liquidity position.
April 1 old Dutch income tax deadline still applicable
We therefore recommend filing the income tax return in time and for our clients that have this wish and provide the details for the tax return in time, we honor this wish by filing before April 1.
Extension in filing personal income tax return
Extension in filing obligation in filing your income tax return can be requested for. However, this extension is only granted if you met the restrictions set to such extension in the past. If you have not filed the income tax return during the period of the extension in the past, for instance 2012 and or 2013, then you cannot apply for an extension in filing the 2014 income tax return late.
