Filing an income tax return is not everybody’s hobby, but it could earn you money.
Migration
Migration is the moment you move your fiscal residency from one country to the other. Your fiscal residence is determined by your central point of life. For single tax residents the central point is determined by their employment. For a couple it is determine by facts and circumstances about the location of the family.
Migration can be you arriving into the Netherlands, immigration. Or you departing from the Netherlands, emigration.
Tax back in migration income tax return
The migration income tax return (M return) can yield you a tax refund, but actually it is not always a tax refund. For instance, if you live 3 months or 10 months in the Netherlands, 42% tax over EUR 20.000 will always remain the same amount.
The money is most of the time in the social premiums. The social premiums are gapped per year and pro rata per month. For instance, you leave the Netherlands on January 31 and you receive € 50.000 due to bonuses, commission, holiday pay, holidays that need to have been settled. Your employer could have processed this in such a way that you pay income tax and social premiums over the full amount, being € 16.646. When you file the M return you will find that you can have a € 6.548 refund (2014 details), if your employer actually withheld EUR 16.646 wage tax and social premiums.
The aforementioned example is a random example every tax payer has its own specific circumstances and details.
Tax back non working spouse
It is possible that your M return does not result in a refund, but that you have a non working spouse. By completing the tax return and meeting certain requirements such as minimal income and period of time your spouse was in the Netherlands, he or she can have a non working spouse refund.
Non working spouse bank account
In order for the non working spouse to receive the refund, a bank account should exist in name of the non working spouse or a joint account where the name of the non working spouse is being mentioned. If that is not the case, the tax office will not make the payment.
The thought behind the non working spouse refund and the reason for the change of the previous system is to make the non working spouse situation independent from the partner. By the working partner collecting the non working spouse refund, we are in the same place before all the changes in the system took place to prevent this. Hence the name demand.
Migrant income tax return is the bridge to change your tax status
If you are working and living in the Netherlands and you own a house in the Netherlands, then you are a resident tax payer and you file a regular tax return (P return). The moment you move abroad, you are in the year of moving a migrant. Hence you complete an M return.
The following year you are a non resident tax payer for the house you own in the Netherlands. Real estate is only taxed in the country where it is situated. Hence you need to file a non resident tax return (C return).
From being a resident tax payer to a non resident tax payer you file the forms. P – M – C. The other way around C – M – P . You cannot change your tax status without the M in the middle, unless you made a registration error in the past. You can be a non resident tax payer before you arrive in the Netherlands when you have employment in the Netherlands or own already real estate in the Netherlands.
How does the tax office know about the migration income tax return?
Crucial in obtaining the correct migration income tax return is your registration with city hall. If you arrive you need to report yourself immediately and then also your BSN number (Dutch tax number) is being issued. If you leave, it is important to deregister yourself with city hall shortly before you physically exit the Netherlands. You can only deregister yourself in person.
In the deregistration procedure the most important item without a doubt is your new address. Your new address is the address the Dutch tax office will communicate with. If you do not provide such an address, you cannot file any tax return, as the tax office puts everything on hold until your address details are known. On hold except of course when the tax office is collecting money. That will continue and without an address will cost you more and more collecting costs.
Free traffic within the EU by EU citizens
Even though EU citizens have the right to work and move around within the EU without any obligations or restrictions, that implies you can be a resident in the Netherlands and work in the Netherlands without being registered in the Netherlands.
That implies in case of no BSN number that the max amount of tax is withheld by your employer without credits. With BSN number (due to previous visits for instance) this implies your employer withheld wage tax without for you the possibility to claim any back if the employer withheld too much. In other words, the EU rights are a good thing, but not practical when living and working in the Netherlands.
Orange Tax Services
We work with fixed fees for filing your income tax return. We will be glad to complete your tax return, your tax partner is included in our fee. Contact us for more information.
