If you move your residency from or to the Netherlands, you will be asked to file the M Form or migration income tax return. What is that about?
M Form
Your Dutch tax residency starts when you arrive in the Netherlands and stops when you move your central point of live out of the Netherlands. This process is monitored by the Dutch tax office via the City hall registrations.
If you register with city hall, chance is you will be invited to file a tax return. And that you can be excited about, as if you were employed, your employer can only assume you were be a tax resident the full year, so most likely too much tax was withheld, which you can claim back using the M Form.
If you deregister from city hall, the same applies, also most likely a refund. A fun from to file, or is it?
M Form – do it yourself
If you obtained your digital ID, then you can log on to the website of the tax office and there the tax office set ready your tax return. Your google translate will show you that the tax office only asks you to press YES.
But mind the small print.
Of course you disregards the small print as that is all yaba yaba in Dutch, and you feel a happy bunny having filed your own first tax return yourself.
But then…some weeks later you receive a message stating that the tax return your filed was the incorrect tax return. So you did exactly as you were told, and still it is wrong. That is because you cannot file the M form digitally and with the letter you are send two 86 page in full Dutch booklets for you to complete.
What was the small print about?
The small print states that the tax office has indeed set ready for you the tax return, but that it is your responsibility to make sure the correct form is filed and all details have been included. If you hold the 30% ruling, the tax office included too much details. If you do not hold the 30% ruling, are your world wide assets included? Probably not.
Can the tax office issue a penalty for using their tax return and it still being incorrect? Yes they can.
M Form – have us do it for you
The M form is a technical form that cannot made less complex as it simply is a complex issue. You move country, you are taxed for a limited period. Social premiums are involved and your world wide assets are taxed for the period you were a resident. Double taxation is in place for foreign property and if conditions are met, your non working spouse can pro rata receive a refund.
Tax is exciting
The M form makes us smile as that is nearly always a very nice form to be completed as it results in a refund. Our fee to file that for a regular tax payer is EUR 390 incl VAT incl tax partner. If you are an entrepreneur our fee is EUR 550 ex VAT incl tax partner.
If you are an employee and you arrived some where around the middle of the calendar year in the Netherlands, chance is likely that your refund is easily exceeding our fee.
Sometimes the M Form is not simply something to claim tax back. If have the US nationality, you need to file a US tax return, regardless where you are a tax resident in the world. The local tax return is the basis of the US tax return. Then you need the M form regardless. If you need help with US tax returns, we can bring you in contact a very good US tax prep person.
