neurotic

I'm just wondering if any of you can help (again...) as my Dutch experience has finished. I would like to file a tax return for this period, because I spent some money on public transport which my employer didn't support in any way. I was told that I can reclaim this money from the state if I do my tax return. I phoned at the time asking how I could do this, and I was told I could do it from March. So I phoned in March, and I was told that I can do my tax return for these online. The guy on the phone told me I can request an online username and password and it is their preference that I do it online as opposed to a paper "C-form". It looked good, I received my username and password and I could log in fine with them.

However, when I entered the dates of when and where I lived, it told me I cannot submit my tax return this way because I was resident in the Netherlands for a part of 2018 and I will need an M-form. I just requested this using their online order form, all I needed to enter was my postal address. But, I'm now afraid that it will be more complicated than doing it online. Their website also says it is only available in Dutch. So my questions are, have you ever filled in such a thing? Was it complicated?

I'm very confused why I was told by the Belastingdienst agent that a C-form and online should be fine, and then why the online form itself disagrees. I'm thinking about phoning them and asking them but I'm afraid of further confusion too.

I was also told that I have about 5 years to do it since I'm no longer a resident but the website says if I receive the M-form I should send it back for a particular deadline. What if I don't send it back, will I be in trouble after requesting it?

(Yes, all this for a few hundred euros lol)

SushiFan

I looked up what the M-form is meant to cover.
https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/w...ht/m-formulier
Reading the details at the page about the C-form I can understand why it does not apply to you: it is intended for people who have lived the entire calendar year 2018 outside the Netherlands.
This M-form is applicable to you because you lived only a portion of that year (2018) in the Netherlands.
It is possible that the form will be accompanied by a cover letter which contains a deadline, by which you must have returned it. However, if you can't meet the deadline, there is a possible to get an extension.

neurotic

Thanks! I heard about the extension was possible, but do I have to request it in Dutch?

Yes, everything pointed to that I would need an M-form, but when I phoned a couple of weeks ago to confirm this, I was told C-form online should be fine and I will be able to do it. Turns out I'm not and now I lost some time as well due to waiting for these envelopes to come through. I hope it won't be too complicated. I didn't own a home or anything in the Netherlands, I was just employed. Then I came back to the UK to employment too, so shouldn't be too complicated or time-consuming to fill it in?

SushiFan

From what I remember does the M-form look exactly identical to any normal annual tax form, with the same questions and same calculations. The only difference being that the M-form calculates everything on a pro-rate format, because you were only a part of the year in the Netherlands instead of the entire year.
If you have the data at hand which you need to fill out your form (e.g. income received, taxes withheld, deductions) you should be ready with it within one day.
What could be helpful (but not tried by me) is to use the online tax form in English and compare that to the M-form which you have received. Most likely will you recognize many commonalities and it could help you with language issues. Maybe even the numbering and sequencing of questions could be identical.

neurotic

That sounds great and manageable, I do have all my payslips so should be fine. Thanks for the useful tips, I just hope it arrives soon now!

Red_Wine_Fairy

It might be worth finding a Dutch bookkeeper to do it for you. I've never heard of anyone who didn't get money back from the M-form, so that should more than cover the cost of having a professional do it for you, if necessary. If you google Aangifte inkomstenbelasting and/or Boekhouder, you should come up with some kind of rough list of them.

This is not a recommendation but this company has a guide to filling it out, in English.

neurotic

Yet another useable, helpful advice from you! You seem to be aware of many great things! Thanks a lot, will check this out. I hope the postie comes soon.

neurotic

So I started doing this on my own... Maybe I was a little ambitious but I thought my situation was so simple (employed for some months then left before the end of the year), I thought I could do it with the official guides available. Do you think I'm making a big mistake? I don't really want to pay someone to do it for me because what I'm due back will probably not even cover their costs, but obviously if I can get some money back then I wouldn't like to let it go.

There was no deadline on the letter this M form arrived with, apart from what the instruction booklet stated - that I have until 2024 (same as the Belastingdienst guy said on the phone last time). In theory, I can master financial Dutch by then I might need it, since there is a slight complication that actually I received all my wage slips in English so I'm not sure which term is which exactly in Dutch...

I mean I don't even know if the "loon" is meant to be given in gross or net? (Gross I would always think but there is a "+" sign on the form between the taxes and the salary amount in the last line?) And I don't know if "ingehouden loonheffing" on the tax form is the same as "combined income tax levy" on the wage slip?

I mean I have some questions like these which I don't expect any forum members to answer, but do you think it's OK to phone the Belastingdienst with these (once I collected all my questions of course)? I mean he was quite helpful the last time and he did say I could! I'm tempted to, but I'm a bit wary as I received confusing information from them before. Or can you recommend a kind of tax-language translator website, or something else that can help me, apart from the official guides? I wasn't a high-paid expat so I don't think I can afford the services of a professional accountant to do it for me but I'm obviously not smart enough/experienced for this so if you think I should just leave it, feel free to tell me to!

SushiFan

Sure! Call them.
Your company tried to be helpful in giving a an English language monthly payment slip. But for your M-form it would have been more convenient if they had given you a Dutch version. Then you would have been sure about the terminology used.

neurotic

Thanks for your reply! I thought the same - I appreciated the wage slips in English at the time but now I'm confused haha. Actually, if my workplace wanted to be really helpful, they could have just given me the tax break on my travel cost and then I wouldn't want to do an M form...!

At least the Dutch tax office have an English phone line to help me through this. I also think calling them is my best option but I will need to go through this first and write down all my questions. And if any of you in the meantime can recommend any website where there might be some more help / info available, I'm still open, thanks!

SushiFan

I did a quick Google search yesterday, but no Dutch language website showed up. Only agencies who are willing to fill out the form for you, in exchange for a fee.

calman014

This is one of the best known,,


https://www.taxback.com/en/netherlands/

neurotic

Looks useful, thanks!