Once your company is established, several administrative steps must be completed. We support you with:

  • Bookkeeping and VAT return procedures, with clear and practical guidelines.
  • Payroll setup, including Wages Tax returns, and assistance with required employee documents and contracts.
  • Scope assessment to determine whether a compulsory collective labor agreement (CLA) or company pension scheme applies to your business.
  • Preparation of annual financial statements.
  • Corporate Income Tax returns.
  • Ongoing tax-efficient structuring of employee benefits and bonus schemes.

If the Tax Office issues you with a tax form or letter to request you to do so, this will have to be filed in any case.

tax return necessary

If you do not receive a letter, but you have to pay additional tax on your income or assets, you are also obliged to file a tax return. Obviously if you are entitled to a refund, it is in your own interest to file one. For a regular domestic tax return the deadline is May 1st.

This year again we have heard of tax payers who received a letter from the Dutch tax authorities mentioning that they did not need to submit a tax return, although in their particular situation it would have been either mandatory to file a tax return, or they were entitled to a refund. Particularly the situation of someone living abroad owning Dutch real estate, we regularly see that no tax returns were issued or filed. As property is always taxable in the country where it is located, it is important that a tax return is filed, also in view of avoiding later corrections with penalties and interest. Furthermore the Tax Office in the main is not aware of your possible tax deductions. We therefore advise to have your refund possibilities checked.

The Tax Office has also mentioned that some details in the prefilled tax return may be incorrect, such as the life annuity premiums. It is always important to check the figures with the underlying documents. By the way, any electronic messages you receive from the Tax Office (Berichtenbox) are still also sent by regular mail.

For our clients, we request a continuous authorisation from the Tax Office instead of the annual authorizations.

activation code

This may of course be canceled at any time again. If you receive a letter with a code for this authorisation, please forward it to us so that we can activate this in the system if you are happy with this. This authorisation is required, among other things, to receive copies of tax assessments from the Tax Office in our software program. However, we would still like to receive copies of the paper assessments you receive so that these are checked timely and appeal can be made, if necessary. If you have not received an invitation to file a tax return but receive one later in the year, please inform us. For these tax returns, we will need to request a separate extension for submission.

If applicable, please also provide us with information about your crypto currencies for the tax return 2024

crypto currencies

Crypto currencies are part of the assets and it is mandatory to declare this in Box 3. We need the value per 1-1-2024 and 31-12-2024. Even if you have not specified your crypto currency in previous years, it is wise to correct this on your own initiative. The same counts for any other undeclared foreign items. We can assist you in this too. The tax authorities have been authorized themselves to check what cryptocurrencies a taxpayer has. This is stated in a new EU directive on data exchange. If it is not possible to view the historic value of your crypto currencies, please ensure you take a screenshot of your portfolio on the 1st of January each year.

With the new tax interest rules, from July 1st 2025 the Tax Office will charge interest on tax debts for the 2024 tax return.

legal interest on tax amounts

This interest amounts to 6,5% for the Income Tax and 9% for Corporate Income Tax. If you expect a high tax assessment and you want to avoid paying high interest, please contact us to request a provisional assessment. To prevent interest, the provisional assessments will have to be requested before April 1st.

If you own any cash money as per 1st of January 2024 that exceeds the threshold of € 653,– (€1.306,– for fiscal partners), it must be declared in box 3. For 2024, this is mentioned in asset category 1, which means it is taxed at the same rate as bank accounts.

cash in box 3

As in the 2023 tax return, your assets are in principle subject to the fictitious box 3 levy in 2024.

changes box 3 tax

Bank deposits are taxed at a low rate, while other assets are taxed at a higher rate. The assumed income is 1,44% on bank deposits and 6,04% on other assets. Additionally, debts are only taken into account with a negative return of 2,47%. The tax-free allowance is calculated at a weighted average rate. This fictitious return on your assets is then taxed at 36% in box 3.

On June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the current fictitious taxation still violates the European Convention on Human Rights. As a result, the Tax Authorities are developing an option to tax your actual Box 3 return if it is lower than the fictitious income on your assets. The actual return also includes capital gains. Later this year, a form will be released, allowing taxpayers to report their actual return to the Tax Office if this is advantageous.

The Supreme Court has set the following calculation rules for determining actual return:

  • Direct returns (such as interest, dividends, and rental income) are taxed in the year they are received.
  • Capital gains on assets such as shares or real estate, whether realized or unrealized, are taxable. For an investment portfolio, an overview of all purchases and sales throughout the year is required to determine capital gains.
  • Losses, such as stock price declines or real estate devaluation, whether realized or unrealized, can be deducted from the actual return.
  • The WOZ value must be used for changes in real estate value.
  • Losses cannot be carried forward or offset against other years.
  • Expenses are not deductible, except for interest paid on debts.
  • There is no consideration for a tax-free allowance or income.

To benefit from taxation based on actual return, you as a taxpayer must demonstrate that your actual return is lower than the deemed return.

In many cases, however, a more favourable calculation will not be possible. If, for example, a large investment portfolio has had significant capital gain, or the WOZ value has substantially increased, taxation based on actual return will generally not be more beneficial. In such cases, it is not necessary to document all income in detail. Of course, we are available for consultation on this matter.

We use Secudoc to guarantee the safe transfer of larger files and documents.

secure file transfer

If you want to send your files via Secudoc, please send us a request by email. You will then receive an email with a link that leads to the Secudoc upload page. After you upload your files, we can download your uploaded files only by using two-step verification. This provision is especially practical with a larger number of attachments or large files that cannot be sent in one e-mail.

Entrepreneurs can apply for the small business and/or starters deductions and research and development deduction.

facilities for entrepreneurs

To be considered for these deductions, you will have to work as an entrepreneur for at least 1.225 hours a year. In case you have a part time employment besides your own business, more hours need to be spent on your enterprise than the part time job. If it is not altogether clear that you make the required number of hours, then make sure you register the hours related to your business. The Tax Office may request an overview of the hours worked; a summary prepared after the end of the year is not accepted, as it is usually not sufficiently accurate.

The investment deductions, SME profit exemption as well as the depreciation facilities are also possible without the hours criterion. For the energy and environmental facilities, as well as the RDA (research and development) you have to make an application before the expense is made. For more information about thresholds, ceilings and criteria, please contact us.

The following deductions are available in the 2024 Income Tax return to reduce your taxable income:

tax deductions 2024
  • mortgage interest of your first residence (owner-occupied home)
  • life annuity premiums (if deposited before 1st July 2024)
  • non-reimbursed health care expenses (including medical assistance, prescribed medication and travel expenses for hospital visits)
  • financial obligations to ex-spouse i.e. in the form of alimony
  • gifts or donations to recognized charities (refer to the ANBI list)
  • travel expenses for regular commuting by public transport
  • weekend expenses for taking care of disabled relatives
  • Please note that for some of the tax deductions a threshold or other conditions may apply. The expenses may therefore not be fully deductible. If you incurred expenses that may qualify, please do not hesitate to contact us.