This post is also available in:
Nederlands (Dutch)
You could be eligible for a tax refund if your tax burden fluctuated strongly over a consecutive period of three years.
Did you have a highly variable income spread over three consecutive years? Then you probably pay more tax than if you receive that income evenly over a year. You can then qualify for the so called averaging scheme (“middeling”).
With averaging you calculate your average income over 3 consecutive calendar years. This is the averaging period. You then calculate how much tax you have to pay per year. Are the new tax amounts lower than those of the previous attacks? Then you may be entitled to a refund.
For whom is averaging meant? Here are a number of example situations:
You got a permanent job after your graduation and you had a part-time job besides your studies.
You received a severance payment (‘golden handshake’) and then a WW benefit.
You have started or stopped working in recent years.
You work as a freelancer or as an entrepreneur.
You have taken unpaid leave (for example for a sabbatical).
You started working part-time.
Are you a foreign taxpayer in one or more of the relevant three years. Then the following applies to the averaging arrangement.
From tax year 2015
You may use the averaging arrangement if you are a qualifying non-resident taxpayer (no longer a choice).
Tax years 2014 and earlier
You may use the averaging arrangement if you have opted for the resident taxpayer as a foreign taxpayer. Or if you earn 90% or more of your total income (worldwide income) in the Netherlands.
We can take care of the entire procedure for averaging. In addition, we can assist you in drawing up your income tax returns.
