This way you get the most out of your tax return | ten tips

Fortunately, most of it has already been filled in online by the tax authorities, but it is recommended to check it carefully. That’s why ten tips for 2022. That prevents a lot of annoyance and stress.

Be on time

To start with: you can file a tax return from March 1 and you must do it before May 1. Incidentally, it is good to know that it is not the case that whoever submits the tax return first will receive the answer first. However, those who submit the declaration before 1 April will be notified before 1 July. Anyone who is unable or unwilling to file a tax return after 1 May must request a postponement before that time.

Trust is good, control is better

Although the Tax and Customs Administration fills in as much as possible in advance: do not blindly sign it. Check whether everything is in order. And if not too much has changed, take out last year’s tax return. Make sure you have everything you need together. The Tax and Customs Administration has a checklist on the website with matters such as: annual statements from 2022, annual overview of bank accounts, WOZ value of your own home, details of loans and debts.

Fill in, do not send

You can also fill in a tax return ‘for a test’ on Mijn Belastingdienst. As long as you do not send the data, you will not file a final declaration. And if you do press the button to get bogged down, you can reclaim tax up to five years later. In 2023, this is therefore possible for the years 2018 up to and including 2022. But please note: this does not apply to the apportionment of the joint income and deductible items that you have with your tax partner. You can only adjust this within 6 weeks after the date of the final assessment. After that no more.

And then always applies: in case of doubt or questions, contact the Tax and Customs Administration. You can also make an appointment with them to complete it together. So the website of the Tax and Customs Administration is important: everything is listed pretty well there.

DigiD

Make sure all login codes are ready and correct. Please note if you have lost your password: if you have not entered an email address, you will receive a letter with the new password, but that can only take five days.

Of course you can also ask for help from family, friends or social organizations, such as libraries and trade unions. Employees are also ready to help you via the social media channels and the Tax Information Line. And of course you can submit questions to De Telegraaf’s tax consultation hour, which will take place on Tuesday 14 March.

A warning to mention: be careful with third parties who offer help and do not just hand over your DigiD. That’s really private. Incidentally, the DigiD login page must work… It was out all morning on the first day of the declaration.

You can also still file the declaration on paper. Then you have to fill in the entire form again. Anyone who has a change can still notify us by letter.

Slide deductions

If you have a tax partner, you may apportion the deductible items as favorably as possible. Wealth expert René Bruel of ABN Amro indicates in any case that most deductible items such as mortgage interest, alimony paid, deductible donations and special healthcare costs yield more tax benefits with an income in box 1 that is lower than € 70,000. Bruel: “Tax partners with an unevenly distributed income can benefit from this by placing the deductible item in the tax return with the partner with the lowest income.”

Mortgage interest deduction

This is how you have the mortgage interest deduction. This is often where the most benefit can be achieved, experts also say. You must meet a number of requirements: for example, the mortgage or loan must really only have been taken out to buy a house, or for renovation or maintenance. You can also use it to buy off ground lease, for example, which you often have in Amsterdam. In addition, you must pay off the loan each year with a certain amount – as agreed with the mortgage lender. This is important, because if you fall behind in repayments, for example, and have a so-called payment arrears, you have to make up for it the following year.

And please note: if you inadvertently have a payment arrears due to, for example, an incorrect calculation, you can still correct that error for two years and thus use this deductible item. An example: in 2022 you have fallen behind due to an unintentional error. If you have rectified this error before 1 January 2025 and made the payment as agreed, you may continue to deduct the interest.

Incidentally, the maximum rate at which you can deduct this mortgage interest has been falling for a number of years. In 2022 this was still 40%, in 2023 it will be 36.93%. You will only notice this reduction if your income is higher than that rate, so with an annual income of more than €73,031 to be precise. It is interesting to take a good look – if you have a tax partner – who has the highest income. But that transfer of posts is not possible with everything.

Alimony? New partner can benefit

Unfortunately, the number of divorces is still on the rise. Wealth expert Bruel says: “Alimony can also involve substantial deductions, over which a difference of about 3% can arise. Ironic then is the (stereotypical) example of the man who has left his wife for his secretary twenty years his junior and pays his ex alimony. That alimony paid can – provided they are tax partners – yield more benefits in the tax return of the new girlfriend than in their own tax return.”

Healthcare costs

Another significant cost item is healthcare. Being sick is expensive. So it’s nice if you can deduct costs from taxes. There are conditions attached to this: you may not deduct expenses that are reimbursed, and you may only deduct them in the year in which you paid them. So not later. A tip for healthcare costs for those who have a tax partner: both incomes are taken into account, so that the deduction may be lower. You can therefore fill in the declaration twice. Then you know for sure what is the cheapest.

Box 3: smart sharing

According to René Bruel of ABN Amro, ‘the smart distribution of box 3 assets between tax partners – depending on the asset mix – can save tens to thousands of euros in box 3 tax from a certain asset size.’ But what falls under this asset: current and savings accounts, cash, investments, holiday home or a house that you rent out, money that you have lent, debts, but also your credit card balance from € 3200. But also, for example, your share in the pot of the association of owners, if you share it together from your own home. Of course you have an exemption, the tax-free allowance: that is €50,650 per person and if you are a tax partner, that counts twice.

Box 3 (part 2): choose cheaply

And then of course we have the box 3 problem that was so much hassle. The Tax and Customs Administration assumes that you save part of the part above your tax-free allowance and invest the rest. And a fictitious return is calculated on this part, which is again 31% (in 2022). For example, if you have more than €101,300 to €1,101,300, you must take into account that a notional return of 4.37% is used.

Difference with the old situation, because the Supreme Court no longer agrees that a notional return may be used as standard, so there is a bridging law. This is based on your actual assets, which are divided into three groups: savings, other assets and debts. Per group there is a percentage that is calculated and when all percentages are added up, 31% is calculated. This is explained on the website of the Tax and Customs Administration. For now, you can choose the method that is most beneficial to you.

Then you have something like an averaging arrangement that has since been abolished. According to expert Bruel, you can still benefit from this between 2022-2024. “If you have a strongly fluctuating income in box 1, then ‘averaging’ your income in a consecutive period of 3 tax years can yield a tax refund, provided that (part of) the income was taxed at the top rate in any year, while in one or two other years there was still room in the lower tax bracket.”

Questions for our experts? Submit it before March 14th via email address: office [email protected] . On that day, a selection of experts will be ready to give personal advice by e-mail.