Late tax returns doubled compared to last year; 197,000 people missed deadline

The number of Netherlands residents who missed the deadline to file their tax returns nearly doubled compared to last year. This year, 197,000 people did not file their tax return by May 1, compared to around 100,000 last year, the Tax Authority confirmed to NOS.

Steef Cobben, the income tax manager at the Tax Authority, has no explanation for the increase. There are more people that need to file a return this year than last - the number fluctuates - but that only accounts for part of the increase.

Tax officers are approaching people by phone and text to find out why they failed to file their returns. “Some people say: I completely forgot about it, or I didn’t have time,” Cobben told the broadcasters.

Others said they were unable to do so due to a complicated situation in their life. “Think of a divorce, for example. Then it can be complicated to file the return,” Cobben said. “We then invite them to our offices, and we help them fill in the return and, together with the people, we look at how we can submit it in the right way.”

According to Cobben, about 60 percent of the people the Tax Authority reached out to have since filed their returns. The tax office hopes to have contacted everyone by the end of August.

After the May 1 deadline, people who haven’t filed their tax returns got a reminder. “Then you have a few weeks to respond. If that doesn’t happen, we will send a slightly less friendly reminder. Then too, they still have weeks to submit the declaration.” If they still don’t, the Tax Authority will eventually estimate their income and tax them based on that, plus a penalty of 385 euros.