Tax Authority sent 33,000 letters with wrong box 3 refund figures
The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration has sent out 33,000 letters containing incorrect amounts related to box 3 tax refunds, the agency confirmed on its website. The errors affect taxpayers who may be eligible for compensation due to having paid too much wealth tax since 2017.
The faulty letters were delivered on either July 16 or 17, or around July 24. They were intended to inform recipients about a possible refund based on actual rather than estimated returns on capital. According to the Tax Authority, one or more incorrect amounts were listed in the letters for the presumed income used in the tax calculation.
New letters with the corrected amounts are scheduled to arrive around August 1. Recipients affected by the error will also be granted extra time to submit their actual returns. The revised deadline will be included in the new correspondence.
The mistake is reportedly linked to the way fictitious returns were handled. In some cases, the Tax Authority had previously adjusted assessments downward following taxpayer requests. However, when preparing the most recent letters, the outdated fictitious return figures were allegedly mistakenly reused instead of the newer, corrected ones.
The current tax recovery campaign began more than two weeks ago and targets individuals who may have overpaid taxes on their assets since 2017. Under the current box 3 system, the Tax Authority assumes a fixed return on capital, which is then taxed—regardless of the taxpayer’s actual returns.
The Dutch Supreme Court ruled that this method can result in unfair taxation, particularly when the real return is significantly lower than the assumed one. In response, taxpayers are now allowed to report their actual returns, potentially leading to refunds.
Despite the correction process now underway, the existing method for calculating returns will remain in place until 2028. Until then, taxpayers must continue to verify whether the assumed returns used in their assessments match their actual financial outcomes, the agency states.
