DigiD login issues resolving; Tens of thousands file tax returns

Logius, the government agency that manages the DigiD system to log in to some websites, said it will further increase capacity on Thursday so that more people can access the system. People in the Netherlands have been able to file their income tax returns since Wednesday. The rush to submit information to the Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax office, regularly overloaded the system, making it virtually impossible for many to log in with their DigiD.

Due to the login problems, it is also more difficult to log in to other organizations that require DigiD, such as health insurers and the UWV benefits agency. Logius said on Wednesday that it was seeing three times as many requests to log in compared to March 1, 2022, however the reason why was not clear.

In fact, the Belastingdienst had already received about 60,000 tax returns in the first seven hours after the filing window opened, starting at midnight. The first return was of the year was filed at 12:01 a.m.

A Logius spokesperson said the issues have been persistent on Thursday, but more people may be able to log in on Thursday afternoon after the capacity increase. On Wednesday, Logius did not want to increase capacity any further because there was a risk that DigiD would no longer work at all.

"The system has been analyzed and further optimized from Wednesday evening, so that it can now handle a capacity increase," she said. It is not known how many people will be able to log in on Thursday afternoon, as it depends on the demand to use DigiD. Currently, the login capacity is 400,000 times per hour. The organization said earlier it also expected the situation to naturally quiet down on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the Belastingdienst advised people on Twitter to try again later if they have trouble.

Private individuals and entrepreneurs who were informed by the Belastingdienst to file income taxes can do so from March 1 to May 1. About 7 million private individuals and 1.8 million entrepreneurs received a letter with this appeal in recent weeks.