Dutch Income Tax Return for Expats — M-form, 30% Ruling & Box 3

Partial-year residents file an M-form rather than the standard return — the year is split into a resident and a non-resident period, each with its own tax treatment and pro-rata heffingskorting allowances. Which income is taxed in the Netherlands and which foreign income is exempt depends on the exact dates and your tax residency elsewhere. Our Expat Complete package covers this end-to-end, including the Becon submission of the M-form.

From 2024 the ruling tapers 30% → 20% → 10% across the five-year period, and many expats cross the WNT salary cap partway through a year. Your return needs the correct percentage for each part of the year, a reconciliation against what your employer applied on the jaaropgave, and any correction for over- or under-application. We handle the recalculation and file it in Box 1 as part of our Wealth and Complex packages.

Box 3 covers savings and investments above the tax-free threshold (€57,000 per person in 2024, €114,000 for fiscal partners). Since 2023 the Belastingdienst uses a temporary calculation method based on the actual composition of your wealth: bank deposits, other assets, and debts are taxed at different notional returns. Our Wealth and Complex packages include a Box 3 review, the correct debt allocation between fiscal partners, and optimisation of the reference date.

No invitation (uitnodiging) doesn't automatically mean you're exempt. Filing is still mandatory if you had Dutch income above the threshold, owned Dutch property, or held a 30% ruling at any point. Even when filing is optional, it's often worth doing: mortgage interest, healthcare costs above the threshold, and specific donations commonly trigger a refund. In a short intake call we'll check whether filing is required or worthwhile for you.

Yes. Fiscal partners can optimally allocate several items — mortgage interest, dividends, study costs, healthcare costs and Box 3 wealth — between their two returns. Shifting items to the higher-income partner often reduces the combined tax bill materially. Our Homeowner, Wealth and Complex packages include fiscal-partner optimisation: we run both allocations and file the one that yields the lowest combined tax.

We serve clients in English, Dutch and Ukrainian. Your advisor will communicate in your preferred language by email, phone and on video calls, and all client-facing documents are available in the same three languages.