Expatriates who become tax residents of the Netherlands may claim personal allowances against their income. However, they must have paid these expenses after their immigration.
Tuition fees
The case on which the District Court of North Holland ruled concerns the deduction of training expenses. This tax deduction was abolished with effect from 1 January 2022. It has been replaced by the STAP scheme (see our article We can STEP again). The District Court’s decision is therefore now only relevant to those personal tax deductions that still exist. These are: expenditure on maintenance obligations (spousal maintenance), specific healthcare costs, weekend expenses for people with disabilities, and tax-deductible donations.
Before immigration
The case before the District Court of North Holland concerned a woman living in China who enrolled on a course at a Dutch university on 25 March 2017. In order to undertake this course, the woman travelled to the Netherlands on 26 August 2017. She paid the tuition fees on 21 August 2017 (this payment was due by 31 August 2017 at the latest, but the visa required to enter the Netherlands was only granted after the tuition fees had been paid).
In her Dutch income tax return for 2017 (an M-form), the Chinese national claims a deduction for education expenses in respect of the amount of tuition fees paid. The Tax and Customs Administration refuses to allow this deduction because the costs were paid before the woman became a resident of (and was therefore liable for tax in) the Netherlands. The court agrees with the Tax and Customs Administration: the moment at which the tuition fees were transferred to the university is decisive. The fact that the tuition fees relate to the period of study in the Netherlands does not alter this.