Tax legislation changes every year. What has changed in your 2017 income tax return compared with 2016? We’ve highlighted the most important points for the 2017 personal income tax return. This is, of course, not an exhaustive list.
Return date
It’s not new any more, but many people are still getting used to it. The 2017 income tax return must be submitted to the Tax and Customs Administration by 30 April 2018 at the latest (i.e. before 1 May). Many people are still used to the income tax return having to be submitted by 1 April.
Due to the need to complete the VIA (see below), it is also not possible to submit your 2017 income tax return to the Tax and Customs Administration before 1 March 2018. You can submit your return via your personal portal at www.belastingdienst.nl You should also only try accessing it from 1 March 2018 onwards. Our advice: wait a few days. In the first few days, the website can sometimes crash due to the large number of people filing their tax returns.
VIA
As in previous years, you can download the data compiled by the Tax and Customs Administration for your 2017 income tax return. This is known as the VIA (Pre-filled Tax Return). VWGNijhof can retrieve this data if you authorise us to do so authorises.
You are and remain fully responsible for ensuring that you submit a correct and complete 2017 income tax return. If you fail to do so, the Tax and Customs Administration may demand payment of any underpaid tax and impose fines.
You should therefore check the details on the VIA carefully (or have someone else do so). You can find out what information you may need for your 2017 income tax return here.
Inflation adjustment
Various exemptions, thresholds and similar provisions are automatically adjusted each year in line with inflation. This inflation adjustment for 2017 amounted to just 1,003. For most amounts, this means that they are either the same as, or differ by just a few euros from, the 2016 figures.
The inflation adjustment is not applied to tax rates and tax credits. These are set anew each year on the basis of the government’s target income levels.
You can find the figures applicable for 2017 in our handy (electronic) booklet, *Tax Figures* 2018 and 2017.
Private use of a company car
The additional tax liability for the private use of your company car in 2017 is: 22% of the car’s list price. For cars with zero CO₂ emissions (which are only fully electric cars), an additional tax liability of 4%. These additional tax liabilities apply to cars first registered in 2017. See also our detailed note Taxable benefit for private use of a company car – rules effective from 1 January 2017.
For cars first registered before 1 January 2017, a basic additional tax liability of 25% applies. Depending on the CO₂ emissions, a reduction is deducted from this basic additional tax liability. This reduction applies for 60 months. Thereafter, the reduction applicable at that time applies. This reduction is usually 0, meaning that the additional tax liability amounts to 25% (and not the 22% applicable from 2017). The VZR has referred the question of whether this is justified to the tax court. See our article Objection to the tax addition for private use of a car.
Employees will hardly notice the imputed income for their company car when completing their income tax return. This is because the imputed income has already been taken into account in their payroll tax. The imputed income is included in the annual statement you receive from your employer.
Own home
The tax relief on the interest and costs relating to the loan used to finance your own home will still amount to a maximum of in 2017 50%. You deduct the balance of the owner-occupied home allowance and the interest and costs of the mortgage from your income. To the extent that your income exceeds €67,072, this deduction is made at the rate of 52%. Subsequently, 2% tax is added to the portion of the interest and costs that has been deducted at the rate of 52%. You can find a sample calculation in our article No property allowance, but still have to pay tax.
The phasing out of the mortgage interest relief on owner-occupied homes is currently proceeding at a rate of 0.5% percentage points per year. In the Rutte III’s coalition agreement Provision has been made to speed up this phase-out (3% points per year).
If your own home allowance exceeds the deductible interest and costs on the financing of your home, the allowance is offset against the so-called Hillen deduction. That deduction will only apply from 2019 onwards abolished.
Box 3
In the 2017 income tax return, the flat-rate return on your income from savings and investments (Box 3) is no longer calculated at 4% of the return base. A sliding scale is now used for this purpose. The tax-free allowance has been increased to € 25.000 (for tax partners: €50,000).
With this relaxation of the rules, the government is trying to prevent the tax court from overturning the tax in box 3. From our article Box 3 = excessive burden It appears that this has been successful so far.
The rate at which tax is calculated in box 3 remains unchanged: 30%.
Many people have now found a way to avoid the tax in box 3, which they perceive as unfair. They do this by transferring their savings and/or investments into a private limited company or an open-ended mutual fund. This will no longer be possible for 2017. By then, you would have had to before 1 January 2017 must carry out.
Child maintenance
From 2017, you will no longer be able to claim a debt relating to your obligation to pay child maintenance in Box 3.