Migration Tax Return

Migration tax return

If you moved to the Netherlands and paid taxes in your country of origin, you are required to file a migration tax return form (also called the M-form). You are obliged to arrange that according to the Dutch tax regulations.

The purpose of this form is to declare that you did not live in the Netherlands the whole year. This might be due to immigration or migration.

The Dutch tax office needs information about you and with the M-form you can provide that to them. Most expats will receive a tax refund because they didn’t live in the Netherlands for the whole year and therefore paid too much income tax.

M-form and migration tax return are the same

The M-form is the most extensive Dutch tax return. The first part of the migration tax return is about the period you started as a resident in the Netherlands and the second part about the period that you were living as a non-resident in the Netherlands.

Why does filing the M-form yield a different outcome than filing the P-form?

If you have to file an M-form, it means you did not live in the Netherlands for the whole year. However, you paid tax as if you were employed for the whole year. Because of this, you probably have been taxed using a higher tax rate. Your employer calculates your yearly income when determining how much tax should be withheld. But, when living only part of the year in the Netherlands, your income is lower than the assumed yearly income. This may lead that you were taxed according to a higher rate than needed.

Most expats will receive a tax refund because they didn’t live in the Netherlands for the whole year.

(We can provide you with the M-form both in Dutch and English so you can understand it yourself as well. Besides that, we can file the M-form online. And therefore, do not need the big paper booklet. Filing the M-form together with us also assures you that you declare everything correctly. Additionally, we will explain to you how the Dutch tax system works and give you tips and tricks for your specific situation for future income tax returns.)