What information do I need for my 2022 tax return?

What information do I need for my 2023 tax return?

6 january 2023 – reading time: 10 minutes
For many people it’s a yearly struggle: providing their accountant with the correct documentation for their income tax return. Of course, the situation is different for everyone, but we can give you some general tips about what to provide and where to find certain documents.

Last year’s annual accounts
If you’ve been an entrepreneur for some time now and decide to start working with a new accountant in 2023, he or she will need your annual accounts of 2022. Your new accountant will build on the annual accounts from the previous year. Annual accounts are usually drawn up by a bookkeeper, accountant or maybe an uncle who has knowledge of the matter. Annual accounts are not drawn up by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. Have you just started your business? Then you obviously do not yet have annual accounts from the previous year.

VAT returns
When preparing your annual accounts, the accountant will always check the VAT returns. If you switch to a new accountant during the year, he or she will also need the VAT returns submitted by a previous accountant or ones you may have submitted yourself. If it appears that too much or too little VAT has been paid to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration during the year, this must be rectified by means of an additional return (suppletieaangite in Dutch).

Business bank account
If you have a business bank account, the accountant will need an annual bank statement. This is an overview that shows the balances on 1 January and 31 December, and is necessary for drawing up the balance sheet, which is part of the annual accounts. The annual bank statement is usually available from February and can be downloaded online from your bank. If you use a private account for business purposes, your accountant will need the annual bank statement of that account.

Hours
If you’re a business owner working more than 1225 hours a year for your business, you’re entitled to a private business ownership allowance. And if you’ve just started as an entrepreneur, you can also get a tax relief for new companies. You don’t need to provide any documentation for this. It’s your responsibility to be able to substantiate your hours should you receive an audit from the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. It is therefore recommended to keep track of your working hours throughout the year.

Other businesses
If you own another company, your accountant will also need the annual accounts of that company. Through the income tax return you state your personal income; this also includes your profit from any other business. If you’re a partner in a general or commercial partnership (VOF in Dutch), it’s important that its annual accounts also state what your share of the profit is.

Salary or benefits
If you’ve worked as an employee or received an unemployment benefit in the past year, you must add the annual statement(s) to your administration. Your employer provides one around February every year and it shows your wages of the entire year, the amount of payroll tax that has already been paid, etc. If you haven’t received an annual statement, it’s important that you request one from your employer. If you’ve received benefits, you’ll get an annual statement from the Employment Insurance Agency (UWV in Dutch). If necessary, you can download it again later via their website.

In addition, your employer or the UWV will also provide this data directly to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. So if you accidentally forget to provide your accountant with this information, and it’s not processed in the income tax return, it will automatically be corrected by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration through a so-called ‘deviation’.

Property
This only applies if you own a home. In that case, your accountant will need a few details from you. First of all, you need to provide the value of your property (WOZ in Dutch), with 1 January of the previous year as the reference date. You can easily find out what this value is through the WOZ-waardeloket. Your accountant also needs the annual overview from your mortgage lender. This document states your mortgage debt on 1 January and 31 December of the previous year and the amount of mortgage interest you’ve paid. You will receive this overview (digitally) from your mortgage lender at the beginning of the year, and you can download it afterwards from its website.

When you’ve paid ground lease, you must also be able to substantiate this. Via Mijn Erfpacht you can find out what you’ve paid during a certain year. You then pass this information on to your accountant.

Bought or sold a house
When buying or selling a house, it’s important to submit the statement from the notary. This contains almost all the information your accountant needs.

Assets
Are your private assets worth more than €31,747 on 1 January of this year (or more than €63,494 if you have a tax partner)? Then you must provide all documents that demonstrate the value of your private assets, such as:

• Annual statement(s) of private bank accounts, investment accounts, etc.;
• The value of your cryptos (Bitcoin, etc.) as of January 1;
• Claims with debtors;
• In the case of a second home: the WOZ value and any associated mortgage(s);
• When this property is rented out, the accountant also needs the rental income;
• Overview of any debt with DUO (Dutch Educative Executive Agency) as of 1 January;
• Other debts, such as a credit cards.

If you have a tax partner or children under the age of 18, your accountant will also need their annual accounts. The assets won’t actually be taxed until they’re over €50,650 (or €101,300 in case of a tax partner).

Tax partner
If you and your tax partner choose to have your income tax return jointly submitted by the same accountant, it speaks for itself that you also provide all data relating to the tax partner’s income. This blog explains when a fiscal partnership applies.

Children
If you have one or more children (who live with you,) you may be entitled to an extra tax credit. This discount is applied to the tax return of the lowest-earning partner. For this, your accountant only needs to know his or her initials and date of birth. Information about possible co-parenting is also useful for your accountant. You don’t have to provide documents relating to childcare allowance, as they are not used for income tax purposes.

Provisional assessment
Have you received a provisional assessment for income tax and/or the healthcare insurance premium? Then make sure you forward this to your accountant. If the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration sends a provisional assessment on its own initiative, this will always be done at the beginning of the year. You can always download your provisional assessment again via Mijn Belastingdienst.

In this case, as with income from employment, this information is already known to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. So if you forget to pass it on to your accountant, it will still be corrected by the Tax Authorities. However, this can sometimes be detrimental, so make sure you don’t forget to submit the provisional assessments!

Other
This includes all other relevant documents relating to income tax. For example:

• Have you contributed to an annuity? Then add the annual overview of your pension provider.
• Have you taken out occupational disability insurance (AOV)? Then add the annual overview of your insurer.
• Have you incurred healthcare costs that were not reimbursed by your healthcare insurance and that were not covered by your deductible? These may be partially deductible. In that case, add an overview from your health insurer to your administration.
• Have you made donations to a public benefit organisation (ANBI in Dutch)? Add an overview of these donations and make a distinction between ‘regular’ and periodic donations.
• Have you paid or received alimony? Add an overview of this to your administration.

Of course, you can always contact your accountant if you have any questions about any this. Every situation is different and the above doesn’t cover all of them: there are always exceptions or other situations possible. This information should therefore be regarded as a global guideline.

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