How to File the M-form?

The Dutch tax system knows four types of tax return forms: the P-form, F-form, C-form, and, not to forget, the M-form. In this article, we will tell you all about the M-form, also known as the migration tax return. 

What is the M-form?

The name says it already: you have to file the M-form in the first year you moved to or out of the Netherlands. In other words, if you did not live in the Netherlands for the whole year. The M-form consists of two parts. The first part is about the period you started as a resident in the Netherlands, and the second part is about the period you were living as a non-resident in the Netherlands. The reason you have to file this tax return is that the Belastingdienst needs specific information about you, and you can provide that through the M-form: 

Your general information

Here, you can think of your full name, BSN number, date of birth, nationality, country you were living in before moving to the Netherlands, and migration date. But be aware: the migration date is the date you registered yourself at the municipality and not the fly date, for example.

Documents

Documents you need in order to file the M-form are your annual income statement (or in Dutch: jaaropgave), annual overview of your mortgage (if applicable), WOZ-value (if applicable), and information about additional income. 

What makes filing the M-form so complicated?

When you think of the M-form, you probably think about the difficulty. But why is that? Well, the M-form can’t be filed online and is only available in Dutch. In other words, it is a big Dutch paper booklet of about 50 pages which have to be filed the old-fashioned way: by pen! That is exactly what makes it so important to read up on the topic. A good example is this eBook, in which you can find everything you need to know about the M-form.

30% ruling

Earlier, we mentioned that you have to submit information about additional income. This includes:

• Box 2 (income from a financial interest in a company): this is only applicable when you have more than 5% of the shares of a company.
• Box 3 (income from assets): this is, for example, bank and saving balance, shares, and a second house.

However, lots of internationals benefit from the 30% ruling, which has two significant tax benefits. Next to the tax-free salary part, what lots of people don’t know, is that you can opt for a partial non-resident status. This means you do not have to state your box 2 and box 3 income. Yet, the Belastingdienst does not check this, but you have to leave this part blank.

Tax refund

In contrary to filing the M-form, the outcome is most likely more fun. In most cases, the M-form results in a tax refund! This is due to the high amount of tax paid in the year of migration, while you did not live in the Netherlands for the full year. In other words, you have paid too much tax for that year which results in a refund.