Home Tax debt in the Netherlands: what now?
Tax debt in the Netherlands: what now?
A tax debt grows quickly through penalties, interest and costs. The sooner you act, the more can still be arranged. This is the order we follow with our clients.
Updated 12 October 2026 · Valorem Tax Advisory, tax adviser with an LL.M. in tax law
1. Is the amount right?
If you did not file a return, the tax authority estimates the amount itself. That estimate is often generous. File the missing returns as soon as possible. Only then is it clear what you really owe.
If an assessment is too high, you object within six weeks. If that period has passed, you can still ask for an ex officio reduction (ambtshalve vermindering).
2. Ask for deferral for what you cannot pay now
If you cannot pay everything at once, ask the tax collector (the ontvanger) in writing for deferral of payment. Until the collector has decided, he acts as if deferral has been granted. During deferral, no collection takes place.
3. A payment plan
As a business owner you will usually get a payment plan of up to twelve months. The conditions are that you file and pay new returns on time from now on and submit a well-founded proposal. A longer plan is possible if an expert, such as an accountant, states that the problems are temporary and that your business is viable.
4. What happens if you do nothing
If you do not pay an assessment on time, you receive a reminder giving you two more weeks. After that comes a writ of execution (dwangbevel), and a tax bailiff can seize your money, your wages or your property, such as your car. Costs are added at every step.
Benefits and remission
If you have to repay a benefit (toeslag), you arrange that separately with Dienst Toeslagen. That is a different office with its own rules.
Remission (kwijtschelding) of tax debt is only possible for business owners through an arrangement with all their creditors. For most business owners a payment plan is the realistic route.
What not to do
- Leave letters unopened. The deadlines keep running.
- Pay other creditors but not the tax authority. That counts against you if you later propose an arrangement.
- Leave new returns unfiled while you ask for a payment plan. You will not get the plan.
We take it off your hands
Valorem lists your debts, files the missing returns and requests deferral or a payment plan for you. You know the price up front.
Do you have a tax debt?
Tell us briefly what is going on. Within one working day you hear what we can do for you and what it costs, before we start.
Rather talk it through? Call now