Are you each other’s fiscal partner for the Dutch Income Tax (Inkomstenbelasting) and hence when filing your tax return? You can only have 1 fiscal partner at a time. In this article, you can easily see if you’re each other’s fiscal partner in the Netherlands. Being fiscal partners has its advantages. For example, you can allocate certain tax deductions like healthcare expenses, educational costs, and charitable donations between you. This has consequences for your tax return, but also the level of income, the threshold amounts, potential tax credits (heffingskortingen), and possible benefits.
Married
If you are married or have a registered partner, you are each other’s fiscal partners.
Durable Separation
If you are durably separated and haven’t filed a divorce request, you are each other’s fiscal partners.
Nearly Divorced
If you’re not yet divorced, but have filed a divorce request and are registered at the same address as your spouse, you are each other’s fiscal partners. The same applies if you’ve submitted a request for separation from bed and board but are still registered at the same address as your spouse. However, this changes if you’re registered at different addresses; then, you’re no longer fiscal partners. If you moved mid-year, you can choose to be each other’s fiscal partner for the whole year.
Divorced
If you divorced this year but remained registered at the same address as your ex-spouse for the entire year, you are each other’s fiscal partners. However, if you’re registered at different addresses for the entire year, you’re not fiscal partners. If you moved mid-year, you can opt to be each other’s fiscal partner for the full year.
Unmarried Cohabitation
You are fiscal partners if you’re registered at the same address and one of the following points applies to you:
– you both have a notary cohabitation contract;
– you have a child together;
– either you or your partner have a child, and the other has acknowledged this child;
– you jointly own a property;
– you’re designated as the other’s pension partner;
– a minor child of either one of you is registered at your address (unless there’s a rental agreement in writing);
– you were already each other’s fiscal partners last year.
Often, your fiscal partner is also your benefit partner (toeslagpartner).
Being fiscal partners isn’t disadvantageous. For instance, you can distribute certain deductions such as healthcare costs, education expenses, donations, the mortgage interest deduction (aftrekpost eigen woning), and several other deductions amongst each other. Additionally, it offers the chance to optimize the distribution of taxes on savings, stocks, a Dutch holiday home, and foreign real estate between partners. By smartly allocating these items, the result could be that you pay less tax together.
Let Taksgemak handle your tax return (belastingaangifte) efficiently and at a low cost.
