# Taxes



## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

Hello, 
I'm fully of questions today. I have a question about taxes. I've done some research on my own but I'm still confused. I live here in the Netherlands but I work remotely for a company in the US. I've paid my taxes there and finished filing my taxes there. When I first moved here my husband called the tax office and they told him that I wouldn't have to pay taxes but I'd have to pay and excuse me if I have this wrong, but the volksverzekeringen. Something like that. My husband says just to wait and the government will mail something saying what I owe. I just wanted to check if that's true. I know in the US we are responsible for filing taxes ourselves. How will they even know that I had income? I mean I've had to declare it for separate reasons but I don't depend on one branch of things always communicating with other branches. I don't want to come into trouble and in any way jeapordize my status so I thought it would be a good idea to ask. 
Thank you anyone that has any ideas on this.


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

wakeup said:


> Hello,
> I'm fully of questions today. I have a question about taxes. I've done some research on my own but I'm still confused. I live here in the Netherlands but I work remotely for a company in the US. I've paid my taxes there and finished filing my taxes there. When I first moved here my husband called the tax office and they told him that I wouldn't have to pay taxes but I'd have to pay and excuse me if I have this wrong, but the volksverzekeringen. Something like that. My husband says just to wait and the government will mail something saying what I owe. I just wanted to check if that's true. I know in the US we are responsible for filing taxes ourselves. How will they even know that I had income? I mean I've had to declare it for separate reasons but I don't depend on one branch of things always communicating with other branches. I don't want to come into trouble and in any way jeapordize my status so I thought it would be a good idea to ask.
> Thank you anyone that has any ideas on this.


Hi, 

See this tax office site which explains how to avoid double taxation: Income from abroad

If you've signed up to DigiD, you can submit your tax return online. DigiD is used by all government institutions as well as health care insurers. You can apply for registration on the following site if you haven't got one: https://www.digid.nl/index.php?id=1&L=1

Your tax return for 2014 must be submitted by May 1. 

Taxation in the Netherlands relies pretty much on the honesty of the individual making a tax return, but the tax office can always contact your employer if they think your return is suspect. 

The Volksverzekering which you mentioned is a premium everyone has to pay. In English, it's known as Social Security and qualifies you for an old age pension among other things. See the following site for more info: Social security when working and doing business abroad

In addition to the social security scheme though, you still have to take out private health care insurance by law. Failure to do so will result in a hefty fine. 

If you haven't arranged that yet, go to the following comparison site. Zorgverzekering vergelijken - Vergelijk jouw zorgverzekering 2015

In the boxes, "Geslacht" means Gender and you'll be a "Vrouw". "Geboortedatum" means Date of Birth. Postcode is the same as in English except that the Dutch join both words together. "Gezinsleden meeverzekeren" means insure your husband/children as well to which you answer "Ja" for Yes, or "Nee" for No. 

You can also call them on the phone number top right. They speak English. 

Be aware though that the premiums they quote include an own risk liability of €500. That's over and above the standard own risk figure which is set annually by the government. The current own risk liability is €375 per annum. If you're a healthy 20 year old without any long term illnesses, it's an attractive proposition, but if you're older, in your 50's let's say, then it's probably a better idea to pay the extra premium of around €30 a month so that in the event that you become ill, medication and hospitalization will only cost you €375. 

The basic premium covers most things such as doctors visits, but there's also an add-on called "Aanvullende verzekering". This will cover part or all of the cost of dental care plus a few other things such as a new pair of specs every couple of years. If you need any help with the translation, post in this thread and I'll help you with that. Or if there's something you don't understand, let me know.


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

Thank you for the response. I had a feeling that I needed to do something more proactive with the taxes. I'm good on the health insurance and DigiID, my husband set those up for me. I think it's time I get the DigiID from him and take a look on there. We went through quite a bit to make it so that I can stay, I don't want to give them any reason down the line to question letting me stay longer. Thanks again, I really do appreciate it.


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

wakeup said:


> Thank you for the response. I had a feeling that I needed to do something more proactive with the taxes. I'm good on the health insurance and DigiID, my husband set those up for me. I think it's time I get the DigiID from him and take a look on there. We went through quite a bit to make it so that I can stay, I don't want to give them any reason down the line to question letting me stay longer. Thanks again, I really do appreciate it.


I must admit that if you don't understand Dutch, it can be very confusing as to what you have to do in a given situation which involves some goverment department like the tax office (Belastingdienst) in this particular case. 

I looked at their English language site this morning and everything on it applies to non-residents i.e. people who live abroad, but derive their income from the Netherlands. There's nothing there which applies to resident taxpayers except for the link I provided you with already. 

The tax office has a freephone number which is 0800-0543. You can try calling that although it's going to be in Dutch. It's closed today needless to say, but what I'll do tomorrow is to call it myself and try and determine whether there's an English language menu available. If there isn't, I'll make a note of which menu numbers you have to press to get through to the correct department and then post that info here tomorrow.


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

Wow, they don't let you add enough rep to one person on this site. You get a virtual hug from me. 
I've had that same problem, finding information about people living abroad and getting their income from here. I guess I have a unique situation. I was going to look into it today. I was hoping they'd have an email contact option but also figured that I could make my husband call for me if absolutely need be. Ha, I've never worked so hard to give my money to the government before.


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

wakeup said:


> Wow, they don't let you add enough rep to one person on this site. You get a virtual hug from me.
> I've had that same problem, finding information about people living abroad and getting their income from here. I guess I have a unique situation. I was going to look into it today. I was hoping they'd have an email contact option but also figured that I could make my husband call for me if absolutely need be. Ha, I've never worked so hard to give my money to the government before.


Nice to have a virtual hug once in a while..hehe

Anyway, I called the freephone number this morning and they told me that you should call them to ascertain the position. I explained that you don't speak Dutch and wouldn't understand the menu options for that reason. Unfortunately, they don't have an English language version of that. Why make things easy when you can make them difficult eh?

However, they do have English speakers. So here's what you have to do. 

Call 0800-0543. You'll hear an introduction which tells you that your connected to the tax help line (belasting telephone). It then tells you that that you'll need your BSN (burger service number). 

The next part of the tape introduces the menu choices. Wait until the phone goes silent and then hit 4. Another menu runs after which you press 4 again. In the next menu, there are only two choices. This time press 2. 

The next thing you'll hear is the request to type in your BSN and then to hit the # key. This is a transliteration of what it sounds like: "Full u burger service nummer in en slout af met en hek yer". So when the tape finishes, start punching in the numbers. This will get you a real person on the line who can put you through to an English speaker. 

If you get stuck, or if you think it'll be too difficult, I can do it for you, but then I'll need your full name, BSN and date of birth. You can send that to me in a private message. The link is top right underneath the 'grass'. It displays received messages with the option to send one in the left hand menu. But I'll leave that up to you.


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

I'm speechless, thank you and nope, I'm going to try to do this myself. You have done so much already, more than I would have expected from anyone. I've had a bad habit of not doing anything for myself since I've moved here, now it's time to give it a go. 
I would be mad about them not having an English menu but it's karma coming back at me I'm pretty sure. Though understanding of immigrants in the US, I was always one who said, "You're in this country, learn the language." I feel the irony. I'm going to get this. Yes I am.


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

wakeup said:


> I'm speechless, thank you and nope, I'm going to try to do this myself. You have done so much already, more than I would have expected from anyone. I've had a bad habit of not doing anything for myself since I've moved here, now it's time to give it a go.
> I would be mad about them not having an English menu but it's karma coming back at me I'm pretty sure. Though understanding of immigrants in the US, I was always one who said, "You're in this country, learn the language." I feel the irony. I'm going to get this. Yes I am.


If you get stuck, I'll no doubt hear about it. 

I think I might translate some official articles and post them in this forum. I tried using Google translate, but it doesn't translate the Dutch language properly at all and only serves to cause confusion.


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

Ha, google translate. I love it and I hate it. I first had my fun with that when it told me I had to fold my dough into a rag. Say what? That one took me a bit to figure out. 

Thanks, I'm sure many can benefit from what you post. Thank you, thank you, thank you


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

Well, I created two, but one of them has been deleted. It took me six hours to create and was intended to help people find their way through the muddle which is the Dutch housing system.

I'm a bit peeved about that since I haven't received any PMs as to why. But if that's their policy, I won't bother to create anymore. 

Here's the other one which will probably disappear soon as well: 
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/ne.../707001-how-claim-tax-relief-local-taxes.html


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