The M-form: your Dutch tax return for the year you moved

For the year in which you immigrated or emigrated you do not file a regular return but an M-return. Freelancers add their business profit to it. How it works, and why it often ends in a refund.

What the M-form is

The M-return (M for migration) combines two periods in one filing: the months you lived outside the Netherlands and the months you lived here. You file it once, for the calendar year of your move. For a few years now it can be done online with your DigiD in Mijn Belastingdienst; the infamous paper booklet is only needed in exceptional cases.

When and how

You usually receive an invitation automatically, often with a later deadline (1 July instead of 1 May); the date in your own letter is what counts. No letter but you did have income in your migration year? Then filing is your own responsibility. You can request a filing extension, just like with the regular return.

Why there is often a refund

Payroll withholding and the provisional assessment assume you lived and earned in the Netherlands the whole year. If you were only here part of the year, tax credits and brackets work out differently and too much has often been withheld. Box 3 (savings and investments) also only counts the Dutch period.

For freelancers

If you also started your business in the migration year, the business profit goes into the M-return, under the same rules as the regular income tax return: turnover minus costs, and if you meet the 1,225-hour criterion also the self-employed and starter deductions. Mind foreign income from before your move: you declare it, but the Netherlands applies relief to prevent double taxation.

The M-return with a business in it is the moment many internationals hire an adviser once; in later years the regular return is quite doable yourself, certainly with clean records.

How Finq helps

Finq tracks your turnover, costs and hours all year, in English if you want. Come filing time, M-form or regular, your annual figures are ready to read off.