Resolving a tax debt: payment plan and overdue returns

Why the amount is often higher than it should be

If you have not filed a return, the tax inspector may still issue an assessment on their own initiative. This is called an ex officio assessment (article 11(2) of the General Tax Act). In practice it is often deliberately set high, precisely to prompt filing. Once the real return is in, the amount is adjusted, up or down.

Until the return is filed, though, the estimated amount stands, and enforcement follows on that amount.

The penalties that come with it

For income tax, a default penalty of up to € 6,709 (2026) applies for not filing, or not filing on time (article 67a of the General Tax Act).

For VAT, two separate penalties apply. Article 67b covers not filing, article 67c covers not paying, or not paying on time. The latter is set in practice at 3% of the unpaid amount, with a minimum of € 50 and a maximum of € 6,709 (2026). This can add up per period: several quarters without a return means several penalties.

Returns first, then the payment plan

A payment plan is only considered once it is clear what is actually owed. That is not the case while ex officio assessments are still outstanding. Filing the missing returns is therefore not a side issue. It is the condition for everything else.

The payment plan itself

If a business owner cannot pay the debt in one go, the collector can allow a payment plan of at most twelve months, counted from the date of the decision (Leidraad Invordering 2008, article 25.6.1). The condition is always that ongoing obligations, meaning new returns and payments, are met promptly from then on, and that a substantiated repayment proposal is on the table.

In special circumstances, backed by a statement from an independent expert, a longer period or deferral without security is possible.

Short telephone deferral: when it does and does not work

A faster arrangement also exists: short telephone deferral, up to four months, with a response within two weeks. It does not apply automatically, though. The conditions include that you have always filed returns correctly, completely and on time, that no writ of execution has been issued for the outstanding assessment, and that the total debt stays under € 20,000.

If you are already behind on returns, or a writ of execution has already been issued, this fast route is closed, even if you are still under € 20,000. Direct contact with the collector handling your file is then the way forward, not the standard procedure.

The objection period

Every assessment, including an ex officio one, can be objected to within six weeks of its date (articles 6:7 and 6:9 of the General Administrative Law Act). If that period has passed through no fault of your own, there is room for an excusable late filing. Do not count on that as your first plan, though.