An envelope from the Tax Administration with an amount far higher than you expected. If you haven’t filed a return, that happens a lot. The Tax Administration then sets the assessment itself, based on an estimate. That can still be put right, but not indefinitely. Here is what you need to know.
Why do you get an estimated assessment?
If you don’t file your income tax return, not even after a reminder and a formal demand, the Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) may set the assessment itself. This is called an ex officio assessment (ambtshalve aanslag). VAT works in a similar way: if you declared no VAT or too little, the Tax Administration can collect it with an additional assessment (naheffingsaanslag). If the Tax Administration doesn’t know what you really earned, the amount is estimated, and that estimate is often higher than your actual figures.
Within 6 weeks: lodge an objection
If you disagree with the assessment, you lodge an objection. The objection must reach the Tax Administration within 6 weeks of the date on the assessment. Note: that period starts from the date printed on the assessment, not from the day you opened the letter.
With an estimated assessment, simply saying ‘it’s wrong’ is not enough. Send the correct figures, preferably as a complete return with the supporting evidence. A notice of objection must at least include your name and address, the date, the assessment number, the reason for your objection and your signature.
You have to prove the estimate is wrong
Normally the Tax Administration has to make a correction plausible. If you haven’t filed a return, that is reversed. You then have to convincingly show that the assessment is too high, and by how much. That only works with bookkeeping that adds up. That is why it is so important to still get your bookkeeping in order, even if you are missing documents. Using your bank statements as a basis, a lot can often be reconstructed.
The penalty often stays
A return you only file after the estimated assessment no longer counts as a filed return for the penalty. So the tax can come down while the penalty for failure to file remains. For income tax it has been €469 as standard since 2025. You can object to the penalty separately. For these penalties, the Tax Administration usually only looks at your personal circumstances at the objection stage.
Can’t pay while your objection is pending?
If you lodge an objection, you can ask for deferral of payment for the amount you are objecting to. The part you do agree with, you simply pay. Deferral of payment does not mean you pay no interest.
Too late to object?
If the 6-week period has passed, it is not always too late. For income tax, you can ask the Tax Administration within 5 years after the end of the tax year to reduce an incorrect assessment after all. An objection that arrives late is treated as such a request. Even then, you do have to make it plausible that the assessment is wrong.
Don’t wait for the next letter
The sooner you supply the correct figures, the more you can put right. Feel free to send us the assessment, and we will check which deadline is running and what is needed. On our page about a bookkeeping backlog you can read how we catch up on outstanding years.