Tax interest in the event of delays in processing VAT refunds
Have you applied for a VAT refund and is the processing taking a long time? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for tax interest.
In principle, the Tax and Customs Administration has eight weeks to process your VAT refund claim. If this takes longer, you are entitled to compensation for tax interest provided that the VAT refund relates to a previous year and 1 April has already passed.
Example
The Tax and Customs Administration receives your request for a VAT refund for the fourth quarter of 2025 on 20 January 2026. If you have not yet received a refund decision from the Tax and Customs Administration by 1 April 2026, you are entitled to compensation for tax interest from 1 April 2026.
The period over which tax interest is calculated begins on 1 April or eight weeks after receipt of your claim (if this is later than 1 April). The period runs until fourteen days after the date of the refund decision.
Continuation of example
If the Tax and Customs Administration issues a refund decision dated 15 June 2026, it must reimburse 5% tax interest for the period from 1 April 2026 up to and including 29 June 2026.
Has the Tax and Customs Administration wrongly rejected your VAT refund claim? If so, you must lodge an objection in good time, i.e. within six weeks of the date of the rejection notice. If the Tax and Customs Administration subsequently grants the VAT refund, you are also entitled to reimbursement of tax interest.
Please note! In response to enquiries on this matter, the Tax and Customs Administration has stated that there is no entitlement to reimbursement of tax interest if the original application for a VAT refund was submitted too late and/or if the appeal against the rejection notice was lodged too late.
Have you applied for a VAT refund and is the processing taking a long time? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for tax interest.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, the State Secretary for Finance has outlined the current situation regarding the introduction of the right of access to tax records. This right of access will be introduced in phases.
Tuesday 15 September 2026 marks another Prinsjesdag. A number of the government’s plans are already known. In this article, you will find a selection of what to expect in terms of tax policy.
The government wishes to try to get the stagnant housing market moving again. To this end, and to make rented properties more sustainable, a number of proposals have been put forward recently.
The legal presumption of an employment contract for an hourly rate below €38 will come into force on 31 December 2026. What does this mean for you as a client or company?
Are you, as a citizen or business, facing problems because a government agency in another EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway is not complying with EU law? If so, you can try to resolve this through Solvit.
The Dutch truck toll applicable as of July 1, 2026, will be temporarily reduced by 22.3% as of September 1, 2026. If you fail to pay the truck toll when required, the RDW may impose fines. What should you keep in mind?
Starting May 22, 2026, it will be possible in the Netherlands to retroactively apply a tax-free allowance for travel expenses of €0,25 per kilometer, effective January 1, 2026. What does this mean for employers, employees, business owners, volunteers, and individuals?
As of May 1, 2026, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and the Benefits Service will switch from ING to Rabobank. This means that the account numbers will also change.
The Dutch statutory minimum hourly wage will be indexed again as of July 1, 2026, and will therefore increase to €14.99.