Deferment of tax payments

14 april 2020 | Door:  Matthijs van Dorssen

Many companies are seeing their turnover and profit decline, while their costs and expenses remain unchanged. If you find yourself in this situation, you can request a deferment of payments from the Tax and Customs Administration. Entrepreneurs can obtain a deferment of payments online for the payment of payroll tax, income tax, corporation tax, VAT, gambling tax, excise duties, consumption tax on non-alcoholic drinks, insurance tax, the landlord levy, energy tax and other environmental taxes. You will be granted a deferment of payments automatically for a three-month period.

Longer deferment possible

If a three-month deferment is insufficient, you can also ask for a longer deferment period. When the tax debt is less than € 20,000, you can obtain a longer deferment by submitting documents as evidence that your turnover or orders/reservations has/have fallen significantly compared with previous months.

Please note:

In the case of a higher tax debt a declaration is required from a third-party expert, such as an accountant. The specific requirements are yet to be announced.

G-account

If your company uses a G-account, you can ask the Tax and Customs Administration to unblock the credit balance in this account. This means that amounts set aside for payroll tax or VAT payments can also be released temporarily. When you have applied for a deferment of payments, you will therefore enjoy the same benefits as entrepreneurs without a G-account.

One deferment application

To obtain a deferment of payments for these taxes, only one deferment application has to be submitted.
The deferment then applies not just to the existing tax debt, but also to additional debts arising over the following three months.
This relaxed deferment policy will apply to all the taxes mentioned above until at least 19 June 2020.

Tax return must still be submitted

You still must submit your tax returns on time, because you can only apply for a deferment of payments after you have received an assessment or additional assessment from the Tax and Customs Administration.

Energy tax

Separate arrangements have been made in relation to energy tax. As a result, the deferment also benefits consumers of electricity and natural gas who experience financial problems, e.g. in the floriculture sector.

Default penalties and tax interest rate

The tax authorities will also be scrapping or reducing so-called default penalties for the non-payment or late payment of taxes. Such penalties are imposed if you are late in paying your VAT, for example. There will be no need to pay or lodge an objection against these penalties.

The late payment interest that is generally charged after the deadline for tax payments has passed is being lowered temporarily from 4% to 0.01%. This applies to all tax debts. The rate of tax interest is also being temporarily reduced to 0.01%. This reduction will apply to all taxes subject to tax interest. The Tax and Customs Administration charges tax interest if you submit your tax return late, for example.

Digital application

As this form of deferment is also intended to apply to entrepreneurs who are subject to income tax, you must apply for the deferment using your DigiD. Your DigiD is not used for any other purpose and is not linked to the deferment. On the online form you also need to indicate your company’s details, including your RSIN or BSN. We can also submit for the deferment for you.

Ask Alfa

If you want us to submit the application for the deferment for you or when you have other questions, please contact us. We are always nearby!