Pension from Germany, Pension from the Netherlands - where do I have to pay taxes?

As of 1 January 2015, a new treaty has entered into force between Germany and the Netherlands. The affected pensioners were informed about this in 2015, but the consequences were not always immediately clear.

Now that the declaration period has started since the spring and the tax authorities and the German Finanzamt have sent out tax return forms, it is time to submit the declaration. Many taxpayers no longer issue the declaration. For example, it may be that a pension payment that was previously taxed in the Netherlands is now taxed in Germany or vice versa. Or, that the taxpayer must now submit a declaration in both countries.

Our tips:

- Arrange the income statement in your country of residence (ask your tax advisor for advice)

- To keep an overview, avoid mistakes or avoid double taxation, call on a tax advisor. Let him assess which pensions are taxable and with what consequences you have to count.

- Have the consultant check the documents and act if necessary. The German Finanzamt is very fast with the imposition of a decision, while the tax authorities are very slow to deal with this and apply the legal term of 3 years. For both attacks you have 6 weeks time to object. The problem is that you have to coordinate the attacks so that you do not pay double tax. As an example, the following situation is possible: you will receive the German decision, but you have no guarantee that you will impose an assessment on the Dutch tax authorities within 6 weeks so that you can check the taxes. If the objection procedure in Germany expires, it becomes difficult to submit a correction (if this proves necessary).