Tax return from abroad

Tax settlement from abroad – where do I start?

If you are interested in settling your tax from abroad, you should familiarise yourself with information that will certainly help you to recover your overpaid funds. Prepare:

• documents received from your foreign employer that clearly show how much you have earned and how much advance income tax has been withheld;
• a copy of your passport or identity card. Remember that it should be clear and provide identification;
• your tax card – this document should be provided to you by your employer. The tax card can also be sent directly to our office address;
• Payslip from the last month or week of work. This type of document is called differently in each country;
• the name and address of all employers where you were employed;
• your foreign social security number.

If you do not have access to this type of document or simply have not obtained it, it will be necessary to approach your foreign employers and request it. Remember that this is their obligation. Moreover, the documents should be provided even if you are using a Polish address. There is no excuse for not sending you the documents once you have finished working.

Once you have collected all the documents, ensure that you complete them in a way that complies with the laws of the country concerned. If you have problems with this, you can always contact our office and get the help you need. In most cases, you will find instructions on how to fill in the documents on the websites of foreign tax offices. This is because you need to know that, outside of your home country, the information sections related to tax return are much more developed than in our country.

The procedure for recovering your money from abroad usually takes between 3 and 5 months (depending on the specific country). In most cases, the tax refund is transferred directly to the taxpayer’s account, but you need to know that it cannot be a Polish account. It is therefore worthwhile for you to have a foreign currency account that will allow you to accept the refund in foreign currency.

Recovering tax from abroad – the Netherlands

If you are working or have worked legally in the Netherlands, it means that you can claim back any overpaid income tax with a high degree of certainty. Importantly, in the Netherlands you can apply for a refund of the overpaid amount up to 5 years back. You will need the following documents to settle your claim:

• JAAROPGAVE – a tax card that is issued by your Dutch employer. Make sure that every company you have been employed by provides you with this type of document;
• BSN/SOFI number – this is the equivalent of the Polish NIP number, or in a nutshell, your social security number. Every person who lives and works in the Netherlands is issued with a BSN/SOFI number;
• SALARIS – a document that can replace the JAAROPGAVE. If, for whatever reason, you do not have access to JAAROPGAVE, you can produce a pay slip which shows the amount of advance income tax withheld. Salaris are provided by your employer each time you are paid.

The above documents will allow you to fill in the necessary forms and successfully claim your tax refund from abroad. Remember that there is a lot to fight for, as the average refund of our clients reaches up to several hundred euros. Don’t let this money go to waste.

Tax refunds from abroad – Germany

If you have worked in Germany you have 4 years to claim your tax refund. It is also worth mentioning that you can also apply for a refund if you no longer work in Germany and have returned to your home country. The only important thing is that it has not been more than 4 years since your last employment.

You should prepare yourself accordingly. The basic documents you will need in particular are:

• lohnsteuerkarte,
• besondere lohnsteuerbescheinigung,

With these documents, which you will obtain from your German employers, you will be able to demonstrate to the tax authorities the amount of insurance contributions and advance payments of income tax you have made.

If you do not have access to the documents mentioned above, you should contact your foreign employers. Remember that they are obliged to send you the relevant certificates, even if you use a foreign address.

On the basis of the documents, you will be able to fill in the forms needed for the tax refund. You will find everything on the websites of the German tax authorities. If you have problems filling in or obtaining the documents, you can contact our office. We will be happy to assist you and speed up the recovery of your overpaid income tax from Germany.

Settle your tax from abroad – Austria

If you have worked in Austria and were legally employed there, you are entitled to a refund of the tax you overpaid. According to the rules, you must settle your tax with the Austrian tax authorities if:

• you are resident in Austria;
• you are subject to unlimited tax liability;
• your annual income exceeded €12,000;
• you have worked for more than one employer in a given tax year;
• you have been requested in writing to complete a tax settlement.

You should also know that a tax refund from Austria is only possible if 90% of your annual income is derived from work in Austria. This is a very important aspect related to the recovery of tax from abroad.

According to Austrian law, you will have to wait between 2 and 6 months for your money, but if everything goes according to the agreed procedure and the tax office has no objections to your documents, you can count on the money quickly reaching your bank account.

If you are interested in a foreign tax refund, you should know that you need a lohnzettel, or tax card (form L16). This certifies your earnings for the tax year in question. The card should be sent to the address you have indicated, either electronically (by the end of January) or on paper by the end of February. Please note that without the tax card, the tax office will not be able to determine the amount of advance income tax that has been paid on your salary. In addition to the tax card, you will also need:

• an identity document – this is, of course, a copy,
• an E1 declaration – you will need this if you have additional income from other sources; this is conditional on income of more than €730 from a contract of employment, contract for specific work, dividends, etc,
• the EU-EWR form – this is completed by your local tax office.

Only if you have completed all the certificates will you be able to apply for a tax refund from abroad. If you have any problems with filling in the applications or obtaining the relevant forms, please contact us. We are familiar with the peculiarities of Austrian tax law and will be happy to help you recover the money you are owed.

Tax settlement from Belgium – choose a foreign settlement office

Belgium is also a country from which we are able to recover your overpayments. The condition, however, is that you have ever been legally employed there. The Belgian tax system allows you to benefit from a number of allowances and deductions that can significantly increase your refund. The following are waiting for Belgian taxpayers:

• relief for a non-working or low earning wife,
• relief for a minor child,
• relief for a disabled wife,
• relief for a disabled child/children.

Under current Belgian law, how much your refund will be depends on the income you earn and the tax threshold you are classified under. Currently, there are thresholds of 25, 30, 40, 45 and 50%. Importantly, dividends are taxed under completely different rules. This is relevant if your remuneration is made up of several components. In any case, however, you can count on our help with the settlement.

Our foreign tax settlement company is able to help you with the tax refund procedure, but we need a few documents for this. Without them, we will not be able to prove to the Belgian tax authorities the amount of your earnings. So prepare:

• fiche 281.10,
• EU/EWR certificate with details of income from other countries,
• a personal questionnaire,
• a copy of your identity document.
• Power of attorney (if required). You can find a power of attorney for electronic settlement in many places on the web, which will significantly speed up the entire settlement process, and your declaration can be filed in the Tax-on-web system.

Settle your tax from abroad – we know how to help you!

As you can see, settling your foreign tax is not complicated provided that you use the help of a professional law firm. Whether you have worked in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany or Norway, we are able to recover advance tax payments taken from your salary. Contact us, tell us about your case and get your tax refund from abroad.