Why have I not received my tax refund yet?
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
First check that you have an assessment showing a refund. The usual one-week payment period starts from the date on that assessment. A missing bank account or an offset against overdue debt may result in a different timescale.
On this page
1. Have you received an assessment?
This guidance concerns a Dutch income tax assessment showing a refund. If you have only filed a return and have not received an assessment, the payment period described here has not started. Monthly provisional-refund payments also follow a different schedule. First identify the document on which you base your expectation.
2. Check the assessment date
For an assessment showing a refund, the Belastingdienst states that payment normally takes place within one week after the date on the assessment. Do not count from the day you filed your return or opened the letter. Compare the date and refund amount with your bank statement. A calculation in your return is not an assessment you have received.
3. Is a bank account missing?
If the Belastingdienst has no usable bank account for you, it will send a letter asking you to provide one. Use the official route and check that the message is genuine. After you provide the account, verification and payment may take another three weeks. Our preparation tool does not ask for an account number or BSN.
4. Check the account on record
Check the registered account in Mijn Belastingdienst. According to the official guidance, the Belastingdienst cannot reverse a payment that has already been made. Immediately provide a new account through the official route if necessary, and discuss a payment already sent to the wrong account with the Belastingdienst and your bank. Switching banks does not prove that every record has been updated.
5. Has an amount been offset?
An overdue amount may be offset against your refund. You will receive a letter about this. For any remaining refund, this source gives a maximum of six weeks after the assessment date. Check the debt and amount stated in the letter before concluding that the entire refund is missing.
6. Make your follow-up question specific
If you cannot explain the delay, use the checklist when contacting the BelastingTelefoon: assessment date, year, amount, account check and any offset letters. Keep notes of the conversation. A general threatening letter or an automatic compensation amount is not appropriate without further facts. If there is a dispute, you can request help through our own assistance form.
7. No assessment yet: when will I hear?
First check in Mijn Belastingdienst that your return was received. A saved draft is not a submitted return. Keep the receipt, tax year and submission date. This online check concerns digital returns. Paper returns cannot be tracked this way; if an adviser filed, ask them for submission evidence. For filing before 1 April, Belastingdienst says it sends a message before 1 July. This may be a letter explaining that the assessment will follow later. For later filing, a response within three months is a target, not a payment deadline. Partners may hear at different times. The final assessment is normally due within three years after the tax year; granted filing extensions are added. For 2025, without extension, that is 31 December 2028. Cross-border income or an unresolved earlier return/objection may take longer to process. This concerns exceeding the three-month processing target, not an automatic extension of the statutory assessment deadline. Check Mijn Belastingdienst, MijnOverheid and post. Contact the service about a missing receipt or unclear message; it cannot predict the exact processing date. Refund payment timing starts with the assessment date, not submission. Seek focused legal help if the actual assessment deadline expires; do not automatically send a default notice.
Should I file my return again to speed up payment?
Not simply because a payment has not arrived. First check the assessment, bank account and any offset. A substantive mistake in the return requires a different route from tracking an already awarded refund.
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- Refund assessment received, or only a return filed?
- Tax year, assessment date and refund amount
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- Letter about a missing account or offset
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Need personal assistance? Request a lawyer through our chat. We explain the next step; submitting a request does not engage a lawyer. The links below support the legal information.
Belastingdienst · Teruggaaf na de aanslag ↗Belastingdienst · Rekeningnummer controleren ↗BD bericht na aangifte ↗BD na aangifte ↗BD ontvangst aangifte ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.