Can you still claim income tax averaging in 2026?
Yes, but only for a limited time. Income tax averaging, or middeling, let you smooth strongly fluctuating income across three years and reclaim tax. The scheme ended on 1 January 2023, so no new years qualify. You can still apply for the last window: 2022, 2023 and 2024. You just need to meet the deadline. This page covers what you can still claim and until when. We don’t cover how Box 1 income tax works year by year. Our guide to Dutch tax brackets and rates » does that. Only income taxed in Box 1 in the Netherlands counts.
In short
Abolished on 1 January 2023. Income tax averaging has ended, but you can still claim past years.
2022, 2023 and 2024 are the last three years you can still average, in one combination.
36 months to apply. The clock runs 36 months from your final 2024 assessment, plus a six-week objection period.
€545 threshold. You get back only the difference above €545. Below that, nothing comes back.
Three consecutive years, each used once. You need a definitive assessment for all three first. No assessment for a year? Then your jaaropgaaf (annual statement) counts.
No effect on your benefits. Averaging never changes your verzamelinkomen (the figure benefits are based on), so your toeslagen stay the same.
A low arrival year counts. The year you moved to the Netherlands has part-year income, which often makes averaging pay.
What is income tax averaging, and who is it for?
Averaging suits anyone whose income rose or fell sharply across 2022, 2023 and 2024. It compares the tax on your three separate yearly incomes with the tax on their average and refunds the difference. Because the brackets are progressive, an uneven income costs more tax than a level one. Take Emma, who moved to Amsterdam in mid-2022 for a new job. Her 2022 income covered only half a year, so it was low. Her 2023 and 2024 were full, higher-earning years. That arrival-year dip is exactly the pattern averaging rewards. She wants one answer: can she still claim, and by when?
Which years can you still average?
The last window is 2022, 2023 and 2024. Averaging always runs over three consecutive years, and each year can be used once. You also need a definitive assessment for all three years first. For a year without one, your jaaropgaaf counts. A year with a negative income counts as zero in the sum, not as a minus. And averaging never touches your verzamelinkomen, so your benefits (toeslagen) stay exactly as they were. For Emma, that low 2022 half-year sits naturally in the 2022 to 2024 block.
| Rule | What applies |
|---|---|
| Last period you can average | 2022, 2023 and 2024 |
| Years per request | 3 consecutive, each used once |
| Threshold (drempel) | €545, you get only the excess back |
| Application deadline | 36 months after the final 2024 assessment, plus 6 weeks |
| Negative income year | Counts as €0 in the calculation |
| Effect on benefits | None, your verzamelinkomen stays the same |
| Cross-border years | Only Box 1 income taxed in the Netherlands counts |
How do you know if a middeling request still pays?
You compare the tax you actually paid with the tax on your average income. Both amounts cover the three years.**** The Belastingdienst works this out in five steps. First, it adds your three Box 1 incomes together, counting any negative year as zero. Second, it divides by three for the average. Third, it totals the income tax and national insurance you paid over the three years, before tax credits. Fourth, it recalculates the tax on your average income using its own averaging tables. Fifth, it subtracts the two: if the difference is more than €545, you get the excess back. Take Emma with €35,000 in 2022, €85,000 in 2023 and €90,000 in 2024. Her average is €70,000. Over her real incomes she paid €80,955 in tax, before credits.³ Over €70,000 in each year the tax is €77,753.³ The difference is €3,202. Minus the €545 threshold she reclaims €2,657. The Belastingdienst publishes these five steps and the €545 threshold on belastingdienst.nl.
“Did your income swing sharply across 2022, 2023 and 2024? A refund could be waiting. The window closes for good, so do not wait. We check quickly if a request pays off for you.”
Until when can you still apply?
You have 36 months after your final 2024 assessment, plus the six-week objection period. An assessment becomes final six weeks after the Belastingdienst issues it, once the objection window closes. The clock starts from the last of your three definitive assessments. For the 2022 to 2024 block, that is the 2024 one. Say the Belastingdienst issued Emma’s definitive 2024 assessment on 10 March 2025. Her deadline to apply is 36 months plus six weeks later, so 21 April 2028. Because everyone’s assessment date differs, the last requests run out across 2028 and 2029. Miss your date and the refund is gone. The Belastingdienst sets out this 36-month term on belastingdienst.nl.
What should you do now?
Check your 2022 to 2024 income now, while the window is open. If your income rose or fell sharply across those years, a middeling request may still put money back in your account. Gather your definitive assessments for 2022, 2023 and 2024, or let us pull the picture together for you. We compare the candidate periods, confirm the refund clears €545, and file the request before your deadline. Emma did exactly that, and reclaimed a refund she had almost let expire. After 2029, the scheme closes for everyone.
¹ belastingdienst.nl, Mijn jaarinkomens verschillen: kan ik geld terugvragen door middeling? · Accessed
² belastingdienst.nl, Teruggaaf door middeling berekenen · Accessed
³ belastingdienst.nl, Tarieven voor personen die de AOW-leeftijd nog niet hebben bereikt (middeling) · Accessed