What is the migration year for Dutch tax?
The migration year is the year you move to or from the Netherlands. It has its own tax return, and that return is the M-form.¹
The M in M-form stands for migration. You file one form for the whole year, even though your tax position changed partway through it. It is not your ordinary yearly return, and it is not the residency test itself.
Filing the M-form and the residency test each have their own page. We explain the filing on our M-form service page, and how residency works on our page about tax residency.
Take Mateo. He moved to Amsterdam in April for a new job, after living and working abroad. His year splits in two, and he files one M-form for it. We follow his situation through this page.
In short
One special return. The M-form is the income tax return for the year you move to or from the Netherlands.
It covers two periods. One form reports the part of the year you were a resident and the part you were not.
Resident means worldwide, non-resident means Dutch-source. Your worldwide income counts while you are a resident, only Dutch income for the rest.
File between 1 May and 1 July. The window runs in the year after your migration year, and you can ask for more time.
Online or on paper. Online filing needs a DigiD, the Dutch digital login for government services. You request it after registering in your municipality.
A refund is common. Payroll tax is withheld as if you earned a full year, so a part-year mover has often paid too much.
Residency follows your life, not a day count. Where your home and life are decides whether you count as a resident.
How does the Netherlands tax you in your migration year?
Your migration year splits into two periods, and each follows its own rule. While you are a Dutch resident, the Netherlands taxes your worldwide income. For the rest of the year, it taxes only your Dutch-source income. That includes Dutch wages and a Dutch home.
The Netherlands taxes a resident taxpayer (binnenlandse belastingplicht) on income from anywhere in the world. A non-resident taxpayer (buitenlandse belastingplicht) pays tax only on Dutch-source income, such as a Dutch salary or a Dutch home. In your migration year you are usually both, one period after the other.
Which side of the move each euro falls on depends on when you became, or stopped being, a resident. That in turn depends on where your life is, not on a set number of days. We explain that test on our page about tax residency.
For Mateo, the months before April are the non-resident part. He had no Dutch income then, so he pays no Dutch tax here. From April he is a resident, so his salary and his worldwide income count. A tax treaty can also apply to your arrival, and we check this with you.
What is the M-form and how do you file it?
The M-form is your migration-year tax return, and you file it online or on paper. You file it online via Mijn Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax portal. You log in with your DigiD, or file on paper using form M. A new arrival applies for a DigiD after registering with the municipality.
Filing for an older year, 2022 or earlier? That still goes on paper. Both routes cover the same thing: your resident period and your non-resident period, together in one return.
You file between 1 May and 1 July of the year after your migration year. You can also ask the Belastingdienst for more time. After you file, you usually hear back within about three months. The Belastingdienst then has up to three years to settle the final assessment. The filing window and the assessment terms come from the Belastingdienst, accessed 6 August 2026.
The table below sets out the M-form at a glance.
| The M-form | What applies |
|---|---|
| What it is | The income tax return for the year you move |
| When to file | 1 May to 1 July, the year after your migration year |
| How to file | Online via Mijn Belastingdienst or on paper |
| Resident part of the year | Taxed on your worldwide income |
| Non-resident part of the year | Taxed on your Dutch-source income only |
| After you file | A notice usually within about three months |
Why do people often get a refund in their migration year?
Dutch payroll withholds tax as if you earned a full year's salary. If you work here for only part of the year, payroll still withholds tax that way. So you usually pay more than you owe on your real annual income.
Payroll tables assume twelve months of the same pay. A mover who arrives or leaves partway earns less here than those tables assume. So too much tax comes off each payslip. The migration-year return puts that right.
It does not always end in a refund. The amount depends on your income, your deductions and your migration date. We work out your figure with you rather than promise one here.
For Mateo, the steps below show how his year comes together.
| Step | What applies |
|---|---|
| January to March | Abroad, with no Dutch income to report here |
| April onwards | Living in Amsterdam, with a Dutch salary |
| One return | His M-form reports both periods together |
| His payroll tax | Withheld from April, as if he earned a full year |
| The likely result | Often a refund, because his Dutch year started in April |
“People dread the M-form because it looks like two tax years in one. It is, and that is also why it so often ends in a refund. We map both periods with you and file the one form.”
What if you are emigrating or keep ties abroad?
Leaving the Netherlands has its own steps, and one can be an extra assessment. When you emigrate, the Belastingdienst can issue a conserverende aanslag. That is a protective assessment. It secures the Dutch tax built up on things like your pension, annuity or a substantial shareholding.² A substantial shareholding is a stake of five percent or more in a company.
You still file an M-form for the year you leave, the same way a new arrival does, only in the other direction. After you have gone, the Netherlands can keep taxing your Dutch income and Dutch assets as a non-resident. Where the same income could be taxed twice, tax treaties decide who may tax what. We explain that on our page about double taxation.
Sometimes the Belastingdienst also asks for a separate worldwide income statement (opgaaf wereldinkomen). We cover that on our page about the worldwide income return. Do you have the 30% ruling? Its conditions are set out on our 30% ruling page. We check with you how your migration date affects your ruling.
The protective assessment usually stands for ten years, and for a substantial shareholding it can stand indefinitely.² The exact terms depend on your situation, so we go through them with you.
What does this mean for you?
Start with the months you were a resident, and work from there. Gather your income from both countries for that year. Watch the 1 May to 1 July window. And if you are leaving, expect the question about a conserverende aanslag.
The move has more impact than your tax return. In one conversation we cover the split year and your residency position. You can have us file the M-form itself on our M-form service page. Mateo does the same for his arrival year, with both periods in one return.
¹ belastingdienst.nl, Aangifte doen over het jaar van emigratie of immigratie (M-aangifte) · Accessed
² belastingdienst.nl, Conserverende aanslag bij emigratie · Accessed
Common questions about tax migration
What is the M-form?
It is the income tax return for the year you move to or from the Netherlands. It reports the resident and non-resident parts of that year in one form.