Filing late or needing an extension: your options
Written by Ilias Aarrass5 min read · Published on · Last reviewed on 
In short
Request an extension for your income tax return before 1 May and you get until 1 September; tax interest on an amount due keeps running during that extension.
- Through a tax service provider using the consultants' scheme the extension can run well into the next year, provided you are registered there before 1 May.
- Do nothing and first a reminder arrives, then a formal demand, then a default penalty and finally an estimated assessment imposed by the inspector.
- Tax interest on an amount due runs from 1 July; raise your provisional assessment before 1 May to avoid it.
- There is no extension scheme for VAT, but filing within seven calendar days after the deadline usually still avoids a filing penalty.
Your income tax return must be in before 1 May. That is not always feasible: your records are not finished, you are waiting on a statement, or it has simply been busy. Arranging an extension is then a matter of minutes, provided you do it in time. Do nothing and first a reminder arrives, then a formal demand, and eventually a penalty with an assessment the tax authorities estimated themselves. This article lines up which route to take when, and which costs each choice avoids.
Requesting an extension yourself: before 1 May
You request an extension online in the tax portal or by phone, and you are then given until 1 September as standard. The condition is doing it before 1 May; after that it is no longer an extension but simply late. No reason is required, it is granted as a rule and it costs nothing. As an entrepreneur this is often the sensible route the moment you realise in April that your annual figures are not ready: better four extra months than a return with estimated figures you must correct later.
If a bookkeeper or tax adviser files for you, it works differently. Firms with the consultants' extension scheme can file for their clients in batches well into the following year. You must be registered with that firm before 1 May. Ask about it explicitly, because it is not automatic: your adviser must register you within the scheme.
What happens if you do nothing
The tax authorities first send a reminder and then a formal demand with a final deadline. Ignore that too and a default penalty follows, considerably higher for income tax than for VAT and rising on repetition. The inspector then issues an ex officio assessment: he estimates your income himself, and that estimate almost never falls in your favour. You must then still file and lodge an objection to put it right, which is considerably more work than the return itself.
- Reminder: no costs yet, but a new deadline.
- Formal demand: last chance, with a hard date in it.
- Default penalty: a fixed amount, rising steeply on repeated failures in later years.
- Ex officio assessment based on an estimate, usually on the high side.
- Tax interest on the amount due, calculated from 1 July.
You are already late: now what
File anyway, and do it as fast as possible. Even after the deadline: the sooner you file yourself, the smaller the chance of an ex officio assessment and the better your position on a penalty. Stuck because your records are a mess? Start with the year the demand covers and catch up on the rest afterwards; see clearing a backlog in your bookkeeping.
If you received a penalty you consider unjust, for instance because you demonstrably filed on time or there was force majeure, object within six weeks. After a first slip following years of clean filing, a default penalty is regularly reduced. How to write that up is covered in objecting to an assessment.
Preventing it next year
The pattern is nearly always the same: the return is not the problem, the records underneath are. Anyone updating their books monthly files a return in March that is largely ready. A fixed monthly routine of half an hour is enough. Also put the four fixed moments in your calendar: the quarterly VAT returns and 1 May for income tax, with the end of March as your internal deadline.
If you work with a bookkeeper, agree when you supply your documents and whether you fall within the extension scheme. The latter takes the pressure off spring and stops you forcing figures in April. What a firm needs from you is covered in what to supply when outsourcing, and all the dates are in tax deadlines for freelancers.
The dates and what happens
Requesting an extension is free and takes two minutes, but only before 1 May. This is the timeline, and what doing nothing costs.
| Date | What happens | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 March | Filing opens | Filed before 1 April? Usually an answer before 1 July |
| 1 May | Final date to file or request an extension | Extensions can be requested up to this day, not after |
| 1 July | Tax interest starts running | 5 percent on an amount payable, even with an extension |
| 1 September | End of the standard extension | Through a bookkeeper a longer period is often possible |
| Doing nothing | A reminder, then an estimated assessment | A penalty and an estimate that is almost always too high |
Frequently asked questions
Does requesting an extension cost money?
No, an extension is free and is nearly always granted on a timely request. What does cost money is tax interest on an amount due after 1 July, which keeps running during your extension.
I expect a refund. Does filing late matter then?
Not for interest, since that is only charged on amounts due. It does matter for the default penalty: that attaches to not filing or filing late, not to the amount. And you only receive your refund once you have filed.
Can I still change my return after filing?
Yes. As long as the final assessment has not arrived, simply file a new version; the latest counts. If the assessment has arrived, object within six weeks or request an ex officio reduction.
Does the same apply to my VAT return?
No, there is no extension scheme for VAT: that return is due within a month after the period. File within seven calendar days after that date and the tax authorities usually still impose no filing penalty; after that they do. See filing VAT late.
Sources
- Requesting an extension for your tax returnBelastingdienst · belastingdienst.nl
Sources checked on
This article provides general information based on the rules known for 2026 and does not replace personal tax advice. For your specific situation, we're happy to take a look with you.
