Dutch tax return for Ukrainians: the M form, deadlines and income from Ukraine

Do you have to file?

For the 2025 tax year you must file if:

• you received a filing letter from the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst);
• without a filing letter, you owe €58 or more. File before 14 July, or you may be fined;
• you receive benefits (toeslagen) and you, your partner or your minor children together have assets above the limit (in 2025 €37,395, or €74,790 with a fiscal partner).

Will you get €19 or more back? Then filing is worthwhile too. Without a filing letter you can file up to 5 years back to claim a refund.

According to the Dutch government, Ukrainians who work in the Netherlands must file a tax return. You do this online in Mijn Belastingdienst (your online tax account) with your DigiD.

Where do you live for tax purposes?

Your residence status does not decide where you pay tax. The law says that where a person lives is judged by the circumstances. So the facts count: where you live, where you work and where your family is. Temporary protection does not change that rule.

If you are registered in the BRP (Personal Records Database) and live here, you are usually a resident taxpayer. That means you declare your entire worldwide income, from the Netherlands and from abroad. If the facts point to two countries at once, the tax treaty decides where you are resident. First it looks at where you have a permanent home, then at where the centre of your life is.

The year of arrival: the M return

In the year you moved to the Netherlands, you lived here for only part of the year. You then file the M return (M stands for migration). The year is split in two:

What you need to know:

• Only in the year of arrival or departure. Did you already live in the Netherlands for the whole of 2025, for example because you came in 2022? Then you file a normal return for 2025. If you go back to Ukraine or move to another country, you file an M return again for that year.
• Online or on paper. In Mijn Belastingdienst, choose the return for people who lived outside the Netherlands for part of the year. Prefer paper? Request form M; the Belastingdienst sends it within 2 weeks. Entrepreneurs filing on paper also complete the M annual statements (M-jaarstukken).
• Its own deadline. The 2025 M return was available in Mijn Belastingdienst from 1 May 2026, and you could file it until 1 July 2026. The date that applies to you is in your filing letter.
• The right form. Your filing letter states which form the Belastingdienst expects from you. If that is wrong, call the BelastingTelefoon (tax information line). Sending a different form from the one expected can mean your return is not processed.
• Extension. For the M return you request an extension with a form or through the BelastingTelefoon Buitenland (tax information line for non-resident issues), no later than the date in your filing letter.

The Belastingdienst has 3 years to process an M return. So you will receive your final assessment for 2025 by 31 December 2028 at the latest.

Deadline and extension for a normal return

Your 2025 return had to be in before the date in your filing letter, usually 1 May 2026. If you requested an extension before 1 May, you had until 1 September 2026. An extension is only possible if you received a filing letter. For later years, always check the date in your filing letter.

Employed? You often get money back

• After the year ends, your employer gives you an annual statement (jaaropgaaf) showing your pay and the payroll tax withheld. Check the pre-filled data in your return against it.
• Did you not work the whole year, for example because you started partway through? Then too much payroll tax was often withheld. You get it back through your return.
• Only let 1 employer at a time apply the payroll tax credit (loonheffingskorting). If two employers do, you pay too little tax and have to pay the difference later.

Self-employed or sole proprietor

As an entrepreneur (zzp, eenmanszaak) you pay income tax on your profit: your turnover minus your business costs. See also Deductible business costs.

For the entrepreneur’s deductions you must work at least 1,225 hours per calendar year on your business. If you start partway through the year, you may not scale those hours down to a shorter period. If you start on 1 July, you still need 1,225 hours in those six months. If you also have a job, you must (unless you are a starter) spend more time on your business than on your job.

Did you already have a ФОП (sole proprietorship) in Ukraine? Then have it checked whether you count as a starter in the Netherlands. Rates and deductions are covered in Dutch income tax return for entrepreneurs. Just starting out? Also read Doing business under temporary protection about the KVK and the TWV.

Income and assets in Ukraine

If you live in the Netherlands, you also declare what you earn or own in Ukraine. The tax treaty between the Netherlands and Ukraine (signed in 1995, amended in 2018) decides which country may tax. The Netherlands gives a reduction or deduction so you do not pay twice.

Box 3. Bank accounts outside the Netherlands and a home in Ukraine are part of your assets in box 3 (savings and investments). You declare the value on 1 January and convert it to euros at the exchange rate of 1 January. You pay no box 3 tax on assets up to the tax-free allowance (heffingsvrij vermogen): in 2025 €57,684 per person (€115,368 with a fiscal partner), in 2026 €59,357 (€118,714 together). In the year of arrival, box 3 works differently; have that checked for your situation.

Do you pay tax in Ukraine through your ФОП, for example the single tax (єдиний податок)? Then whether and how it counts in the Netherlands has to be assessed case by case. A ФОП that is still open in Ukraine does not automatically mean you have nothing to declare in the Netherlands.

Benefits and your income

With temporary protection you do not need a residence permit for housing benefit (huurtoeslag), healthcare benefit (zorgtoeslag), childcare benefit (kinderopvangtoeslag) and child budget (kindgebonden budget). You do have to meet the usual conditions. You only get healthcare benefit if you have Dutch health insurance.

Benefits are first calculated on an estimate of your income. After the year ends, the Belastingdienst looks at your actual income. If it was higher, you have to pay back. If you start working or your profit goes up, report it straight away in Mijn toeslagen.

Housing benefit changes from 2026: there is no longer a maximum rent limit for getting housing benefit. The calculation counts rent up to €932.93 (under 21: €498.20), and the benefit is based on the basic rent, without certain service costs.

Common mistakes

• Thinking that temporary protection means you do not pay tax.
• Filing a normal return in the year of arrival when the Belastingdienst expects an M return.
• Not declaring your Ukrainian bank account, home or ФОП.
• Letting two employers apply the payroll tax credit at the same time.
• Not reporting a higher income to the benefits office (Toeslagen).
• Giving your DigiD login to someone else. If someone helps you, they can do it safely with an authorisation (machtiging).
• Starting partway through the year and counting on the self-employed deduction without reaching 1,225 hours.

Watch out for scams

The Belastingdienst never sends a payment link by email, text message or WhatsApp, and never asks for personal details that way. Check messages in Mijn Belastingdienst. Since 1 May 2026 the Belastingdienst uses account numbers starting with NL04 RABO. More in A letter from the Dutch tax authority.

Help in Ukrainian or Russian

If you are only employed, you can also make an appointment with the Belastingdienst for help with your return. Are you self-employed, or do you have a sole proprietorship or partnership (vof), perhaps alongside a job or with income from Ukraine? Then we file your return and explain everything in Ukrainian or Russian, or in Dutch, English or Serbian.

Unsure about your return or the M form? Send us a message, with a photo of your filing letter if you have one.

This article gives general information and is not personal advice. Rules and amounts change; to find out what applies to your situation, get in touch with us.