Now that everyone is filing their tax returns, it's time to remind (or tell those who don't know) that the charity you do is tax deductible.
It is interesting that in Dutch such charity is called a gift. Do not let this name confuse you, we are talking about donations to organizations that do charity work, and not about simple gifts to your friends and family.
So, what about these "gifts"? There are two types of them: regular gifts (gewonegiften) and regular gifts (periodiekegiften). Both those and others can, under certain conditions, be deducted from taxes, that is, reduce the amount of taxable income. Or, in other words, you can get back the tax paid on the amount of the gift.
Regular gifts
A common gift is a one-time transfer of money to help children in Africa or someone else. This is certainly a good thing and such transfers of your money can be deducted from taxes. But there are several conditions here. So, for example, if this translation was made in the name of a certain association (vereniging), you cannot deduct it.
Annual contributions will also be considered a regular gift, unless a special agreement has been drawn up for them.
Such gifts can be deducted from taxes if they meet the following conditions:
- Your gift is made through the ANBI (algemeennutbeogendeinstelling) community organization. You can check whether the organization is such by following the link: ProgrammaANBIopzoeken.
- Your gift / contribution is voluntary. Thus, mandatory contributions, for example, for the church, cannot be deducted from taxes.
- You receive nothing in return for your gift. That is, the purchase of a lot, the money for which will then go to some useful business, is also not considered, because it gives you the opportunity to win.
- You can confirm that you have made this gift / contribution, for example, by using your account statement.
In addition, such gifts have a drempel and a maximum, which are also important to consider. You can deduct only the amount that is above the threshold of 1% (but at least 60 euros) and below the maximum contribution of 10% of your income and deductions from boxes 1, 2 and 3. That is, it turns out that everything that you spent on charity above this threshold amount, you can deduct from taxes.
If you fill out the declaration online, then the tax authorities will calculate your deduction threshold, and it will be displayed on the page where you enter information about gifts.
Here is an example:
Your income (from which the threshold will be calculated) is € 27.000. Thus, the threshold amount is € 270 and the maximum amount is € 2.700. And you donated to charity, for example, € 450. And it was a one-time contribution.
In this case, you calculate the amount that can be deductible from taxes as follows: 450 (total charitable contribution) - 270 (threshold non-deductible amount) = 180 (amount that can be deductible from taxes).
Do you have a fiscal partner?
In this case, your gifts are counted in total as well as your income. If you are not sure if you have a fiscal partner, read more here (https://www.nalog.nl/2019/01/16/fiskalnyj-partner-nalogovyj-partner-2019-god/).
Regular gifts
Your charitable gifts are considered regular if you have made them for at least 5 years and they meet the following three conditions:
- You make the same contribution annually to the same organization or association. You decide whether you do this translation one or more times.
- You have been making these translations for at least five years.
- You have a deadline for stopping your annual payments, for example, after 5 years or if you die.
Regular gifts can be deducted in full if the following conditions are met:
- Your gift is made through the ANBI (algemeennutbeogendeinstelling) community organization. Or for an association that meets certain requirements (1. The association has at least 25 members; 2. The association is notarized and registered in the Chamber of Commerce (KvK); 3. The association does not receive profit and, accordingly, does not file a tax return)
- Your regular payments are formalized by an agreement drawn up by a notary or your personal agreement with the association.
- You receive nothing in return for your regular gifts / contributions.
Be careful!
The gift that you made before the conclusion of the contract is not considered periodic. This is a regular gift and the rules for deducting regular gifts apply.
It is important to know!
Among the various organizations that you can give a gift / donation to, there are also culturele organizations involved in cultural philanthropy. If you are giving a gift to such an organization, then you can multiply the amount of your gift by 1,25, that is, increase the amount that can be deducted from taxes.
For example, you made a gift to the opera house in the amount of 1000 euros, which means that you can calculate the deducted amount not from 1000, but from 1250 euros.
