Taxes
Most renters of self-contained rooms in Wageningen receive the water tax (GBLT tax) and municipality taxes (waste tax). If you have received this tax and you are a student you might be entitled to receive a payment remission. However, requesting a tax remission can be troublesome and confusing. To tackle this problem we decided to create a guide on how to apply for tax the different exemptions.
Common problems
- The communication of GBLT is in Dutch.
- Even when a student fulfils all the criteria for a tax exemption, the request might be denied without any further explanation.
- They want you to pay the tax for more than one person because a former tenant never unregistered from the accommodation.
- Students are not sure whether they are entitled for a tax exemption. Students are eligible to tax exemption based on their taxable income. Unfortunately, it is not always clear whether an income is taxable or not. When remission is requested, students must provide evidence of their income, that is, proof of scholarship(s), loans and bank statements. Based on this, the GBLT evaluates the remission request and determines its validity. Issues came up when non-taxable income(s) as considered as such and exemption requests are denied.
- Sometimes the GBLT tax charges students for periods on which he/she/they were not residing in the concerning accommodation. For example, the student started living in the accommodation in November 2019, but the GBLT tax request him/her to pay the entire year 2019.
- Combi rooms usually have their own facilities; therefore, they are sometimes considered as a residential unit suitable for families. That might cause the GBLT to request the payment of more than two people (when Idealis only allows the tenancy of up to two people in this type of accommodation).
Need help?
If your request is denied and you don’t know why, you can contact us and we are happy to help you!
Remission manuals
Collaboration
This initiative is a collaboration between the Housingdesk, SAW and SFO.