On average, a Belgian taxpayer takes 20 minutes to complete their tax return. This is according to figures from the Federal Finance Department. "That is not long and this is mainly because 6 in 10 Belgians already receive a pre-completed tax return," says the Finance Department’s spokesman Francis Adyns told VRT News. However, it is always best to check your return thoroughly, because mistakes still often creep into or information is omitted from pre-completed returns and that could lead to you missing out on a tax break.
Don't be put off by the hundreds of codes on your tax return. The average Belgian tax payer only uses about 12 of them to complete their tax return. Moreover, increasingly many if not all the codes have already been filled in automatically by the tax office. Nevertheless, Francis Adyns advises us "In order to be sure read the simplified declaration proposal carefully, because after the deadline has expired it will be submitted automatically. Any errors that might be on it remain your responsibility."
You can file your return in two ways: on paper or digitally. The deadline for the paper version is 30 June 2024, for the electronic version you have until 15 July 2024.
Fill in your tax return digitally with MyMinfin
Do you no longer wish to file a paper tax return but rather fill everything in online? Then you will need to log in to the online platform MyMinfin. There you will find your digital tax return, via the Tax-on-Web site (Dutch, French or German). Here you complete your tax return and can submit everything to the tax office online.
You can find MyMinFin via the Finance Department’s website. There you click on 'log in' and then you are given several options. You can sign up via Itsme. This is a very secure smartphone app app that lets your prove your identity. You can also use your electronic identity card/residents’ card. If you do this you will insert you ID card into a card reader and the system will ask for the PIN number of the card.
Simplified declaration proposal
For more than 4 million people, the Finance Department completes their tax return in advance using all the data that it has at its disposal. This is convenient, because in theory at least you no longer have to fill in the form yourself.
However, if you receive a simplified declaration proposal you need to check it carefully. The Christian trade union ACV says that there are errors in 1 in 4 of the simplified declaration proposals. The Finances Department doesn’t deny that some of the simplified declaration proposals are erroneous but says only around 7% are not accurate. Missing or incorrect data on the return means that you might miss out on tax breaks and this can cost you money. The taxpayer is always responsible for their declaration and any errors that it might contain.