Ex-officio tax relief – Extended application and clarification of the concept of ‘material error’

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Within six months (as from the third working day) following the date of sending of the tax assessment notice by the Belgian tax authorities, taxpayers can file a tax claim in order to obtain a rectification.

After this six-month period has expired, a rectification in case of surtax can in some cases be requested via an ex-officio tax relief during a five-year period. This is for example possible in the following cases:

–       In the case where a tax reduction was not claimed or granted;

–       in the case where a ‘material error’ was made when filing the tax return or when establishing the taxes due.

Due to a change in the tax law in December 2013, the list of tax reductions eligible for such ex-officio tax relief was significantly extended as from tax year 2014 (income of 2013).

Recently, the Belgian tax authorities have published a Practice Note including a list of all eligible tax reductions. They have also clarified the notion of ‘material error’ with specific examples of (non-)qualifying material errors. It is e.g. explicitly stated that wrongfully declaring foreign-source income as Belgian-source income, does not constitute a material error.

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