Enforcement order or seizure by the Dutch tax authorities?

How it gets to this point

If you do not pay an assessment on time, the tax collector (the ontvanger) first sends a reminder, a letter giving you a new two-week payment term. If you still do not pay, a writ of execution can follow at the earliest around sixteen days later. Once that writ is served, the collector can proceed to enforce it without going to court first.

If payment still does not follow, a tax bailiff acting on the collector's instructions can seize property. That can be money, wages, or movable property such as a car. Costs are added at every step; see below for how much.

Received a reminder?

A reminder (aanmaning) gives you two weeks to pay after all, counted from the date on the letter. Sometimes a payment notice comes first. If you cannot pay within those two weeks, request deferral of payment in writing straight away. While the collector decides on it, collection does not continue.

Seizure of, for example, your car

When movable property is seized, the bailiff draws up a report listing what has been seized and serves it on you. From that report, the public sale may not take place within four weeks. In practice, those four weeks are the time you have.

If it turns out during that period that you can keep to an acceptable payment plan, the sale is postponed and a new date is set. This is called prolongation, and it is the most common outcome when there is still something to arrange.

Wage garnishment and seizure of your bank account

After a writ of execution, the collector can require your employer or benefits agency to pay part of your wages or benefit directly to the tax authority. He can also claim the money in your bank account from your bank. No court is needed for this.

When wages or benefits are garnished, part always stays with you: the protected amount (beslagvrije voet). The bailiff calculates that amount and sends you the calculation. If it is wrong, report what is missing within four weeks. The amount is then adjusted from the moment the garnishment started.

What helps most today

Do not call the general tax helpline first. The letter or writ from the bailiff states the name and phone number of the specific collector handling your file. That is the person who decides on deferral or postponement, and calling directly is faster than the standard route.

You can also formally object to a writ of execution by summons to the district court (article 17 of the Tax Collection Act). Important to know: since 1 January 2018, such an objection no longer automatically suspends enforcement. Collection generally just continues unless the court orders otherwise. That makes objection rarely the fastest option. Talking to the collector usually is.

If any tax returns are still outstanding, file them as soon as possible. Without the real figures there is nothing to base a payment plan on.

What the reminder and the writ itself cost

On top of the tax debt, collection costs are added: € 9 for amounts up to € 454, and € 21 above that. The costs of the writ and of any public sale come on top of that. The sooner you act, the less of this stacks up.