In which country should I declare my German pension?

Do you live in the Netherlands? If so, you will need to declare your German pension or annuity in your tax return in the Netherlands.

You do not have to file a tax return in Germany if you ask the German tax authorities for permission. You can arrange this with the form Tax return declaration German pension (only available in Dutch).

How to fill in your declaration?

Fill in your German pension in the declaration under 'Pension and other benefits'.

Are you receiving a German benefit as a victim of persecution or because you were a forced labourer in World War II?

In that case, you do not have to pay tax on it in the Netherlands. Therefore, you do not need to declare this amount in your Dutch income tax return. This applies retroactively from 1 January 2016.

This concerns the following payments:

• payments based on: gesetz zur Zahlbarmachung von Renten aus Beschäftigungen in einem Ghetto (Act on the payment of interest on work carried out in a ghetto)
• benefits from: härtefonds für rassisch Verfolgte nicht jüdischen Glaubens(HNG fund payments)
• payments based on: bundesgesetz zur Entschädigung für auf dem Gebiet des ehemaligen Deutschen Reiches lebende Opfer der NS-Verfolgung

In some cases, you do pay tax on your German pension in Germany

You can do this in the following situations:

• You receive a German state pension and are not a Dutch national.
• You receive a total of more than €15,000 per year in pension, annuity and benefits from Germany. Your state pension, and from 1 January 2023 also your social security benefit, do not count when calculating the €15,000 limit.
• You receive social security benefits from Germany.
• You receive a lump-sum refund of a pension or annuity.