The Tax Administration will begin issuing income tax refunds at the beginning of August

Income tax refunds for the year 2015 will start being issued to citizens at the beginning of August this year, it was learned on Thursday from the Tax Administration, which is applying a special procedure for determining annual income tax for the first time this year.

Based on amendments to the Income Tax Act, adopted in November 2014, the Tax Administration will apply a special procedure for determining annual income tax for the year 2015 for taxpayer citizens in 2016. The special procedure essentially means that most taxpayers are not required to independently submit an annual tax return by the end of February, as tax officials will automatically calculate it for them. The legal amendments also established deadlines – the Tax Administration will provide taxpayer citizens with a temporary tax decision on the determination of annual income tax and the difference for payment or refund of tax by June 30, based on the records and data it possesses. Citizens can file an objection to that decision if they believe the data in the decision is incorrect or incomplete, no later than July 31. The first-instance body decides on the objection with a decision within 30 days from the date of receipt of the objection.

– Income tax refunds for the year 2015 will begin to be executed for taxpayer citizens at the beginning of August 2016, and the determined difference for tax payment must be paid by taxpayer citizens (who do not file an objection to the delivered decision) by July 31, 2016, the Tax Administration responded to the inquiry about when the refund of overpaid tax will begin. 

Until now, citizens submitted annual income tax returns for the previous year by the end of February, and refunds of overpaid tax and surtax typically began in April or May.
 The Tax Administration has also informed local units through its website that income tax refunds for 2015 will begin to be executed at the beginning of August this year. Unlike previous years, the majority of differences for refunds will be determined in a special procedure for determining annual income tax for the year 2015, which means that most of the tax refunds will be executed in August 2016, tax officials stated in that notice.

Special procedure for about 600 thousand taxpayers

Their estimate is that the special procedure will be applied to 600 thousand taxpayers. This includes citizens who earn income from dependent work, i.e., salary or pension, and who have also earned some royalties or fees based on contracts for work, those who worked part of the year for one employer and part for another, who were not previously required to submit a return but did so voluntarily because they calculated that they could receive a refund of overpaid tax.

As has been customary, about 730 thousand citizens submitted annual income tax returns, and this year about 130 thousand will still have to submit a return for the previous year by the end of February. This obligation remains for citizens who earn income from self-employment and activities, such as craftsmen, freelancers, and other taxpayers who determine income based on business books, as well as crew members of ships in international navigation, who earn income from dependent work based on work on ships in international navigation, and who are residents, as well as taxpayers for whom the Tax Administration does not have data on their earned income, i.e., those who have earned taxable income but whose employer or the taxpayer themselves did not report to the Tax Administration within the prescribed time on the prescribed report (e.g., citizens who earned dividends abroad but did not pay the tax advance in Croatia, although it should have been paid, and did not report this to the Tax Administration on the JOPPD form).

Particularly, citizens who are not required to submit a tax return but could potentially qualify for a refund based on certain tax reliefs should be cautious, as the Tax Administration does not have the data. This refers to citizens who could claim certain rights that the Tax Administration is unaware of, such as the right to increase personal deductions for dependents or children, for established disability (themselves or their children or dependents in the immediate family) or based on residence in supported areas of groups I and II and the city of Vukovar, and similar, who are not listed on the tax card (PK). These citizens can submit a request for recognition of tax relief in a special procedure on a new form – ZPP-DOH, and they must attach credible documents based on which they prove these rights. Citizens can find information on the Tax Administration’s website about how to submit an annual income tax return and the special procedure for determining annual income tax for the year 2015, frequently asked questions and answers regarding the special procedure for determining annual income tax, as well as forms DOH and ZPP-DOH, which must be submitted by the end of February this year.