The process of determining the annual tax settlement could be conducted for 750 thousand citizens

The Tax Administration estimates that approximately 750 thousand citizens will undergo the process of determining the annual income tax settlement for the year 2017, which is being conducted this year in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act that came into force at the beginning of last year.

– The Tax Administration estimates that the process of determining the annual income tax settlement for the year 2017 will be conducted for 750,000 taxpayers-citizens. Given the changes in legal regulations that came into effect on January 1, 2017, which affect the determination of annual income earned in the tax period, the Tax Administration is currently consolidating all data that affects the calculation of income tax for the year 2017, they say at the Tax Administration, where they cannot estimate what the total amount of refunds for overpaid income tax and surtax that citizens can expect for the year 2017 might be.

>>>Income tax from salary: For three groups of employees, the employer prepares the annual settlement

Namely, last year, the process of determining the annual income tax settlement for the year 2016 was conducted for approximately 1.13 million citizens, but that process was conducted according to the provisions of the old law.

As early as the end of 2016, when the law from the tax reform package was adopted, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić presented an estimate that the new Income Tax Act would allow an additional slightly more than half a million taxpayers to avoid the ‘scissors’ of income tax.

Citizens refunded more than 1.1 billion kuna

According to the Tax Administration data, last year, a regular procedure was conducted for a total of 4,903 taxpayers-citizens, while a special procedure for determining the annual income tax settlement for 1,127,056 citizens was conducted. In this process, a tax and surtax difference for payment was determined for a total of 71,463 citizens in the amount of 164.1 million kuna, while for 1,056,911 citizens, a difference of overpaid income tax and surtax was determined, and they were refunded slightly more than 1.1 billion kuna.

>>>The Tax Administration expanded its services through the eTax system

In fact, the Tax Administration has been applying a special procedure for determining the annual income tax for the past few years, which means that most citizens-taxpayers do not have the obligation to independently submit an annual tax return, as the calculation is automatically done by tax officials for them.

However, for some taxpayers, today is the deadline for submitting the annual income tax return for the previous year. This obligation applies to citizens who earn income from self-employment, such as craftsmen, members of liberal professions, and other taxpayers who determine income based on business records. Crew members of ships in international navigation, as well as taxpayers from whom the Tax Administration has requested subsequent payment of income tax, also have the obligation to file taxes.

Citizens who do not have the obligation to submit a tax return but who could claim a refund based on certain tax deductions, if they believe that the Tax Administration does not have that data, should submit a request for recognition of the tax deduction in a special procedure by the end of today. They can do this by visiting the Tax Administration office, and from this year also through eTax.

>>>Marić: The amended Income Tax Regulation will relieve citizens by 266 million kuna

If citizens want certain rights that are not known to the Tax Administration to be recognized through the annual settlement – for example, if they seek recognition of additional dependents or recognition of disability or residence in a supported area or the city of Vukovar, they can report this by submitting the ZPP-DOH form. From the beginning of this year, the submission of this form has been enabled through eTax, the Tax Administration announced last week.

Temporary tax decisions by the end of June

Citizens should receive temporary tax decisions by the end of June this year, and they can appeal that decision if they believe that the data in the decision is incorrect or incomplete, no later than July 31. The first-instance body decides on the appeal by a decision within 30 days from the date of receipt of the appeal.

In fact, the Income Tax Act, which has been in effect since the beginning of last year, has increased the amount of the basic personal deduction to 3,800 kuna, which is the same for all taxpayers (it was previously 2,600 kuna for employees), and personal deductions for children and other dependents have also been increased.

Income has been taxed at rates of 24 and 36 percent since the beginning of last year (previously 25 and 40 percent), and the tax bases have also been changed so that monthly incomes up to 17,500 kuna or up to 210,000 kuna annually are taxed at a rate of 24 percent, while incomes above that amount are taxed at a rate of 36 percent.

>>>Z. Marić: From next year, all income from income tax goes to local government

These rates and tax bases also apply to the calculation of advance income tax for pensioners, but their determined tax obligation is additionally reduced by 50 percent, and such a reduction is also recognized for taxpayers in local units in the first group of areas classified according to the level of development, as well as for the city of Vukovar.