What changes financially when you move to Colombia?
Tick where your income comes from. You then see which rules Colombia and the Netherlands apply to your situation: which country may tax you, which schemes exist and how you get insured. With the source, so you can check it yourself.
This applies to everyone who moves. Tick above what applies to you, and the rest will appear.
Which country may tax
Which part of your income may your new country of residence tax?
After more than 183 days Colombia taxes your worldwide income
If you're in Colombia for more than 183 days in a period of 365 days, you're a tax resident there. Colombia then taxes your income from Colombia and from abroad.
The days of arrival and departure count. If the stay runs over two calendar years, you're a resident from the second year. Without a treaty the same income can thus be taxed in two countries. The credit for foreign tax is in the block on the special regime.
- tax resident
- after more than 183 days in 365
Special regimes
Is there a favourable regime, and do you qualify?
Tax you paid in the Netherlands, you deduct in Colombia
A resident of Colombia who paid tax abroad on foreign income may deduct it from the Colombian tax on the same income.
The credit is never higher than what Colombia itself asks on that income. Without a treaty this is the only rule that limits double taxation. So keep the annual statements with the Dutch tax withheld every year.
- credit
- up to the Colombian amount on the same income
What the Netherlands doesn't let go of
Which Dutch obligation travels with you?
Your AOW build-up stops when you leave, repairing is possible within one year
Whoever goes to live outside the Netherlands is usually no longer insured for the AOW and the Anw. Each year you're not insured, you later get 2 percent less AOW.
This is about the build-up, not about the payment. What you built up until you left stays. If you leave before your AOW age, each year until that age costs 2 percent. With a voluntary insurance at the SVB you close the gap. For that you have one year from the moment you're no longer insured. That applies to each of a couple separately.
- reduction per uninsured year
- 2% of your AOW
- apply for voluntary insurance
- within 1 year
Your Dutch basic insurance ends when you deregister
Your basic insurance stops on the day you deregister. Your new policy only starts once the insurer has accepted you.
Without the CAK there is no safety net. If you put off the insurance question until after the move, an insurer may refuse you or exclude things. So arrange your cover first, and only then take steps you can't reverse. Make sure there's no day between the end date in the Netherlands and your first insured day.
Where this comes from: The list of treaty countries for healthcare (no CAK route) and the fixed emigration rule that the Zvw ends on deregistration.
Read the whole storyThis is not tax advice
These are the rules that apply to your situation. What they add up to is not shown here. With Colombia it comes down to a treaty that isn't there yet: the 2022 tax treaty is signed but not in force, and a social security treaty and a healthcare treaty don't exist. Without a treaty the Netherlands keeps taxing your AOW, your pension and your annuity, and you get no tax credit. Colombia taxes your worldwide income as soon as you're there for more than 183 days, with an exemption for pensions up to 1,000 UVT a month and a credit for tax you already paid in the Netherlands. Whoever goes alone gets the AOW for married people. And instead of the CAK you need a policy of your own. Which combination you have decides your net monthly income. Take this list to a tax adviser who knows both countries.
Still deciding between countries? Put the rules of two or three countries side by side
Then actually doing it
Knowing which rules apply is the first half. The second is applying them in time: in the right order, without missing a deadline, and with your documents at hand.
Every step on one list, free
Not ready to start yet? Then you get the departure checklist for Colombia: every step in order, to print and tick off. With it, five mails in a week and a half about the pitfalls and the real costs. If the rules for Colombia change, you'll hear about it. After that we ask once where your plans stand, and now and then we send one thing that fits your moment. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.