It's hard to avoid the packs of guys on the weekends in their semi-pro gear cycling in their spiffy bikes.  So I thought it would be a great way to broaden my social circle by joining a club which gets together on a fairly regular basis.   But, in order to join, I'd first need to get a bike.  

It seems the most popular bikes in these packs are the racing/road variety.  But, I think I'd rather go the route of a fitness/hybrid sort with its somewhat thicker 28mm tires.  And, although I don't need necessarily to fit in, I wouldn't also want to stick out like a sore thumb nor be limitied to a fewer groups because of the lack of a true racing bike.  

Do most clubs have certain requirements, or are they pretty informal in nature?  Judging by the selection of hybrid fiets in some of the local bike shops, the hybrid/fitness bikes seem very limited and fairly unpopular.  It seems most guys have either a stadsfiets or omafiets and/or a race fiets.  Is it that they are an undiscovered variety, or are they unpopular for a reason?

Any thoughts for a newcomer to NL and someone who is new to the road bike? 

mvn said:

I told you that only your NL income is what needs to be considered, It is funny how the OP talks to himself and figures it out himself.

Not very nuanced, are you.  But, you probably pride yourself on that.  Tax topics are very nuanced.  Although you wound up with the right answer, you didn't show your work, as they say in the classroom.  Very often, those who are belastingplicthtig may indeed exercise their "keuzerecht" with very real tax advantages as far as deductions go, especially for the portion of the year lived oultside of NL and paying a mortgage and for those with a fiscal partner with little to no wages.  While that info may not be directly applicable here, perhaps this thread may shed some light on the topic who may have arrived here by search.  

You see, not too many folks simply hang out here with thousands of posts like you.  So, for the vast majority who visit, do so with the intent of answering a specific question or two via searches without posing their questions.  And, incidently, I'm not the OP.  But, the OP and I were both under the impression that we were given an option.  And, hopefully, with my "thinking out loud", I've been able to help with specific reasoning behind why or why not someone may be eligible for the choice.   

I just called the belastingdienst. They confirmed that because there is no income from NL during the period outside of NL, all questions regarding the period ouside of NL do not need to need to be answered. Further, there is no keuzerecht in this case, and there is also no penalty either way from not having the option. That is, you do not need to forfeit any income tax reductions, so you are elligible for both the income tax reduction portion as well as the reduction for the "volksverzekering" policy portion of the overal tax reductions. So, no worldwide incomes need be entered in the incomes section, and no worldwide incomes need be entered in the section of "incomes NL does not have the right to tax".

After re-reading the M tax form and the explanation, I think I've come to a different conclusion but there is a big question yet to be answered. If you look at question 1c, if there is no overlap of incomes of any sort during the year that one moves (away from or to NL), then you have a situation where it indicates: "De vragen die gaan over de buitenlandse periode hoeft u niet in te vullen."

I interpret this to mean that all the questions in the entire tax form pertaining to the period in which you lived outside of NL do not get answered. I think that because we are not belastingplichtige (one who is required to pay NL taxes) for a portion of the year, it is not possible to be considered either buitenlandse (foreign) or binnenlandse (internal) belastingplichtige for the portion of the year outside of NL. And, because we are not binnenlandse belastingplichtige for a portion of the year, we cannot be considered binnenlandse belastingplichtige for the entire year. I think I have interpreted that correctly.

So, it seems those who are belstingplichtige while outside of the NL for a portion of the year, or even the entire year, are the only ones with this choice, or "keuzerecht". Still not quite sure though. For those who are not binnenlands belastingplichtige for the entire year, one is not entitled to the income tax portion of the overall tax deduction. It would seem incredibly unfair, especially in my situation where I spent 10 months here to have to give up that entire tax reduction. (Apparently the discount on the "volksverzekering" would apply however.)

mvn said:

You are making it too complicated. You are only liable for tax on the income you made in the NL as this is when you became resident. You did not make enough income that any of these tax credits you are troubling yourself about will make a difference. You can work it out yourself on all the forms and you will see you will get taxed the same amount and refunded the same amount whatever tax status you choose. Next year use an accountant and I hope you applied for the 30% ruling.

That doesn't seem to fit with what I've been reading.  I seem to be in the same boat as I'm sure many others as well.  I moved to NL in March with no overlapping incomes.  Ten months lived and worked here and two months there.  What's at stake here is the "keuzerecht", where if you opt for it, you are considered a taxpayer for the entire year and you are entitled to both categories of tax reductions, the social volksverzekering portion as well as the income tax reductions.  

If the "keuzerecht" is not taken, you are only considered to be taxed on the time you lived and worked here, so only a portion of the 12 months.  But, the downside is that you are generally not entitled to the income tax reduction portion of the overall tax reduction.  

In either case, of course you are still required to pay taxes on income derived from NL, but in one case you are entitled to one portion of the tax reduction, and in the other case, not.  If one does opt for the keuzerecht, then perhaps the disadvantage may be an overall higher tax rate for the year, which may be offset by the greater tax reductions?  It also seems that if you do opt for the keuzerecht, all income must be added from all sources for the entire year, even income you earned in your home country while living there, whereas that doesn't seem to be the case if you split up the year by rejecting the keuzerecht.

I would expect there to be some sort of calculator where you can determine which option is more advantageous.