A letter on Tax Office letterhead — real or fake?
DIRECT ANSWER
Fake assessments on letterhead circulate — often demanding payment to foreign IBAN. 5 checks unmask quickly.
Reviewed by FFCheck-redactie · Last reviewed 2026-05-28
5 checks:
- IBANa real Tax Office assessment is always paid to an NL-IBAN such as "NL86 INGB 0002 4455 88" (Central Admin) or "NL52 ABNA 0628 5410 87" (per category). Demand written confirmation if IBAN deviates.
- Assessment number formatalways pattern "<BSN><4-digit identifier>" like "12345678901.H.20" for 2020 IB. No plain numbers without structure.
- Compare with MijnBelastingdienstdoes it show? If not, likely fake.
- Tax interestonly 3%, high percentages or "penalty" without verzuim/vergrijp classification = suspicious.
- Verify by phone at BelastingTelefoon 0800-0543. Suspected fakereport to Belastingdienst, fraudehelpdesk, file police report.
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