Gemeente letter explained in English
Town hall. Your town or city. It registers your address (BRP), collects local taxes and helps with income support (bijstand) and debt problems.
Letters you may get
- Aanslag gemeentelijke belastingen — your yearly local taxes, often with the WOZ value of your home
- Inschrijving in de BRP — your address registration
- Naheffingsaanslag parkeerbelasting — a parking charge because you didn’t pay for parking
- Besluit bijstand — a decision about income support
What to do
- When you move, register your new address with the gemeente — from 4 weeks before until 5 days after the move.
- If your income is low, you can often ask for kwijtschelding (cancellation) of local taxes, like the waste tax.
- Find the deadline. Look for “termijn”, “uiterlijk”, “binnen”.
- Write the reference number from the letter on everything you send back, and keep copies.
- If you disagree with a decision, object in writing before the deadline (“bezwaar”, “beroep”, “verzet”). See the template.
Words you may see
- aanslag
- Tax assessment. A letter that says how much tax you must pay or get back.
- beschikking
- Official decision by an office about you, for example about a benefit or a permit. Also called besluit.
- kwijtschelding
- Cancellation of a tax or debt because your income is too low to pay it.
- BRP
- The national register of residents (Basisregistratie Personen). Your gemeente records your address in it.
- inschrijving
- Registration, for example of your address in the BRP. When you first register, you get a BSN.
- bijstand
- Income support from your gemeente if you don’t have enough money to live on.
Questions
What is the Gemeente?
Town hall. Your town or city. It registers your address (BRP), collects local taxes and helps with income support (bijstand) and debt problems.
How long do I have to answer a letter from the Gemeente?
It depends on the letter. Look for words like “termijn”, “uiterlijk”, “binnen” — they mark the deadline. In the Netherlands, the time to object usually starts the day after the date on the letter (dagtekening), not the day it arrives. So count from the date on the letter. To object, the letter usually names the way to do it (“bezwaar”, “beroep”, “verzet”).
Can I read a Gemeente letter in English?
Yes. Take a photo of the letter with Briefly. It explains the letter in plain English, finds the deadline and the amount, and gives you ready-made replies in Dutch. Your letter never leaves your device.
Other offices in the Netherlands
Belastingdienst · Dienst Toeslagen (Belastingdienst/Toeslagen) · CJIB (Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau) · Waterschap / hoogheemraadschap · UWV · IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst) · SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank) · DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs)