he Tax Authority (AT) can also make mistakes, that is, they may get the math wrong when calculating the tax you are owed or need to pay. If this happens to you, do you know what to do?
When the error by the tax office involves more than one tax or an oversight regarding the taxable asset, as a taxpayer, you can take two actions: you can request a unofficial review or make a formal complaint. These two measures are provided for in the General Tax Law and allow, free of charge and without resorting to judicial means, the re-evaluation of tax matters involving the AT.
Unofficial review
The unofficial review can be initiated by the AT or by the taxpayer in cases where there are errors related to taxes. There are two key situations to note:
- if the responsibility lies with the AT, the correction can be made by the entity within four years after the tax payment;
- in certain situations, at the taxpayer's request, the review of the assessed taxable income (e.g., declared income) can be made up to three years after the tax payment, but only if the AT considers there was "serious or notorious injustice" and if there was no negligent behaviour by the taxpayer.
Serious or notorious injustice is understood as a situation where the taxation, or the amount of tax to be paid, is "manifestly exaggerated and disproportionate to reality," according to the law, or has caused significant harm to the AT.
If you make a mistake filling out the tax return or forget to declare something that could give you tax benefits, you have two years to submit an amended declaration.
How to submit an amended declaration
To submit an amended declaration, send a formal complaint to the Head of the tax office in your tax area. You can do this by registered letter or email. For all necessary contacts, visit the Tax Portal. Please ensure that you:
- properly identify yourself (name, tax identification number, and address);
- attach documents that support your arguments;
- keep a copy of everything you send.
For this purpose, you can use the following template as an example.
If you prefer to request a formal complaint instead of a unofficial review, you can use the same template by replacing the term "unofficial review" with "formal complaint." Alternatively, you can do this on the e-counter. Follow these steps:
- enter the Tax Portal with your tax number and access password;
- scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Contact us" and then "e-counter service";
- click the blue button that says "Register new query";
- in the appearing frame, select the tax or area you intend, and in the field beside "Query type", choose "Complaints and appeals";
- then choose "Unofficial review";
- in the "subject" field, write "Unofficial review request";
- fill in the "Message" field (you can use the above template) and attach the documents;
- finally, click "Register query".
Timeframes
The AT should conclude the process within four months after the request is submitted. If you do not receive a response within this period, you can consider this request as "not accepted". However, you can always contest through:
- hierarchical appeal;
- judicial appeal;
- judicial challenge.
If accepted, you will receive the respective credit, paid in the same way as personal income tax (IRS) refunds.
Formal complaint
A formal complaint is another simple way to request, at no cost, the total or partial annulment of tax acts that harm your rights or interests. To make a formal complaint, follow the same steps and complete the template indicated for the unofficial review. Just replace the words accordingly.
You can request it, for example, if there is:
- an incorrect quantification or qualification of income or asset values;
- contentious appeal;
- incompetence or lack of required legal formalities (e.g., the taxpayer's right to be heard).
However, unlike the unofficial review, which can reverse the undue tax collection within four years, the formal complaint is a mechanism you can only use within 120 days following the tax payment deadline. Furthermore, it does not suspend the payment. This means you must fulfil the obligation.
Bear in mind the following:
- a formal complaint cannot be made if you have already filed a judicial challenge on the same grounds;
- If the AT finds your complaint unfounded, they can increase the tax to be paid by 5% due to "bad faith litigation".
According to the Civil Procedure Code, bad faith litigation occurs when someone initiates a process reprehensibly, dishonestly, violating duties of honesty and rigour just to harm the other party or obstruct justice. Note that, if you do this, you may be fined or have to compensate the other party.
Submit this request to the head of the tax office in your area of residence. The instruction phase follows, which cannot last more than 90 days. If you do not receive a response within four months (from the date of submission of the complaint), it is considered as refused, or tacitly denied. As a taxpayer, you can appeal this decision.
How to Submit a Formal Complaint
You have two ways to submit a formal complaint:
- in writing at a tax office in your area of residence. In simpler cases, you can even present it verbally and resolve your case more quickly and effectively;
- online, avoiding trips and waiting lines.
If you choose to do it online, enter the Tax Portal and follow these steps:
- log in;
- enter the “submit” menu;
- choose “administrative litigation”;
- click on “formal complaints”;
- finally, select the tax you intend to complain about and state the situation.
Formal Complaint: what are the deadlines?
Although it is a simple process without major formalities, there are deadlines you must meet for your complaint to be considered valid.
Deadlines for submission
You must submit the formal complaint within a maximum of 120 days after:
- the deadline for voluntary payment of tax instalments;
- notification of other tax acts, even if there is no settlement;
- citation of secondary liable parties in tax enforcement proceedings;
- formation of the presumption of tacit refusal - that is, the presumed inaction of the Tax Authority on your process;
- notification of other acts that may be subject to independent challenge as provided by law;
- awareness of acts detrimental to legally protected interests not covered by the previous points.
In addition, the law provides three special deadlines:
- two years from the date of the declaration submission, for cases of self-assessment errors;
- two years from the end of the year in which you paid incorrectly, for cases related to withholding tax;
- 30 days from the date of incorrect payment, for complaints related to advance payments.
Are there costs for a formal complaint?
No, there are no costs for you.
What happens when you submit a formal complaint?
When you submit a complaint, your request may be accepted or not, that is, it may be granted or denied:
- if granted, that is, if the AT agrees with you and acknowledges the error, you will be refunded the amount paid after the complaint;
- if denied, that is, if the AT reviews the accounts again and finds no error, the process is closed, and everything remains as it is.
Timeframes for resolution
The Tax Authority has a four-month period to make and apply a decision regarding your formal complaint. Otherwise, it is automatically refused - tacitly denied. When this happens, you have:
- 30 days to file a hierarchical appeal;
- three months to request a judicial challenge.
You can also resort to these same measures, respecting the mentioned deadlines, if your complaint is not accepted, and you receive a notification to that effect.
What to do before contesting errors by the AT?
Before contesting a potential error by the AT, ensure there are grounds for a formal complaint. This is because it is only valid for illegal situations. This means that the tax office only "uses time" on cases where there is a breach of the law. For example, submit a formal complaint if you suspect the AT's calculation of withholding tax is incorrect. That is, if you find that:
- for IRS purposes, the AT did not consider all the deductions you made the previous year;
- your employer did not fulfil legal obligations.
If you want to file a complaint because you cannot submit the IRS jointly with your spouse because you were late and intend to submit the declaration after the deadline, unfortunately, there is no illegality in this case, so the AT will not intervene.
Also note that if you previously filed a judicial challenge on the same grounds, you cannot resort to this measure again. Moreover, while awaiting the review of your formal complaint, all other tax processes continue, as this does not have any suspensive effect.
For example, if you receive any notification to pay, you must do so within the legal deadlines, even if, in the meantime, you have submitted a formal complaint about the amounts you paid.
