Refund of overpayment of income tax in 2026
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March 31, 2026
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Filing a tax return for 2025 may not only mean that the taxpayer is obliged to pay additional tax. It may also result in tax overpayment, i.e. the situation when tax advances paid during the year exceed the actually calculated tax liability.
This situation arises mainly in cases where the tax liability is reduced after filing the return due to the application of non-taxable parts of the tax base or tax bonuses. In the case of natural persons, this may be, for example, students, pensioners or persons who were without income for part of the year, on maternity leave or unemployed. In the case of employees for whom the employer performs an annual tax settlement, the employer pays the overpayment incurred. However, if the taxpayer files the tax return himself, the tax office returns the overpayment.
What does the refund of tax overpayment depend on?
The deadline and the actual refund of the overpayment depend on several circumstances. The main factors are when the taxpayer files the tax return, whether he or she has requested a refund of the overpayment, whether he or she has any registered tax arrears, and the amount of the overpayment itself.
The difference between filing a tax return within the due date and filing after a notice of postponement is important. If a taxpayer extends the deadline for filing a return, the deadline for refunding any overpayment is also extended.
At the same time, the overpayment is not automatically refunded without further conditions. The taxpayer must indicate in the tax return that he is requesting its refund and provide the necessary details for sending the amount. Another condition is that the tax administrator does not record any arrears against the taxpayer for which the overpayment could be used. In addition, the overpayment is refunded only if its amount exceeds 5 euros.
How to request a refund of an overpayment
If a taxpayer has an overpayment of income tax for 2025, or is entitled to a tax bonus for a dependent child or for interest paid, the request is made directly in the tax return.
For individuals of type A, this application is located in Section XI., for natural persons of type B v Section XIV. and for legal entities in Part X. In the relevant part of the form, it is necessary to indicate what kind of payment the taxpayer is requesting, i.e. whether it is a refund of a tax overpayment or the payment of a tax bonus.
Method of payment of overpayment
Individuals may request payment of the overpayment by postal order, bank transfer or to an account held abroad, which they do not have to own. For postal orders, the limit is up to and including EUR 15,000. If the amount is transferred to an account, the account number in IBAN format is provided.
For a foreign account in a format other than IBAN, additional data must be added, such as account number, SWIFT/BIC code, bank name, city and state of the bank or branch. For a FO type A tax return, this data is provided in Section IX, for type B in Section XIII. If the taxpayer is not the account owner, the name of the beneficiary's account is also provided.
For legal entities, the overpayment can be paid by postal order or to an account. In this case, too, the limit of 15,000 euros applies, including when paying by postal order. If it is an account held abroad in a format other than IBAN, the bank and account identification data are added.
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Deadline for refund of overpayment in 2026
The overpayment of income tax for 2025 is refunded only after the deadline for filing the tax return. The deadline for its refund is at most 40 days from the date of the tax overpayment. In practice, this means that the calculation does not begin from the day the tax return was actually filed, but only after the statutory deadline for filing it has expired.
If the taxpayer files a tax return on time by March 31, 2026, the tax office will refund the overpayment no later than May 8, 2026. If the deadline for filing the return has been extended, the deadline for refunding the overpayment is also postponed.
Overview of refund deadlines
| Tax return filed no later than | Refund of overpayment no later than |
|---|---|
| 31.03.2026 | 08.05.2026 |
| 30.04.2026 | 09.06.2026 |
| 01.06.2026 | 10.07.2026 |
| 30.06.2026 | 07.08.2026 |
| 31.07.2026 | 09.09.2026 |
| 31.08.2026 | 09.10.2026 |
| 30.09.2026 | 09.11.2026 |
Practical examples
If a company has an overpayment of 500 euros in its tax return, but also has a registered underpayment of 100 euros on another tax, the tax administrator will first use part of the overpayment to pay this underpayment. The company will then only be paid the remaining 400 euros.
In another case, the sole proprietor may request a refund of the overpayment of 4 euros. Since this amount does not exceed 5 euros, the tax office will not refund it.
A special situation also occurs when the deadline for filing a tax return is extended. If a natural person extends the deadline until June 30, 2026, but files the tax return on April 30, 2026, the deadline for refunding the overpayment will still be calculated from the expiration of the extended deadline. This means that the overpayment will be refunded no later than August 7, 2026.