The Dutch tax office is extending the deadline for income tax payments by four months next year, junior finance minister Eric Wiebes announced on Tuesday.

People faced with a surcharge because of changes in the way holiday pay and bonuses are being taxed in 2014 had already been given a later deadline. This will now apply to everyone, Wiebes said.

Tax returns have to be submitted by April 1. The tax office then writes to say how much extra income tax has to be paid. This will be done by July 1 in most cases.

Normally extra tax has to be paid within six weeks of the date of that letter. However, Wiebes has now agreed that some 5.5 million people will have a further four months to pay what they owe. In practice this means mid-December, Wiebes said in a briefing to MPs.

‘I expect that most people will now have no problem meeting their obligations,’ Wiebes said.