Tax debtors list

What it means

The tax debtors list is a public list that the Financial Administration publishes on its portal. It names individuals and legal entities whose tax arrears exceed a statutory threshold, together with their name, address and the amount owed.

The threshold differs for individuals and for legal entities, and the list is updated regularly. It covers arrears on taxes administered by the Financial Administration, including VAT, income tax, excise duties and customs duties. Separate lists are kept of VAT payers for whom grounds for cancelling the registration have arisen.

The list works both as pressure to pay and as public information. Banks check it when assessing a loan, suppliers when setting payment terms, and authorities in public procurement or when granting subsidies, where having no tax debt is one of the conditions.

How it works in practice

In the monthly processing we check the client’s personal taxpayer account on the portal so that we catch arrears before they reach the list. The most common cause is not a lack of money but a payment with a wrong variable symbol that the office did not allocate to the right tax.

If a client cannot pay the tax at once, we prepare an application for payment by instalments or a deferral. Instalments do not make the arrears disappear, but keeping to the schedule reduces the risk of enforcement and lets the client keep dealing with the office without escalation.

Before a larger deal or an advance payment, we advise clients to check the partner in the debtors list and in the tax reliability index. For suppliers registered for VAT this also has a practical side, as under certain conditions the customer can be liable for VAT the supplier did not pay.

What to watch out for

Paying off arrears does not show in the list immediately but only at the next update. Anyone who needs proof of no tax debt quickly, for example for a bank or a tender, has to request a certificate from the tax office, which issues it only once the payment has been properly credited.

The list shows only arrears above the threshold, so a company’s absence from it does not mean it owes nothing. Conversely, even a small recurring arrear is reflected in the reliability rating and can lead to more frequent checks by the Financial Administration.