The Annual Income Declaration in Latvia in 2026: Who Must File and How to Get a Tax Refund

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What if the state owes you money and you do not even know it? Every spring thousands of Latvian residents leave their money in the budget simply because they did not file one simple declaration. And someone else, on the contrary, does not know that they are obliged to file it and risks getting a fine. The annual income declaration (gada ienākumu deklarācija) is a document that for some means a pleasant return of money and for others a mandatory formality. How do you figure out which group you belong to?

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This article will put everything in its place. We will explain in plain words who must file a declaration in Latvia in 2026, who can do it voluntarily to get a tax refund, which deadlines to meet, and how to handle it all through the EDS system. You will learn about eligible expenses, limits, and specific refund amounts. All the information rests on current data from the State Revenue Service (VID). Let us start with the main question: who must file.

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Who Must File a Declaration

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First let us clarify the obligation, because ignoring it threatens problems. A declaration must be filed if during the year personal income tax was not withheld in full or if the income earner is responsible for paying the tax themselves. It sounds complicated, but in practice this concerns quite specific categories of people.

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Those Latvian residents must file a declaration for 2025 who carried out economic activity as self-employed, who rented out real estate, who earned income abroad, including seamen on international vessels, who received income in the form of dividends or income from capital gains, and also those who received non-taxable income exceeding 10,000 euros per year, for example from the sale of personal property. The obligation also arises if during the year a tax-free minimum for lower income was applied, but the annual income turned out to be higher, and part of the relief must be returned.

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Who Can File Voluntarily for a Refund

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And now the pleasant part. Even if you are not obliged to file a declaration, you can do it voluntarily, and this often means real money back into your account. Anyone whose income is subject to personal income tax is entitled to file a declaration in order to recover an overpayment of tax for eligible expenses on themselves and their family members.

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What counts as eligible expenses? These are expenses for medical and dental services, for higher education and professional development, and for children’s interest education, that is, hobby groups. This also includes donations to public benefit organizations and political parties, contributions to private pension funds, and to endowment life insurance. If during the year you spent money on any of these categories, there is a good chance the state will return part of the tax to you. Do not miss this opportunity simply out of ignorance.

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Filing Deadlines in 2026

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Deadlines are the area where mistakes cost the most. Memorize the key dates. The mandatory declaration for the previous year must be filed from 1 March to 1 June. If your annual income exceeds 105,300 euros, the deadline shifts and runs from 1 April to 1 July. If the last day of filing falls on a weekend or holiday, you can file on the first working day after it.

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But for the voluntary declaration the deadlines are far more generous. It can be filed for the three previous years. For example, the declaration for 2025 can be filed from 1 March 2026 all the way until 23 June 2029. This means that if you forgot to recover tax for previous years, you still have time to fix it. A little tip from VID: do not file the declaration in the first days of March, when the system is overloaded. Wait a week or two, and the process will go faster.

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How to File a Declaration Through EDS

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The easiest way to file a declaration is through the Electronic Declaration System (EDS). It is convenient, fast, and reduces the chance of error. The main advantage is that the system automatically loads the data that VID already has, calculates the amount due or to be refunded itself, and saves your time. Here is the basic order of actions.

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1. Log in to the EDS system on the VID website, for example through internet banking.
2. Open the annual income declaration section for the year you need.
3. Check the automatically loaded data on income and taxes.
4. Fill in the eligible expenses section and attach documents: receipts and invoices.
5. Check that the correct bank account number for the refund is indicated in the system.
6. Submit the declaration and save the confirmation.

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If you need help, you can get it for free. Across Latvia there are more than 200 unified state and municipal customer service centres, where staff will help you fill in and file the declaration. You need to bring an identity document and your internet banking login details.

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How Much You Can Recover: Specific Figures

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Let us move on to the most interesting part: the money. Here it is important to know about the limits, otherwise expectations will not match reality. The limit on eligible expenses is 600 euros per person per year. The tax refund, starting from 2025, is calculated at 25.5 percent of the eligible expenses. Let us give a specific example: if your expenses were 600 euros, then the amount to be refunded for 2025 will be 153 euros, that is, 600 euros multiplied by 25.5 percent.

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What happens if expenses exceeded the limit? The part that goes beyond 600 euros does not disappear. It is automatically carried over and can be used in the declarations of the next three years. An important nuance: the recoverable amount cannot exceed the amount of tax you actually paid for the specific year. VID transfers the refund within three months from the day the declaration is filed, although specialists try to do it faster.

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Family Members’ Expenses and Other Important Details

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Here is a detail that often goes unnoticed, even though it helps you recover more. If one of your relatives does not work or pays little tax, their eligible expenses for education and medicine can be included in your declaration. This applies to family members if the total amount of such expenses does not exceed 600 euros per year for each. This way a family can recover tax even for those who do not file a declaration themselves.

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Another useful piece of news about automation. If at a medical institution you receive an electronic receipt and agree to the transfer of data to VID, these expenses will appear in the declaration automatically. But receipts for family members will still have to be added manually. So adopt a simple habit: right after a visit or payment, save the documents in one folder, electronic or physical. Then filling in the declaration will take much less time.

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Why the Refund May Be Less Than Expected

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Sometimes people are surprised: they filed a declaration, but the refund is small or even zero. Why is that? The main reason is connected with a change in the rules. In 2026 the tax-free minimum is 550 euros per month, and it is applied regardless of the amount of income. This means that tax is more often withheld evenly during the year, and by the end of the year there may simply be no overpayment to recover. This is not a mistake but a consequence of the new calculation approach.

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The second reason is that the refund cannot exceed the tax paid. If you paid little tax, you will not be able to recover much, even with large eligible expenses. For pensioners there is separate good news: from 2025 the tax-free minimum for a pensioner has been increased to 1,000 euros per month. Understanding these rules helps you set expectations in advance and avoid disappointment.

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Typical Mistakes When Filing

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Even a simple declaration can be spoiled by inattention. Here are the mistakes that occur most often, and each of them is easy to avoid. Knowing these traps will save you time and nerves.

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The first mistake is an incorrect bank account number in the system. A wrong account is one of the most common reasons a tax refund drags on. The second mistake is relying only on the automatic refund when you have eligible expenses. The automatic refund does not cover them, so if you have receipts it is better to file a full declaration. The third mistake is incomplete documents or incorrectly entered data. The fourth is missed deadlines, especially for the mandatory declaration. And the fifth is the habit of leaving everything to the first days of March, when the system is overloaded. Mark the deadlines in your calendar and file calmly on a convenient day.

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All details should be checked against official sources. Current rules, deadlines, and instructions are published by the State Revenue Service (VID), you can file the declaration through the Electronic Declaration System EDS, and the texts of the tax laws are available on the likumi.lv portal.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Who must file an income declaration in Latvia?

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Those must file whose tax was not withheld in full or who are responsible for paying it themselves: the self-employed, landlords of real estate, seamen, earners of foreign income and dividends, and also those who received non-taxable income above 10,000 euros per year.

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By which date must the declaration be filed in 2026?

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The mandatory declaration for 2025 is filed from 1 March to 1 June. If annual income exceeds 105,300 euros, the deadline is from 1 April to 1 July. A voluntary declaration can be filed for the three previous years.

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How much tax can you recover for eligible expenses?

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The limit on eligible expenses is 600 euros per person per year, and the refund is calculated as 25.5 percent of them. For example, 600 euros of expenses returns 153 euros. The amount above the limit is carried over to the next three years.

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How quickly does VID refund a tax overpayment?

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VID refunds a tax overpayment within three months from the day the declaration is filed, although in practice it is often faster. The speed depends on the volume of information to be checked and the accuracy of the data entered. Be sure to check that the account number in EDS is correct.

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Can family members’ expenses be included in your declaration?

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Yes, family members’ eligible expenses for education and medicine can be included in your declaration if their amount does not exceed 600 euros per year for each. This lets a family recover tax even for relatives who do not file a declaration themselves.

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How Lex&Finance Specialists Can Help You

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Lex&Finance helps private individuals in Latvia correctly file the annual income declaration and recover the maximum tax. We determine whether you are obliged to file a declaration and check all possible eligible expenses for you and your family members, so that you do not leave money in the budget. Our specialists fill in and file the declaration through the EDS system, correctly reflect income from abroad, rental income, and economic activity, and also help with carrying expenses above the limit over to the following years. We watch the deadlines, check the refund details, and handle complex cases, including income in several countries. If you missed a refund for previous years, we will help you file a declaration retroactively within the three-year term. We work in Russian and Latvian. Contact us for a free initial consultation through the lexfinance.lv website or by phone, and we will get your money back from the budget.