// BELASTINGDIENST
Helping 50K+ citizens navigate through complex tax obligations during grief.
Helping 50K+ citizens navigate through complex tax obligations during grief.
Helping 50K+ citizens navigate through complex tax obligations during grief.
timeline
timeline
Jan '21 - Dec '21
Jan '21 - Dec '21
Jan '21 - Dec '21
Domain
Domain
Government
Government
Government
Scope
Scope
Service, UI, UX design
Service, UI, UX design
Service, UI, UX design
outcome
outcome
-80% reduced stress
-80% reduced stress
-80% reduced stress
01
Problem
Problem
Problem
Every year, millions of citizens face the Belastingdienst with the same feeling: dread. Letters arrive in formal, legal Dutch, deadlines stay unclear, and the portal expects you to already know the rules. For the elderly, non-native speakers, or the recently bereaved, one letter could mean weeks of anxiety.
The real challenge was trust. Citizens didn't need more information. They needed to feel guided and in control, in a process that had always made them feel small.
// Goal
// Goal
Help bereaved citizens understand and complete the required tax and allowance actions after the death of a partner or cohabitant, without adding confusion or increasing the risk of making mistakes.
Help bereaved citizens understand and complete the required tax and allowance actions after the death of a partner or cohabitant, without adding confusion or increasing the risk of making mistakes.
// responsibilities
// responsibilities
I was responsible for conducting and synthesizing research, identifying opportunities across the customer journey, facilitating a concept creation workshop and aligning stakeholders around service improvements and design decisions.
// Key pain points
01
Legal language
Legal language
The Belastingdienst wrote letters to stay legally compliant, not to be understood. Citizens couldn't tell what to do next.
The Belastingdienst wrote letters to stay legally compliant, not to be understood. Citizens couldn't tell what to do next.
02
No sense of progress
No sense of progress
No way to know where you were in a multi-step process, or what came next.
No way to know where you were in a multi-step process, or what came next.
03
Fear of mistakes
Fear of mistakes
High stakes, low reassurance. Get one field wrong, and it felt like a fine was next.
High stakes, low reassurance. Get one field wrong, and it felt like a fine was next.
FIG_02 :: BEFORE - Administration felt overwhelming
FIG_02 :: BEFORE - Administration felt overwhelming
FIG_02 :: BEFORE - Administration felt overwhelming
FIG_03 :: AFTER - Less stress during high emotional times
03
Research
Research
Research
I based this on 20 internal and external reports and 10 interviews with bereaved citizens. One pattern held across all of them. Fear was the bigger barrier than the tax rules themselves.
That finding reframed the whole project. I mapped every moment of doubt across the journey, prioritised the three that caused the most stress and validated each redesign with the same group of users before moving on.
// Goal
// Goal
Find the exact moments where citizens lose confidence. Then design for the emotion, not just the task.
Find the exact moments where citizens lose confidence. Then design for the emotion, not just the task.
Find the exact moments where citizens lose confidence. Then design for the emotion, not just the task.
FIG_04 :: STRESS MAP — moments of doubt across the journey
04
Approach
Approach
Approach
I rebuilt the experience around three principles: filter, relate, reassure. Strip the page to the one thing that matters now. Speak in plain, human language. Always show what happens next.
// PRINCIPLES
01
Filter
Filter
One task per screen. Everything irrelevant to right now is hidden until it matters.
One task per screen. Everything irrelevant to right now is hidden until it matters.
02
Relate
Relate
Legal phrases or ambigious terms where rewritten where possible in a way a real person would talk.
Legal phrases or ambigious terms where rewritten where possible in a way a real person would talk.
03
Reassure
Reassure
Always show progress and what comes next, so no step feels like a cliff edge.
Always show progress and what comes next, so no step feels like a cliff edge.
// The Process - STEP BY STEP
01
Index behavioral patterns
Index behavioral patterns
Mapped across the hardest citizen cases to find shared moments of doubt.
Mapped across the hardest citizen cases to find shared moments of doubt.
02
Prioritise concepts
Prioritise concepts
Ran prioritisation workshops to focus on the three highest-stress steps first.
Ran prioritisation workshops to focus on the three highest-stress steps first.
03
Validate with citizens
Validate with citizens
Tested the concepts with the same vulnerable citizens before implementation.
Tested the concepts with the same vulnerable citizens before implementation.
06
Outcome
Outcome
In testing, the redesign measurably reduced citizen stress and increased task completion. The same people who once dreaded a tax letter now were able to get through the required actions confidently.
80%
80%
80%
reduction in self-reported stress during testing
reduction in self-reported stress during testing
60%
60%
60%
fewer support calls about how to complete the process
fewer support calls about how to complete the process
90%
90%
90%
of stakeholders gained a better understanding of the citizen needs
of stakeholders gained a better understanding of the citizen needs
07
Reflection
Reflection
Designing for a government service taught me that empathy is an interface decision. The biggest wins came from removing fear, not new features: a clearer sentence, a visible next step or a moment of reassurance at exactly the right time.
// key learning
// key learning
The question you're given at the start is rarely the one you should be answering. The brief asked for a clearer process. The real problem was trust. Once I reframed it that way, the screens followed almost on their own.
The question you're given at the start is rarely the one you should be answering. The brief asked for a clearer process. The real problem was trust. Once I reframed it that way, the screens followed almost on their own.
The question you're given at the start is rarely the one you should be answering. The brief asked for a clearer process. The real problem was trust. Once I reframed it that way, the screens followed almost on their own.
// OTHER PROJECTS
