AI & Software

Micro-SaaS in a Dutch BV: how it works end to end

Updated: 21 July 2026 Micro-SaaS BV Director

On paper the BV is a legal entity; in practice it is a rhythm. This is what a SaaS year inside one looks like — from the first Stripe payout to the annual accounts.

Short answer

Inside a BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company), the company is the seller of your SaaS: subscriptions, contracts and VAT run through it. You are its director-shareholder on a small payroll — customary salary €58,000 in 2026, lower with substantiation in a growth phase. The BV pays 19% corporate tax on profit up to €200,000; what you leave in keeps working for growth, and dividends are taxed only when you choose to take them (box 2: 24.5% up to €68,843).

The company earns, you work for it

All revenue — Stripe payouts, platform settlements, B2B invoices — arrives in the BV’s account; hosting, model subscriptions and tooling leave from it. You draw a salary through a small payroll, with wage tax withheld like any employer does. Keep company money and private money strictly apart: casual private spending from the BV creates a debt to your own company, with hard rules above €500,000 — see borrowing from your BV.

The three-way split of every euro of profit

Salary up to the customary level (adjustable in a growth phase, see the salary rule). Retained profit, taxed once at 19% and reinvested at nearly full strength. Dividend, when you want cash out, adding box 2 on top. The order in which you pull these levers is most of Dutch tax planning for founders.

The yearly rhythm

Quarterly: the VAT return plus the OSS return for EU consumer sales. Monthly: the payroll filing for your salary. Yearly: the corporate tax return and filing the annual accounts. With a steady accountant and clean payment-provider exports, it is a part-day per quarter — agents handle the exports; humans sign the filings.

When one BV becomes a structure

Value worth protecting — a brand, real MRR, a product someone might buy — is the cue for the holding layer above: the solo holding, with your code as licensed IP per the IP guide. Building it early is cheap; rebuilding around grown value is expensive.

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Part of Doing Business in the Netherlands — the complete 2026 guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the BV take over the SaaS I built privately? +

Yes, by contribution or sale at real value. That value and the chosen route determine the tax settlement — price it before you sign rather than after.

What does a BV cost to run per year? +

Notary incorporation once, then accounting and the annual-accounts filing each year; the KVK registration itself is €85.15. Modest overhead against the tax difference at real profit levels.

Can I pay myself flexibly in good and bad months? +

The salary is fixed per year at the agreed customary level; payment timing is flexible. Big swings are handled with dividend or a documented loan; the salary itself stays level.

Sources Belastingdienst · KVK · wetten.overheid.nl Last updated: 21 July 2026