Creators

How to pay yourself from your BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company): salary, dividend or loan

Updated: 2026-08-17

Once the structure stands, one question returns every single year: how do I actually get money out? Three taps exist — salary, dividend and the shareholder loan — and each carries its own price tag and paperwork. Here is what each tap costs, when to open which, and the yearly rhythm that keeps the whole system calm.

Tap one: salary — the floor and the payslip

As director-major shareholder (DGA) you pay yourself a salary through the company's payroll. The customary salary rules set the floor: the highest of the most comparable employment, the best-paid ordinary employee, and the yearly norm amount. Salary is taxed progressively in box 1, which makes it the most expensive tap per euro — and simultaneously the most valuable one, because a payslip opens mortgages, rentals and pension space that a dividend leaves shut. During a growth phase, a lower customary salary can be agreed with the tax authority for several years, combined with borrowing from your own BV up to €500,000 — arranged properly, this saves roughly €18,000 to €20,000 a year in tax and premiums.

Tap two: dividend — the deliberate one

Dividend follows a shareholder resolution plus two checks (the balance test and the distribution test — the company must afford it). The company withholds 15% dividend tax, creditable against your box 2 bill: 24.5% up to €68,843 and 31% above, with the low bracket doubled for fiscal partners. The craft is filling the 24.5% bracket on purpose, year after year, instead of distributing in panic or euphoria. Try the numbers in the salary and dividend calculator.

Tap three: the loan — liquidity before distribution

Borrowing from your own BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company) gives you money today while the profit keeps compounding at company rates. It is a real loan — written agreement, businesslike interest, repayment intent — and the excessive-borrowing law caps shareholder loans at €500,000, with a properly secured own-home loan sitting outside that cap. The full rules: borrowing from your own BV.

The yearly rhythm

Set the salary once, in writing, defensibly — revisit at each norm change.
Decide dividend in December with the year's numbers on the table.
Let retained profit invest inside the holding: the machine.

The three taps serve one design: fund the life you actually live, at the lowest defensible cost, while the surplus builds the life after the channel.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I pay myself salary or dividend from my BV? +

Both, in order: salary to the defensible floor (it buys mortgage and pension space), then dividend filling the 24.5% bracket deliberately. Retained profit stays compounding at 19%.

Can I set my own DGA salary? +

Within the customary salary rules, yes — and during a growth phase a lower salary can be agreed with the tax authority for several years, combined with the €500,000 borrowing route, saving roughly €18,000–€20,000 a year.

What paperwork does a dividend need? +

A shareholder resolution plus the balance and distribution tests, then a 15% withholding that credits against your box 2 assessment.

Is borrowing from my BV smarter than dividend? +

Different jobs: the loan gives liquidity while profit keeps compounding; dividend settles the tax and makes the money permanently yours. Most structured creators use both, deliberately.