30% ruling
The expat facility that lets employers reimburse part of the salary of recruited foreign specialists tax-free for extraterritorial costs, subject to conditions on distance and expertise. The current percentage and cap live on the figures page.
Apostille
The certificate under the Hague Apostille Convention that makes an official document from one member state legally valid in another, replacing the heavier embassy legalisation chain. In the US, the Secretary of State issues it.
Bijtelling (company car addition)
The amount added to salary for private use of a company car, as a percentage of the list price. Electric cars carry a reduced percentage up to a threshold value; the full rate applies above it.
Box 1
The Dutch income tax box for income from work and home: salary, business profit and the owner-occupied house. Rates rise in brackets; tax credits lower the effective burden on modest incomes.
Box 2
The box for income from a substantial interest: dividend and capital gains on a shareholding of five percent or more. Two brackets apply; the first bracket runs per person, which rewards spreading over years and partners.
Box 3
The box for income from savings and investments. Tax runs over a deemed return above the tax-free allowance; the Actual Returns Act is scheduled to replace the deemed-return system.
Break-even point (BV vs sole trader)
The profit level at which a BV becomes more tax-efficient than a sole proprietorship, as corporate tax plus box 2 outperforms box 1 with entrepreneur deductions. The point shifts with retained profit and salary choice.
Business succession scheme (BOR)
The scheme that largely exempts gift and inheritance tax on business succession: fully up to the statutory threshold and partially above it, provided it concerns active business assets and the continuation requirement is met.
BV (besloten vennootschap)
The Dutch private limited company: a legal entity with registered shares and limited liability, so the shareholder’s private assets stay separate from business debts. Incorporation runs through a notarial deed; capital starts from €0.01.
Corporate income tax (VPB)
The profit tax of a BV, levied in two brackets over taxable profit per financial year. The current brackets and thresholds live on the figures page.
Current account (rekening-courant)
The running settlement account between DGA and BV on which small mutual amounts flow back and forth. Above a modest balance it calls for written terms and an arm’s-length interest rate.
Customary salary (gebruikelijk loon)
The minimum salary a DGA pays themselves, tested against the annually set norm, the most comparable employment and the best-paid employee. A demonstrably lower salary can be agreed with the Dutch tax authority.
DAFT
The Dutch American Friendship Treaty: the treaty that grants US citizens a residence permit as an entrepreneur against a €4,500 investment on the balance sheet of their own Dutch business, renewable as long as the business runs.
Depositary receipt (certificaat)
The proof of economic ownership a STAK issues against the shares the foundation holds. The certificate holder receives dividend and value growth; voting rights stay with the foundation board.
DGA (director-major shareholder)
The entrepreneur who is both director of a BV and holds a substantial interest in it, typically five percent of the shares or more. Dedicated rules apply to the DGA’s salary, dividend and borrowing.
Distribution test (uitkeringstoets)
The statutory test in which the board assesses, before a dividend, whether the BV can keep paying its due debts after the distribution. Together with the balance test it gates every dividend.
Dividend
A profit distribution from a company to its shareholders. For a DGA, dividend received privately falls in box 2; every distribution first requires a balance test and distribution test by the board.
Dividend withholding tax
The fifteen percent withholding a BV deducts on a dividend distribution and remits to the tax authority. Privately, the DGA credits the full withholding against the box 2 assessment; treaties can lower the rate for foreign shareholders.
Excessive borrowing rule
The rule that taxes loans from one’s own BV to the DGA above the statutory €500,000 threshold as deemed dividend in box 2. Below the threshold, borrowing from the BV stays a tax-neutral route.
Fiscal unity
The regime in which parent and subsidiary count as one taxpayer for corporate income tax, from ninety-five percent share ownership. Losses and profits within the unity offset each other immediately.
Holding company
A BV that owns shares in other companies. Under the participation exemption, dividends and sale proceeds flow to the holding free of corporate tax, where the capital keeps growing in a protected position.
Innovation box
The regime that taxes profit from self-developed, qualifying innovation at an effective nine percent instead of the regular corporate rate. Access usually runs through a WBSO R&D declaration.
KVK (Chamber of Commerce)
The keeper of the Dutch trade register in which every business is listed with its KVK number, directors and establishment details. For a BV, the notary files the registration.
Management fee
The fee the operating company pays the holding for the DGA’s work. It covers at least the salary plus employer costs and is deductible from the operating company’s profit.
Notarial deed
The document executed by a Dutch civil-law notary that brings the BV into existence, containing its articles of association. Execution works in person or remotely with a power of attorney and video identification.
Operating company
The BV that runs the day-to-day business: revenue, staff, contracts and risk. The holding above it owns the shares; profit moves up periodically, away from operational exposure.
Participation exemption
The rule that fully exempts dividends and capital gains on a shareholding of five percent or more from corporate tax at the receiving company. The engine underneath every Dutch holding structure.
Pass-through payroll rule
The rule that lets a DGA working for several group companies run the full salary through a single entity. One payslip, one payroll administration, one customary-salary test.
Power of attorney
The written authorisation that lets someone sign the notarial deed on the founder’s behalf. For remote incorporation the signature is legalised; from abroad an apostille is usually added.
Self-employed deduction
The annual deduction for sole traders who meet the hours criterion. The deduction is being phased down year by year; starters receive the starter’s deduction on top.
SME profit exemption
The fixed percentage exemption sole traders receive over profit after entrepreneur deductions, lowering the effective box 1 rate. The current percentage lives on the figures page.
STAK (share administration foundation)
The Dutch foundation that holds shares and issues depositary receipts: control sits with the foundation board, economic benefit with the certificate holders. A favourite for succession, employee participation and spreading ownership.
UBO
The ultimate beneficial owner: the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company, generally from a twenty-five percent interest. Registration runs through the KVK’s UBO register.
VAT (btw)
The Dutch value-added tax entrepreneurs charge on supplies and services and remit periodically, after deducting input VAT. Three rates apply: standard, reduced and zero for exports and intra-EU supplies.
ZVW contribution
The income-dependent healthcare contribution a DGA pays over salary, up to an annual cap. The current percentage and ceiling live on the figures page.
Each definition exists once and flows through to the Dutch and German lists — same term, same anchor, three languages. Missing a term? The editorial team extends the list wave by wave.
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