How it works
A shareholder who owns 5% or more of a company has a substantial interest. Dividend from that company and the gain on selling its shares are taxed in box 2. Almost every DGA and every private holding owner is in box 2.
Box 2 has two brackets. In 2026 the first €68,843 is taxed at 24.5% and everything above at 31%. The first bracket applies per person, so fiscal partners can each use it. If they split the dividend, they can receive €137,686 at the low rate in one year.
The 15% dividend tax that the BV withheld is credited in full. In the income tax return, the shareholder pays the box 2 tax minus this prepayment.
Loans from your own BV above €500,000 are also taxed in box 2, as if they were dividend. When an owner relocates abroad, the Dutch tax authority issues a conservation assessment on the value built up until then. The tax authority collects it only when the shares are sold or a dividend is paid.
Example
A couple owns a holding together, 50% each. The holding pays €130,000 dividend. Each partner declares €65,000 in box 2. This is below the limit of the first bracket, so the whole amount is taxed at 24.5%. The total tax is €31,850, minus the 15% already withheld.
The figures
Every rate for 2026 is listed in Netherlands tax rates 2026, and the figures for 2027 are in Netherlands tax rates 2027.
Questions people ask
Does box 2 tax profit that stays in the BV?
As long as the profit stays in the company, only corporate income tax applies. Box 2 tax is due at the moment of dividend or sale. Until then, the company can reinvest the profit after corporate tax.
What is the total tax on profit paid out as dividend?
First the BV pays corporate income tax, then the shareholder pays box 2 tax on the dividend. In 2026, the combined tax is about 38.8% in the first corporate tax bracket and the first box 2 bracket. You can calculate it for your own amount with the profit calculator.
Holdwise, Hoofddorp. We keep this definition in line with our Dutch and German glossaries, and the figures are those for the tax year 2026. Updated 30 September 2026.
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