How it works
A company that has made a profit can keep it or pay it out. The payment to the shareholders is the dividend. The general meeting of shareholders decides on the dividend. The board must approve it, and does so only after the balance test and the distribution test.
In the balance test, the board checks that the equity stays above the reserves required by law and the articles. In the distribution test, the board checks that the company can keep paying its due debts for about a year after the payment. A board that approves a dividend that fails this test can be held personally liable.
When the BV pays a dividend to a private shareholder, it withholds 15% dividend tax. It pays this tax to the tax authority. A DGA who lives in the Netherlands then pays box 2 tax on the dividend and deducts the 15%. A holding that receives the dividend pays 0% under the participation exemption.
An interim dividend during the year is allowed, with the same tests. Many DGAs take a dividend once a year, after the annual accounts. They use the first box 2 bracket for each fiscal partner.
Example
A BV has €90,000 profit after corporate tax. It has €40,000 in the bank, which it needs for the coming months. The board approves a dividend of €50,000. The BV withholds €7,500 dividend tax and pays €42,500 to the DGA. In the income tax return, the DGA pays 24.5% on €50,000, which is €12,250. The DGA deducts the €7,500 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
Who decides on a dividend?
The general meeting of shareholders decides, and the board approves after the balance test and the distribution test. In a one-person BV, the same person does both, in two separate written decisions.
Can a BV pay dividend in its first year?
Yes, when it has profit and passes both tests. Share premium and reserves can also be paid out, with the same tests.
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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