How it works
A DGA decides their own salary, so the law sets a floor. The salary must be at least the highest of three amounts: the yearly norm, the salary in the most comparable job, and the salary of the best-paid other employee of the company. For most owner-managed companies the yearly norm is the number that matters.
The norm is €58,000 in 2026. Salary above the norm is allowed. Salary below the norm needs a reason: a start-up phase, losses, part-time work or a company that cannot pay it. The tax authority confirms a lower salary in writing on request. That request is a normal part of setting up a company well.
The salary is deductible for the BV and taxed in box 1 with the DGA. Every euro of salary above what the DGA needs to live on costs more tax than the same euro kept in the company at 19% and taken out later as dividend. That is why the salary decision and the dividend decision belong together.
A DGA who works for several companies in one group pays the salary through one of them, under the pass-through payroll rule. One salary, one test.
Example
A founder starts a BV in March and expects a loss in the first year. He asks the tax authority to agree a salary of €30,000 for the start-up phase. The tax authority confirms it in writing. In year three the company earns well and the salary goes to the norm.
The figures
All 2026 figures: Netherlands tax rates 2026 · the 2027 figures: Netherlands tax rates 2027.
Questions people ask
What happens when the salary is below the norm and the tax authority has yet to agree to it?
The tax authority can correct the salary to the norm in an audit and charge payroll tax on the difference, with interest. A written agreement in advance avoids that.
Does the norm apply to a DGA who lives abroad?
The Dutch rule applies to the BV as employer. Where the salary is taxed depends on the tax treaty with the country where the DGA lives and works. The director salary planner shows the outcome per country.
Holdwise, Hoofddorp. Definition and explanation maintained with the Dutch and German glossaries; figures from the central rates source, year 2026. Updated 16 September 2026.
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