What taxes does a Dutch BV pay?

Four streams: corporate income tax on profit (19% up to €200,000, 25.8% above in 2026), VAT on sales (21%, 9% or 0%), payroll taxes on the director’s customary salary of €58,000, and 15% dividend withholding when profit is distributed — creditable against the box 2 assessment.

When is the Dutch corporate tax return due?

With a calendar financial year, the corporate income tax return is due by 1 June of the following year. Filing through a tax adviser under the extension scheme moves the deadline back considerably; the assessment follows after filing.

When must a BV file its annual accounts?

The board prepares the accounts within five months after year-end (extendable by five months), the shareholders adopt them, and filing at the KVK follows within eight days of adoption — with an absolute deadline of twelve months after the end of the financial year.

How often does a Dutch BV file VAT returns?

Quarterly is the standard rhythm: the return and payment are due by the last day of the month following the quarter. The tax authority can set a monthly or yearly rhythm depending on the amounts involved.

How long must a BV keep its records?

The statutory retention period is seven years for the general administration and ten years for records concerning immovable property. The duty covers ledgers, invoices, bank statements and the underlying agreements.

Running a Dutch BV (2026): Taxes, Filings and Every Deadline

The four tax streams

19% / 25,8%corporate income tax on profit, brackets split at €200.000 — the VPB guide

21% · 9% · 0%VAT on sales, per rate category — the VAT rates guide

€58.000customary salary of the director, run through monthly payroll — the DGA salary guide

15%dividend withholding at distribution, creditable in box 2 — the dividend guide

Profit that stays inside the BV meets corporate tax only; the box 2 layer arrives at distribution. That timing difference is the engine behind the holding structure and the reason the mix of salary, dividend and retained profit deserves a yearly review — every rate involved stands on the 2026 figures page.

The compliance calendar

Filing	Rhythm	Deadline (calendar-year BV)
VAT return	Quarterly (standard)	Last day of the month after the quarter — 30 April, 31 July, 31 October, 31 January
Payroll return	Monthly	Last day of the month after the payroll period
Corporate tax return	Yearly	1 June of the following year; filing through a tax adviser under the extension scheme moves it back considerably
Annual accounts	Yearly	Prepared within 5 months after year-end (extendable by 5), filed at the KVK within 8 days of adoption — and always within 12 months of year-end
Dividend withholding return	Per distribution	Within one month of the distribution date

The annual accounts route — micro and small regimes, what the KVK publishes and the board’s adoption step — is set out in filing the BV annual accounts; the payroll mechanics of the director sit in calculating DGA payroll tax.

The board duties

Records. The administration duty covers ledgers, invoices, bank statements and the agreements underneath them, with a statutory retention of seven years — ten for records concerning immovable property. Distributions. Every dividend passes the balance test and the distribution test before it leaves the company. Loans to the shareholder. The running account and larger loans stay tax-neutral up to the €500,000 threshold of the excessive borrowing rule, with written terms and an arm’s-length rate. Register changes. New directors, a new address or a shift in ultimate ownership go to the KVK and the UBO register.

Where the year is won

Compliance sets the floor; the yearly review sets the result. Before year-end, three questions decide the outcome: does the salary still match the norm and the agreed level, does a dividend within the first box 2 bracket fit this year, and does profit above the bracket stay inside the BV or move to investments held through the company. Growing past one entity, the participation exemption and the innovation box open the next layer.

Terms on this page

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

All terms in the glossary →

This page describes the general obligations of a calendar-year BV in 2026; what they mean for your situation follows from a personal conversation.

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