Eenmanszaak or bv in 2027: the tipping point with worked examples
When does a Dutch bv pay more than an eenmanszaak (sole proprietorship)? With the 2026 rates the tipping point is around €95,000 profit if you pay everything out, and around €72,000 if the profit stays in the bv. With worked examples, the 2027 deduction and what a bv costs extra.
- Category
- Founding
- Updated
- Author
- Norman
In the Netherlands, a bv (private limited company) leaves you more after tax than an eenmanszaak (sole proprietorship) from about €95,000 profit a year, if you take all profit out of the bv. If you leave the profit after corporate income tax in the bv, the tipping point is around €72,000, because you pay the box 2 tax only when the bv pays a dividend.
Law as of 13 November 2026
These amounts apply to an entrepreneur in the Netherlands below state pension (AOW) age who meets the urencriterium (hours test), gets no startersaftrek (starter deduction), takes the gebruikelijk loon (customary salary) of €58,000 as dga (owner-director) and holds all shares personally. We use the 2026 rates. Every step is below, so you can repeat it with your own figures.
The difference at a glance
| Eenmanszaak | Bv | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax on profit | Income tax box 1: 35.75%, 37.56% and 49.50% (art. 2.10 Wet IB 2001) | Vennootschapsbelasting (corporate income tax): 19% up to €200,000, 25.8% above (art. 22 Wet Vpb 1969) |
| Entrepreneur deductions | Zelfstandigenaftrek (self-employed deduction) €1,200 (2026), €900 (2027), plus 12.7% MKB-winstvrijstelling (SME profit exemption) | None |
| What you receive | The whole profit, after income tax and the Zvw contribution | Customary salary (at least €58,000 in 2026) plus dividend |
| Tax on dividends | Not applicable | Box 2: 24.5% up to €68,843, 31% above (art. 2.12 Wet IB 2001) |
| Liability | Also with your private assets, such as savings and your own home | Usually only the bv, not the director personally |
| Setting up | KvK (Chamber of Commerce) registration, €85.15 | Notarial deed (notary on average €500 to €1,500) and KvK registration |
| Annual accounts | No filing duty | File the jaarrekening (annual accounts) with the KvK every year (art. 2:394 BW) |
How we calculate
The eenmanszaak
- The zelfstandigenaftrek comes off the profit: €1,200 in 2026 (art. 3.76 Wet IB 2001).
- 12.7% MKB-winstvrijstelling comes off the rest (art. 3.79a Wet IB 2001).
- You pay the box 1 rate on the taxable profit. Above €78,426, the deduction and the exemption give relief at 37.56% only: the aftrekbeperking (deduction cap) adds 11.94% of those items (art. 2.10 Wet IB 2001).
- The algemene heffingskorting (general tax credit) and the arbeidskorting (labour tax credit) come off (art. 8.10 and 8.11 Wet IB 2001). The labour credit uses your profit before deduction and exemption.
- You pay a 4.85% Zvw contribution (health care contribution) on the taxable profit, up to an income of €79,409.
The bv
- The bv pays you €58,000 customary salary (art. 12a Wet LB 1964). That salary is a cost for the bv.
- The bv pays 19% corporate income tax on the rest of the profit.
- The bv pays out the profit after corporate income tax as a dividend. You pay 24.5% box 2 tax on it.
- You pay the box 1 rate on your salary, with the labour credit. The general tax credit depends on your whole verzamelinkomen (aggregate income), so also on the dividend.
- A dga who, alone or with a spouse, can decide on their own dismissal is not insured for the employee insurances (Regeling aanwijzing directeur-grootaandeelhouder 2016). They pay the 4.85% Zvw contribution on their salary themselves, and the bv pays no werkgeversheffing Zvw (employer health care levy).
Worked example: €100,000 profit in 2026
Eenmanszaak
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Profit | €100,000 | |
| Zelfstandigenaftrek | −€1,200 | |
| MKB-winstvrijstelling | €98,800 × 12.7% | −€12,547.60 |
| Taxable profit | €98,800 − €12,547.60 | €86,252.40 |
| Box 1 tax | €13,900.67 + €14,852.35 + €3,874.07 | €32,627.09 |
| Deduction cap | €13,747.60 × 11.94% | +€1,641.46 |
| Labour credit | €5,685 − 6.51% × (€100,000 − €45,592) | −€2,143.04 |
| General tax credit | income above €78,427 | €0 |
| Income tax | €32,125.51 | |
| Zvw contribution | €79,409 × 4.85% | €3,851.34 |
| Net | €100,000 − €32,125.51 − €3,851.34 | €64,023.15 |
Bv with all profit paid out
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Profit before salary | €100,000 | |
| Customary salary | −€58,000 | |
| Profit of the bv | €42,000 | |
| Corporate income tax | €42,000 × 19% | €7,980 |
| Dividend | €42,000 − €7,980 | €34,020 |
| Box 2 tax | €34,020 × 24.5% | €8,334.90 |
| Box 1 tax on the salary | €13,900.67 + €7,180.35 | €21,081.02 |
| Labour credit | €5,685 − 6.51% × (€58,000 − €45,592) | −€4,877.24 |
| General tax credit | aggregate income €92,020 | €0 |
| Income tax box 1 and 2 | €21,081.02 + €8,334.90 − €4,877.24 | €24,538.68 |
| Zvw contribution | €58,000 × 4.85% | €2,813 |
| Net | €58,000 + €34,020 − €24,538.68 − €2,813 | €64,668.32 |
At €100,000 profit, a bv leaves you €645.17 more, before the extra costs of the bv. That gap is small: a few hundred euros for the notary, the annual accounts or the payroll undoes it.
The tipping point at different profits
The same calculation for other profits (2026, amounts rounded to whole euros):
| Profit | Eenmanszaak net | Bv, all paid out | Bv, profit stays in the bv |
|---|---|---|---|
| €60,000 | €45,414 | €41,409 | €41,910 |
| €80,000 | €55,402 | €52,604 | €58,110 |
| €100,000 | €64,023 | €64,668 | €74,310 |
| €150,000 | €89,515 | €94,877 | €114,810 |
The last column is your net salary plus the profit after corporate income tax that stays in the bv. You still pay box 2 tax on that amount later, when the bv pays it out.
Two things stand out:
- Below €60,000 profit, the bv almost always costs more. The customary salary of €58,000 takes up nearly all profit. The bv must also pay the salary when profit is lower.
- The tipping point depends on what you pay out. If you take everything out of the bv, the bv wins at around €95,000. If you can leave part of the profit in the bv, for example for investments, the bv wins from around €72,000.
What changes in 2027?
The zelfstandigenaftrek falls from €1,200 to €900 in 2027. That is already law (art. 3.76 Wet IB 2001, text from 1 January 2027). At €60,000 profit, it costs the eenmanszaak €128 a year. The tipping point drops by a few hundred euros: to about €94,100 with full payout and €71,300 if the profit stays in the bv, using the other 2026 rates.
The MKB-winstvrijstelling stays at 12.7%, and box 2 and corporate income tax do not change in the 2027 law text either. The new box 1 rates for 2027 are in the Belastingplan 2027 (2027 Tax Plan). That is a bill: the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives) adopted it on 12 November 2026, and the Eerste Kamer (Senate) still has to vote. The bracket thresholds are also indexed in December. That is why we use 2026 here. The customary salary for 2027 was not yet published on 13 November 2026.
Read more about the falling deduction in the guide to the self-employed deduction in 2026 and 2027.
More than tax
Liability. With an eenmanszaak, everything you own counts toward paying the business's debts, including your savings and your home. With a bv, usually the bv is liable, not the director personally. That does not apply if you did not do your job as director properly, or if you approve a payout that should not have been made.
The presumption of employment. From 31 December 2026, an hourly rate up to about €38 creates a presumption of an employment contract. If you work through a bv, in principle no employment contract arises with your client, unless the bv has no realiteitswaarde (real substance). Read more about the presumption of employment for freelancers.
Starters. If you were not an entrepreneur in the five years before, you get €2,123 startersaftrek on top of the zelfstandigenaftrek in 2026. That makes the eenmanszaak more attractive in the first years. The Belastingplan 2027 proposes to cut that deduction almost entirely; that is also still a bill.
Coming from Germany or Austria? A Dutch bv has had no statutory minimum capital since 1 October 2012, unlike the German GmbH (art. 2:175 BW). Paying in at least 1 eurocent is enough. You always need a notary, though.
How to switch to a bv
- Calculate with your own figures. Use your expected profit, not last year's, and work out how much you really need privately.
- Set your customary salary. At least €58,000 in 2026, or more if an employee earns more. See how that works in the guide to the customary salary.
- Have the notary set up the bv. The notary draws up the deed and registers the bv and its directors with the KvK.
- Wait for your VAT number. The Belastingdienst (tax administration) decides on VAT within 10 working days after the KvK registration.
- Set up the payroll. The bv withholds wage tax from your salary and files the payroll return.
- Plan your annual filings. The bv files a corporate income tax return every year, by 1 June for a calendar-year bv, and files its annual accounts with the KvK.
If you convert a running eenmanszaak, discuss the tax effects of the transfer with a tax adviser first.
Norman in the Netherlands
Norman is an AI bookkeeping app for the self-employed and companies: receipts, invoices and taxes in one app. It is live in Germany and Poland and in preparation for the Netherlands. Until then, the free tools and guides on this site help you along, such as the guide to the customary salary if you move to a bv. See what Norman will do for freelancers and bvs at norman.finance/nl/en.
Frequently asked questions
From what profit is a bv worth it in the Netherlands?
With the 2026 rates, from about €95,000 profit if you pay everything out, and from about €72,000 if you leave the profit in the bv. That is before the extra costs of the bv, such as the notary, annual accounts and payroll.
How much salary must I pay myself in a bv?
As a dga with a substantial shareholding, at least the customary salary: €58,000 in 2026, or the higher salary of your best-paid employee or of the most comparable job (art. 12a Wet LB 1964).
Is a bv more attractive in 2027 than in 2026?
Slightly. The zelfstandigenaftrek falls to €900 in 2027, so the eenmanszaak yields a few hundred euros less a year. The new box 1 rates for 2027 are still a bill.
How much does it cost to set up a bv?
The notary costs on average €500 to €1,500 and the KvK registration €85.15. There is no minimum capital: paying in 1 eurocent is enough.
Do I still get the self-employed deduction in a bv?
No. The zelfstandigenaftrek and the MKB-winstvrijstelling apply only to entrepreneurs in income tax, such as the owner of an eenmanszaak. In a bv, the bv pays corporate income tax and you receive a salary and dividends from your bv.