Accounting for the Dutch subsidiary of a foreign group

Two sets of rules: the group's and the Dutch

The board of the BV must keep records from which its rights and obligations can be known at any time (Article 2:10 of the Dutch Civil Code). The BV files its own Dutch VAT and corporate income tax returns and its own annual accounts under Dutch law. The group needs the same figures in its own chart of accounts and reporting format.

We keep one set of Dutch books and map every account to the group's chart. The reporting pack is a mapping of the Dutch books, not a set of IFRS or US GAAP financial statements, and it is not audited. Adjustments to the group's accounting policies stay with the group's finance team, unless we agree them separately.

Dutch annual accounts and the KVK filing

• The board prepares the annual accounts within five months after the end of the financial year. The general meeting can extend this by up to five months in special circumstances. The general meeting adopts the accounts
• The BV files the accounts with the KVK (the Dutch Chamber of Commerce) within eight days after adoption, and in any case within twelve months after the end of the financial year
• The accounts may be filed in English. The line items may be in English if the general meeting so decides, and the accounts may be in a foreign currency if the group's international activities justify it
• If the board does not file on time and the BV goes bankrupt, the law presumes that this improper performance of duties was an important cause of the bankruptcy (Article 2:248(2) of the Civil Code)

Size classes: what the BV files and when an audit applies

The class depends on whether the BV meets at least two of three criteria on two consecutive balance sheet dates:

• Micro: assets up to € 450,000, net turnover up to € 900,000, fewer than 10 employees. Files a limited balance sheet
• Small: assets up to € 7.5 million, net turnover up to € 15 million, fewer than 50 employees. Files an abridged balance sheet with notes. No statutory audit
• Medium-sized: assets up to € 25 million, net turnover up to € 50 million, fewer than 250 employees. Files its accounts with a management report and an auditor's report
• Large: above those limits. Full accounts and an auditor's report

A medium-sized or large BV must have its accounts audited by a registered accountant (Article 2:393 of the Civil Code). We are not auditors. For such a BV we prepare the accounts for your auditor and agree that price separately.

Group exemption: a BV whose figures are included in consolidated accounts to which the EU Accounting Directive or the EU IFRS Regulation applies need not follow the Dutch accounting and filing rules for its own accounts, if the shareholders consent in writing and the consolidating company declares itself jointly and severally liable for the BV's debts. Both statements and the consolidated accounts are then filed with the KVK (Article 2:403 of the Civil Code). Whether this works for your group depends on where the parent is and which law applies to its consolidated accounts.

Corporate income tax and VAT

In 2026 corporate income tax is 19% on taxable profit up to € 200,000 and 25.8% above that. For a financial year equal to the calendar year, the return is due by 1 June of the following year, unless an extension is granted.

A BV with its own office or staff in the Netherlands registers for VAT in the normal way. When a group company abroad charges the BV for services, the BV usually reports the Dutch VAT itself in its return (reverse charge). When the BV charges group companies in other EU countries for services, it charges no Dutch VAT and reports those services in its EC Sales List.

Intercompany and the UBO register

Charges between the BV and other group companies must be at arm's length, and the BV must record how each price was set (Article 8b of the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act). In the package we agree the intercompany balances with the group each quarter and check the VAT on intercompany invoices. A transfer pricing memo and intercompany agreements are a separate service.

The BV registers its ultimate beneficial owners with the KVK. A UBO is always a person, never the parent company: someone with an interest of more than 25%. If there is no such person, the directors are registered. We prepare the registration and every change for your directors to submit.

Example

A German GmbH has a Dutch sales BV with six employees. The BV has a net turnover of € 4 million, assets of € 1.2 million and a taxable profit of € 120,000.

• Size class: small, if the BV meets these figures on two consecutive balance sheet dates. Assets and turnover are below € 7.5 million and € 15 million and it has fewer than 50 employees. No statutory audit; it files an abridged balance sheet with notes
• Corporate income tax: 19% of € 120,000 = € 22,800
• Reporting: each quarter a trial balance and profit and loss account in the German group's chart of accounts
• Our fee: € 295 per month, € 3,540 per year, excl. VAT. Payroll for the six employees is separate

This is a worked example, not a client case. Whether the BV can use the group exemption depends on the parent's consolidated accounts.

What we do

For € 295 per month, excl. VAT, we keep the books of your Dutch BV in English and send the group a reporting pack each quarter, mapped to the group's chart of accounts. We agree the intercompany balances, file every VAT return with the EC Sales List and OSS return where needed, prepare the Dutch annual accounts and file them with the KVK, file the corporate income tax return and prepare the UBO registration. Monthly reporting instead of quarterly is € 95 per month extra.

Not included: an audit, a full IFRS or US GAAP set of accounts, consolidation, payroll for staff and transfer pricing documentation. Does your BV not report to a group? Then our Dutch BV package of € 150 per month applies.