Key tax tips for business and trade

Dividend payments from own company 

In income tax, the highest box 2 rate for dividend payments will remain unchanged at 31 per cent as of 1 January 2026. This rate applies to incomes above € 68,843 (€ 137,686 for tax partners). The lower box 2 rate of 24.5 per cent (for incomes up to € 68,843 / € 137,686) will also remain unchanged compared to 2025. If you are considering a dividend payment that exceeds the first bracket, you may consider to spread this dividend payment over 2025 and 2026 in order to take advantage of the low rate in 2025 and 2026. Please note that from 2025 onwards, dividend payments may also affect the amount of your general tax credit and the elderly tax credit. 

Charitable donations from own company 

If you make a donation from a private limited company (bv) to a charitable organisation (a public benefit organisation - ‘ANBI’, or a support foundation for socially beneficial organisations - ‘SBBI’) without a business motive, this donation will be classified as a taxable dividend payment to the shareholder if it exceeds the maximum gift deduction in the corporation income tax return. This amounts to a maximum of 50 per cent of the profit, with a maximum of € 100,000.   

Application of small-scale investment deduction 

When determining a company's profits, an additional deduction may be claimed for certain investments. This is the small-scale investment deduction (KIA). In 2025, the KIA cannot be applied if the total investment amount of € 392,230 is exceeded. You can consider postponing the investment until 2026 to use the KIA. 

Timely reinvestment in case of reinvestment reserve 

Under conditions, the book profit of an asset may be carried forward to a reinvestment. If a reinvestment reserve was formed within your company in 2022, it is important to make a new investment (that meets the conditions) by the end of 2025 at the latest (to use the formed reinvestment reserve in time). Otherwise, the reinvestment reserve will be released taxed, unless the nature of the asset requires a longer period, or the acquisition has been delayed due to special circumstances. 

Re-evaluate a fiscal unity 

In 2026, the corporate tax rate is 19 per cent on the first € 200,000 of profit and 25.8 per cent on the excess. By re-evaluating a fiscal unity (for corporate income tax purposes) or demerging an existing company, you can optimise your tax position if the combined level of profits exceeds € 200,000. Consider carefully whether terminating the fiscal unity or demerging a company is possible without triggering corporate income taxation. Individual circumstances will determine this. If you want to exclude a company from an existing fiscal unity as of 1 January 2026, you should submit a request to the Dutch Tax Authorities by 31 December 2025. 

Document of loan agreements with your bv

Ensure that all loans with your bv (loans and current account) are documented in writing. This applies to all agreements you have with your bv or agreements between your bvs. 

Utilising temporary transitional law for mutual funds 

From 1 January 2025, the definition of a mutual fund (fonds voor gemene rekening or fgr) has changed. As a result, some entities have become independently liable for corporate income tax. This change, in conjunction with other measures, has led to a number of practical problems (including the fact that some partnerships will qualify as mutual funds as of January 1, 2025). A new legislative amendment may be proposed, which is expected to take effect on 1 January 2027. This could mean that certain funds that qualify as fgr's as of 1 January 2025 and have become independently liable for tax as of 1 January 2027 will no longer be classified as such. This would result in an undesirable, short-term tax liability for corporate income tax for the years 2025 and 2026. To remedy this, a transitional measure has been proposed whereby the (transparant) tax treatment that applied to certain funds prior to 2025 will be maintained in 2025 and 2026. This is done by not registering the fund as an fgr with the Dutch Tax Authorities and by not filing a corporate income tax return for 2025. To opt for this choice, the consent of all participants is required. If a transparent entity holds an interest in the fund, the indirect participants must give their consent. The method of consent is not subject to any formal requirements, as long as it can be demonstrated at the request of the Dutch Tax Authorities. Ensure that the decision to apply transitional law is made before 28 February 2026, with the required consent of all (indirect) participants. 

VAT deduction adjustment for (partly) VAT-exempt entrepreneurs   

Annually, the pro rata percentage must be determined if both VAT-exempt and VAT-taxed services are performed. If this percentage differs from the originally deducted input VAT percentage, a year-end correction must be made. In addition, an assessment must be made whether a revision of input VAT on investment goods is necessary. Please note that as of 2026, a new revision rule is introduced on certain investment services relating to immovable property. Should the pro rata percentage be lower than 90 per cent, this may also have consequences if the choice was made for a VAT-taxed rental of one or more properties.   

Submitting a supplementary VAT return  

If you reported too much or too little VAT in the past financial year or the five previous financial years, you are obliged to correct this via a supplementary VAT return if the correction amount exceeds € 1,000 per VAT period. If the correction amount is lower than this threshold amount, you can include the correction in the next VAT return; you will then no longer receive an additional VAT assessment on the corrected amount. The supplementary VAT return must be submitted no later than eight weeks after discovering the error with respect to the incorrect VAT reporting. 

Bad debts and VAT  

The year-end is an appropriate time to have insight of outstanding receivables for (potential) bad debts. VAT on uncollectible receivables can be reclaimed via the VAT return as soon as it is certain that all or part of the receivables will no longer be paid. In any case, receivables are deemed uncollectible for VAT purposes after the expiry of one year from the final payment date of the relevant receivable. It is important to actively monitor this period so that VAT can be reclaimed in a timely manner. Note that it is important to correct the VAT payment at the right time, as this may be refused by the Dutch Tax Authorities at a later stage. This means that a refund should be requested in the same period in which the unrecoverability was established. 

Assessing turnover for small entrepreneur scheme  

VAT entrepreneurs who achieve a turnover of up to € 20,000 in a calendar year can make use of the small entrepreneurs' scheme (kleindondernemersregeling or KOR). If a VAT entrepreneur wants to apply the KOR, notification must be submitted to the Dutch Tax Authorities at least four weeks before the start of a VAT period (usually a month or a quarter). As of 1 January 2025, the KOR has changed in the following respects: 

• the mandatory three-year participation period has been abolished so that a VAT entrepreneur can deregister of the KOR at any time; 
• after deregistering of the KOR, an exclusion period will be applicable for the calendar year in which the entrepreneur deregisters from the KOR and the following calendar year, instead of three calendar years; and 
• participation in the KOR for foreign entrepreneurs ends. 

In addition, the European KOR has entered into force from 1 January 2025. KOR entrepreneurs can apply the KOR in other EU member states as of 1 January 2025. The European KOR applies to VAT entrepreneurs established within the EU, but outside the Netherlands, who generate an annual turnover in the EU amounting to no more than € 100,000.  

Reclaiming foreign VAT (EU and United Kingdom)    

When foreign VAT is charged, the VAT cannot be reclaimed in the Dutch VAT return. Instead, a VAT refund request to reclaim the EU VAT can be submitted under conditions to the Dutch Tax Authorities. The VAT refund request must be submitted to the Dutch Tax Authorities no later than 30 September of the calendar year following the refund period. Consideration may be given to the application of goodwill interest (coulancerente) if it has taken longer than 15 days for the refund request to be forwarded by the Dutch Tax Authorities to the country of refund.  

Incidentally, since Brexit, a different deadline and procedure applies for reclaiming VAT from the United Kingdom. The period over which VAT can be reclaimed runs from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 and the refund request must be submitted to the UK Tax Authorities. It is therefore not possible to submit this refund request through the Dutch Tax Authorities. VAT from this period can be reclaimed no later than 31 December 2025.   

CbC Report or notification to Dutch Tax Authorities 

Based on mandatory transfer pricing documentation obligations, Country-by-Country Reporting obligations apply since 2016 for groups with consolidated turnover of at least € 750 million. If the parent company is based in the Netherlands, it must (in principle) submit a Country-by-Country Report (CbCR) to the Dutch Tax Authorities within twelve months of the end of the group's financial year. If the CbC Report is filed by a foreign group company with a foreign tax authority, the Dutch group company must submit a notification to the Dutch Tax Authorities. The notification shows which group company will file the CbC Report in which country. This notification must be made to the Dutch Tax Authorities within twelve months after the end of the financial year (often no later than 31 December of the year). 

Public Country-by-Country Reporting  

Due to new legislation, companies with a global consolidated turnover of at least € 750 million are required to publish a statement showing the profit taxes paid per EU Member State. This Public Country-by-Country Reporting is based on an EU Directive. This obligation starts for the financial year beginning on or after 22 June 2024.   

Exchange of information in digital platform economy (DAC7)  

The European DAC7 directive deals with the automatic information exchange for digital platform operators. From 1 January 2023, European digital platforms are obliged to collect and record data on sellers using the platforms. From 2024, digital platforms are obliged, for the first time, to report the data to tax authorities. National tax authorities will then automatically exchange this data with other EU member states. The sales covered by DAC7 are sales of goods, rental of real estate, provision of personal services and rental of means of transport. However, for the sale of goods there is a threshold for the reporting requirement: platforms only need to report on sellers who make 30 or more sales in a calendar year for a total amount exceeding € 2,000.  

The required reporting data must be collected and verified by 31 December of the calendar year to which the data relates. The deadline for reporting the data to the tax authorities is the following month. Thus, it is necessary to make sure that you meet your DAC7 obligations before the end of the calendar year. 

Preparing for CBAM   

With Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the EU aims to create a level playing field between tax producers outside the EU and within EU regarding carbon emissions made during the production of certain goods imported into the EU (so-called embedded emissions). From 1 October 2023, companies must collect data on embedded emissions from their imported goods  and submit quarterly CBAM reports. From 1 January 2026, the CBAM will actually take effect requiring mandatory annual CBAM declaration. Companies subject to CBAM must in principle hold an authorisation as an approved CBAM declarant. In 2027, CBAM declarants will be required to submit a CBAM declaration and purchase CBAM certificates. On 9 September 2025, the EU Council accepted the Omnibus I package with regard to CBAM. This means that a number of simplifications have been introduced: 

1. Companies subject to CBAM must hold a license for authorised CBAM declarant. However, if the application for this license is still pending on 1 January  2026, CBAM goods may still be imported under certain conditions.  
2. To submit quarterly CBAM reports and in preparation for the mandatory annual CBAM declaration from 2026, it is very important to determine your company's role in the supply chain and the exact composition of your products. However, according to the simplifications of the Omnibus I package, it remains possible to use the standard values published by the EU. 
3. Importers who import less than 50 tons of CBAM goods per year are exempt from CBAM obligations.  
4. Finally, there are other procedural simplifications with regard to the permit application, data collection, the calculation of emissions, verification rules, penalty provisions, and guarantee provisions for newly established companies. 

Want to know more about the above year-end tips? 

Would you like to know more about a subject from these year-end tips? Your Forvis Mazars tax advisor is more than happy to assist you further.